A story about Marines chasing insurgents. Gosh, why have I read that before...somewhere, sometime, in some other place in history. Their politician masters sit in Washington, and send them off to parts unknown, to round up ... insurgents. It's their profession, and hopefully they're doing it well, and safely. But check out this little gem from the story.

"People around here are beginning to believe that the Americans are going to stay and go after the bad guys, and they're not going to leave until the job's been done," he added. "As that sinks in, opinion is swinging to our side."

Whether that is true is hard for reporters to gauge, considering that the only approximately safe way to venture into the towns is with a heavily armed Marine foot patrol. Beyond that, it is an axiom of life here that, just as under Mr. Hussein's rule, opinion among Iraqis is intimidation-led. People in the battle zones tend to tell reporters whatever they judge to be safest.

I'm guessing that the next phase will involve "pacification". Like the kind seen in Fallujah, and numerous hamlets in South Vietnam...you know, "Destroy it to Save it".