ANY ISM THAT CAN'T WIN ELECTIONS ISN'T A STRATEGIC THREAT:

US Military Hands Control of Anbar to Iraqi Forces (VOA News, 01 September 2008)

Anbar, once one of Iraq's most dangerous regions, is now one of its most peaceful. It is the 11th of 18 Iraqi provinces the U.S. has returned to Iraqi control. [...]

Violence in Anbar began to subside in 2006 when Sunni tribes became weary of al-Qaida's brutality against the local population. The tribes formed councils and joined U.S.-led forces in fighting the group.

Nor is a military 0pponent that can't afford to be seen in public, U.S. says 220 Taliban killed in Afghanistan's south (Sayed Salahuddin, 9/01/08, Reuters)

U.S.-led coalition and Afghan troops killed more than 220 suspected Taliban militants in strikes in southern Afghanistan last week, the U.S. military said on Monday, the biggest insurgent toll reported in recent weeks.

Posted by Orrin Judd at September 1, 2008 9:48 AM