Sadr City Surge

So, even though some weeks ago we said that Iraqis would take the lead in any crackdown on Sadr City, today, we took the lead with a few Iraqi troops tagging along. This, after there were sufficient warnings from the Government about the raid to make sure that none of the militants would be around.

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Hundreds of U.S. soldiers entered the Shiite stronghold of Sadr City on Sunday in the first major push into the area since an American-led security sweep began last month around Baghdad.

Soldiers conducted house-to-house searches through the densely populated grid of squat two- and three-story buildings, but met no resistance in a district firmly in the hands of the Mahdi Army militia led by the radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, said Lt. Col. David Oclander.

So, as with every place else in Iraq, we'll go in and walk around for a day or two. Then, we'll leave, and the militants will return to do exactly what they were doing before. Whack a mole.

Meanwhile, the house to house searches we conduct are very invasive (kicked in doors, smashed windows, broken furniture, etc.). If we had any friends there at the start, we won't by the end.