Fallujah is quiet because it's a dead city and the dead are quiet

Juan Cole informs us that, notwithstanding Bush's visit there yesterday to trumpet the great strides the "surge" is making, Anbar province is not a safe place. Yes, the violence has abated somewhat from where it once was, but much of that is due to the fact that the military has essentially shut down Fallujah (no cars allowed, no jobs available). As someone he quotes points out, it's a dead city and it's quiet because the dead are quiet. Elsewhere in Anbar violence continues at a pace that would be considered horrific by any standard other than Iraq.