Yon in Iraq

Michael Yon reports (via the NY Daily News) on the progress of the surge in Iraq. He believes Al-Queda is beginning to get desperate as the various Iraqi groups that had been cooperating with them are now turning on that organization, and to lethal effect.

"Clearly, not every terrorist in Iraq is Al Qaeda, but it is Al Qaeda that has been intentionally, openly, brazenly trying to stoke a civil war. As Al Qaeda is now being chased out of regions it once held without serious challenge, their tactics are tinged with desperation.

This may be the greatest miscalculation they've made in their otherwise sophisticated battle for the hearts and minds of locals, and it is one we must exploit."

Yon alos points out that the Iraqi Army is a much more capable force than it was in 2005, and that the best accessment of how we are doing overall will be forthcoming in September's report by General Petraeus.