Proudly Fighting The War On Hospitals

Now, when you consider an occupation in a foreign country, would you consider these developments examples that the operation is going successfully and that the occupier is well on its way to winning hearts and minds?

• Air strikes hit a Baghdad hospital

• The occupier is planning luxury hotels and a shopping center in the heart of Baghdad.

• The insurgency does a better job of delivering services to the people than the central government.

I'm going to go ahead and say "No." In fact, while the military claims to be using the principles of counterinsurgency, their reliance on air strikes have the opposite effect, angering the population and killing innocents (over 40 in that air strike according to Iraqi sources). Meanwhile, Sadr is applying those counterinsurgency principles to inspire loyalty among the citizenry. I actually think that the plan to limit reconstruction spending by the US and forcing the Iraqis to be the public face of those projects will help counteract that, but five years on I can't see how the Maliki government can be seen inside Iraq as an independent actor.

Meanwhile, four more Marines died yesterday and the President's wife was nearly assassinated yesterday. I guess the 100 years of peaceful presence doesn't start today.