Besieged and Spreading?

Al Qaeda in Iraq is getting it from all sides. The Iraqi tribes are fed up with them, and the Iraqi army and US forces are taking the fight to al Qaeda in a big way. Two major al Qaeda figures were picked up by the US yesterday, and that comes as dozens of other al Qaeda were killed or captured.

U.S. and Iraqi troops captured two senior al-Qaida militants and seven other operatives Saturday in Diyala province, an Iraqi commander said, as an offensive to clear the volatile area of insurgents entered its fifth day.

The U.S. military also cracked down elsewhere in Iraq, saying in a statement that seven other al-Qaida fighters were killed and 10 suspects detained in raids in Tikrit, east of Fallujah, south of Baghdad and in Mosul.

Three other militants suspected of having ties to Iran were detained in a predawn operation by U.S. forces working with Iraqi informants in Baghdad's main Shiite district of Sadr City, the military said separately.

The Americans have accused Tehran of providing mainly Shiite militias with training and powerful roadside bombs known as explosively formed projectiles, or EFPs, that have killed hundreds of U.S. troops in recent months.

Indeed, the US reports 68 al Qaeda were killed. That's a switch from the usual reporting, which focuses on US casualties before burying the detail that the US is engaged in offensive operations that are more likely to expose US forces to enemy fire and that the US has been wiping the floor with the insurgents and al Qaeda.

Don Surber notes that he's not sure which side is winning during the Surge, but he knows which side he's rooting for. I'm with you Don.

J.J Johannes writes about the ongoing fight in Iraq and that the ISG is making a comeback - yes that's the same pseudorealism that I've been warning about for some time. The military is making strides, but the political side is sorely lacking.

Bill Roggio provides updates on what is going on all over Iraq, and with much more detail than one finds in most media outlets. He's providing all kinds of details about what is going on during the surge, which the military calls Operation Phantom Thunder. This guy deserves a wider forum.

The ongoing concern is that al Qaeda may seek to look elsewhere as their fighters are decimated in Iraq. Those that have managed to survive in Iraq will take their tactics and methods and seek to implement them elsewhere. I'd suggest looking at the failed states/regions in the region, including Lebanon, Gaza, Somalia, and Sudan as possible locations where al Qaeda could regroup.