Sort of an Odd Definition of "Victory"

From 2Millionth Web Log

While "the surge succeeded" has become part of the national mythology, the reality is that Iraq is a lethally sickening game of whack-a-mole:

MOSUL, Iraq -- It's not a pretty sight: Sagging skeletons of two- and three-story buildings under a threatening gray sky. Abandoned shops with corrugated iron fronts riddled by bullet holes. And amid the garbage heaps and pools of fetid rainwater, a roadside bomb set to explode.

Five years after the U.S.-led invasion and following a significant drop in violence nationwide over the past year, the battle for Mosul, Iraq's third largest city, still waxes and wanes.

"This is our hottest area," says Sgt. 1st Class Ron Corella, a decorated combat veteran in this war-scarred quarter of the ancient city where moments before his troops spotted -- and disarmed -- that roadside bomb.

...

Lt. Col. Robert Molinari, executive officer of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, says Mosul "looks like Baghdad about 18 months ago" at the height of violence in the Iraqi capital.

It was the generally successful pacification of Baghdad -- the fruit of the so-called troop surge -- that drew al-Qaida and other insurgents to this hub of northern Iraq to open a new battleground and safeguard their infiltration and supply routes.

And how's the other ground operation in the GWOT going? Well...

PESHAWAR, Pakistan -- Suspected Taliban fighters hijacked trucks carrying Humvees and other supplies for U.S.-led troops in Afghanistan, authorities said Tuesday after a brazen attack near the Khyber Pass that underscored the militants' grip across key mountain strongholds.

The assault highlighted the vulnerability of a vital supply route for the 65,000 U.S. and NATO forces battling a resurgent Taliban in landlocked Afghanistan. A significant amount of supplies for the Western forces go through Pakistan.

Attacks on convoys carrying food, fuel and other supplies are common on the road. But Monday's raid was especially large and well-organized...