"Black Day" for Al Qaeda

This is #2 in a series which began at the first of the year, where I compare our current struggle against Al Qaeda to the last stages of World War 1 in 1918. The similarities are eerie, you must admit and you can read the First Post here.

By August of 1918, on the Western Front the tide of war had appeared to turn to the Allies. The British and French intended to take advantage of the situation by launching a counteroffensive against the Germans, plans which were in the works since the start of the year, but put on hold by the enemies own failed attacks of the spring and early summer. The first of these offensives began on August 8 and is known as the Battle of Amiens.

The attack was led by the British Fourth Army under General Henry Rawlinson, which also included an Australian Corps, and supported by the French First Army. Preceding the attack against the occupied city of Amiens were by masses of tanks, waves of aircraft, and loads of artillery. It was the first such combined arms operation in mechanized history and proved the doom of the terrible trench warfare on the Western Front. It was also the final battle in which horse cavalry played a major role.

Rawlinson intended to use mechanized forces liberally to limit the number of casualties and also overcome the stalemate that effected both armies since the war started in 1914. The Germans, British, and the French had all marched confidently to battle prepared to fight the conflicts of the last war, with brilliantly costumed infantry parading in the open with pointed bayonets. With reality came a rude awakening as modern artillery and the machine gun mowed down the proud ranks and forced them to ground in the trenches.

The outcome of Amiens was more than the Allies could hope for. The once vaunted Germans began surrendering in the tens of thousands. More territory was taken in the first few days, than in all the past three years of war. A British war correspondent declared "the enemy...is on the defensive" and "the initiative of attack is so completely in our hands that we are able to strike him at many different places." The German general Eric Ludendorff now saw all hope of victory fade, as he declared the start of the battle "The Black Day of the German Army".

Shift ahead 89 years, to the War in Iraq. Our own offensive against Al Qaeda, known famously as the Surge, began combat operations in July and switched into high gear in August. As Congress went into recess that month, most expected it to be "make or break time" for the 4 year struggle for Baghdad. This proved to be an accurate assumption, but it wasn't America and her Coalition which broke.

In Anbar Province, which Al Qaeda in Iraq last year declared their capital in the region, they are now speaking of the "Anbar Awakening", where tens of thousands of Sunni former insurgents are instead joining the new Iraqi Security Forces. Since the start of the year sectarian violence, which was always a hindrance to political progress is down 75%. Likely seeing the political winds blowing against him, Radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has ordered his insurgent Mahdi Army to stop attacking US troops.

With the time off, many Congressman took the opportunity to visit the warzone to see for themselves whether progress has been made or not. This was a mistake for die-hard antiwar advocates, for many of the Left's faithful changed their minds upon seeing the result of the Surge themselves. Those having a change of heart after seeing the efforts of our brave and brilliant troops ,and their tenacious leader General David Petraeus, were Democratic Sens. Keith Ellison, Dick Durbin, Bob Casey and Jack Reed. On the campaign trail, all the leading Democrat candidates at least alluded to military progress, including Hillary and Obama.

Still, much political progress is lacking, with Prime Minister Maliki currently unable to bring the various tribes and ethnic groups together for an effective Parliament. We shouldn't forget, though, the progress that has been made in the past few years, with ordinary Iraqi's proudly waving ink stained fingers after voting in a real democratic election for the first time in their long history. Nor should we discount the influence security will have on the lawmakers, especially those who were straddling the fence for fear of a premature US pullout, and the inevitable terrorist reprisals. President Bush has assured us that military progress will lead to political progress, and I tend to agree.