News from Iraq

News from the fronts of Iraq. First, an odd admission:

After more than a year of fighting, U.S. troops have stopped patrolling large swaths of Iraq's restive Anbar province, according to the top American military intelligence officer in the area.

Most U.S. Army officers interviewed this week said the patrols in and around the province's capital, Ramadi - home to many Iraqi military and intelligence officers under Saddam Hussein - have stopped largely because the soldiers and commanders there were tired of being shot at by insurgents who've refused to back down under heavy American military pressure.

(snip)

To show how operations in Anbar have changed, [Capt. Joe] Jasper sketched a map on a piece of paper.

Pointing to a neighborhood outside the town of Habbaniyah, between Fallujah and Ramadi, he said, "We've lost a lot of Marines there and we don't ever go in anymore. If they want it that bad, they can have it."

And then to a spot on the western edge of Fallujah: "We find that if we don't go there, they won't shoot us."

So much for securing all of Iraq for a new democracy, I guess. And speaking of Fallujah:

US forces have launched an air strike on suspected insurgents in the Iraqi city of Falluja, the US military says.
The military said it targeted militants linked to suspected al-Qaeda leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, whom it blames for a string of attacks in Iraq.

A hospital source said five people were injured in the attack early on Friday morning, including children.

I wonder if there is a connection between bombing children and getting shot at?

Sorry, I guess that's a little unfair.

I realize war is a difficult thing, and the fact that I've never served I guess limits my ability to comment on it as a whole. I hate to read about both our soldiers getting shot and Iraqi children being bombed. I'd love for us to stabilize Iraq and get the hell out of there. But reports like these continue to make me think it is not going to happen. For us to give up on a whole town because they shoot at us seems insane. I had thought that was one of the reasons we were over there now that the "war" is over, to provide security and democracy.

Someone help me understand how these reports, especially the first one can be good for us in the "war on terror." Please.