[Arkinsaw]

I think the Marines proved to the insurgents last week that they are completely capable of dealing with these thugs. Thats really the only reason for the insurgents allowing these city leaders to negotiate in the first place. If the insurgents were opposed these city leaders would be dead.

As far as I can tell, the Marines have lost nothing from this deal. They will swoop in and take control of the city with token presence of Iraqi cops and public agreement by city leaders so the Iraqis can save face.

The Marines will still shoot anybody who shows a weapon on sight. They'll still search suspicious locations. They'll probably divide the city into manageable sections. It has the added benefits of no immediate assault and no recruiting tool for the insurgents since they cannot claim that the city was occupied without Iraqi "permission". Don't see what the big deal is, it looks all good for us.

[livius]

Don't see what the big deal is, it looks all good for us.

Agreed. Al Jazeera has been lamenting the "weakened resistance," so I'd say we're ahead of the game.

It's not going to be safe, but it wouldn't be safe under any conditions. Letting our guys pick them off 1 by 1 is a great idea.

(I still think, for picking them off 1 by 1, you all should go see Man on Fire, the latest Denzel Washington film where a former US secret ops guy takes out an entire network of corrupt Mexican officials and thugs - great film!)

[LoudRepublicangirl]

Don't see what the big deal is, it looks all good for us.

I agree with you 100%.