Iraqis are standing up

Michael Yon reports on the Battle of Baqubah (Operation Arrowhead Ripper) which appears to be winding down.While not everything has gone as planned, he has some good news about the Iraqi Army:

For security reasons, the Iraqi Army (IA) was not included in the
initial planning of Arrowhead Ripper, yet with each succeeding day the IA has
taken a larger role in the unfolding attack. The Fifth Iraqi Army Division is
considered an increasingly competent group of fighters, and from the limited
scope of 5th IA that I personally witnessed, that judgment seems correct. The
5th is committed to battle. Whereas the Iraqi Army is coming into the fight, and
playing increasingly critical roles, the local police force is less
impressive.

This is important because the more the Iraqi's are able to handle, the less need for our own brave and brilliant soldiers to go venture into harm's way.

My favorite quote is "(The troops) have learned, after hard fighting and serious losses throughout Iraq, that the best counter-IED “technology” we have is just getting out of our fighting vehicles and talking with Iraqis".