The Marines and Iraqi forces are ready to clean out Fallujah. Hopefully this and the election results here in the US will break the insurgent's will to carry on. Fallujah and Ramadi are obviously their bases of operation and without them they have no where else in the country to go. The clerical leaders in Fallujah are desperately trying to negotiate a peaceful settlement that will give them control of the area and allow the insurgents to continue to have a base. That should be unacceptable. The foreign fighters have to surrender or be wiped out if the insurgency is to end.

The debacle in Somalia is a model for these fighters and I feel that it was their hope was to kill enough Americans and Iraqis and burn enough cars and buildings every day for the benefit of the media that the American people would elect someone who would give in and leave so that they could forcibly take control of Iraq. Now that they are faced with four more years of someone committed to giving democracy a chance in Iraq and destroying them they may give up.

Of course, we have the UN trying to help the insurgent/terrorists by asking the US and Iraqis to be nice.

U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, in a letter to President Bush disclosed Friday, warned that an assault on Fallujah "would be very disruptive of Iraq's political transition." "Persuading elements who are currently alienated from, or skeptical about, the transition process to compete politically is key to creating a political and security context that will inspire confidence among all Iraqis," Annan wrote.

The Marines and Iraqi forces are going to persuade those alienated elements that Annan is worried about in a context that they will understand by being somewhat disruptive with superior fire power. Good. Long overdue.

Update: The Captain weighs in on Annan's letter.

Update: A Marine's letter to his Dad. (tip: INDC Journal)