Grim's Hall

Sic Semper Tyrannis

One hears a lot about Coalition casualties in Iraq, especially since the onset of Ramadan. You would almost get the sense that our boys are being picked off one by one, but that the Saddamite insurgents and terrorists are enjoying safety and freedom of operation.

That is not the case. In southern Iraq, regime members attempting to recruit have been assassinated by dozens by members of the local populace:

Dozens of Saddam Hussein's followers in Iraq's southern capital have been assassinated as they try to regroup and attack the coalition, the city's security chief told AFP.

"There have been too many political assassinations, dozens of them," said Colonel Mohammad Kazem Ahmad al-Ali, police director of internal security in Basra.

Yes, I'm sure we all deplore these extrajudicial killings. You'll be taking steps to stop the cycle of violence, right?

"These were liquidations of senior members of the previous regime who had committed crimes against the people," Ali said in an interview.

He declined to identify the perpetrators. . . . "Arresting people involved in the assassinations is the task of the coalition. We focus on maintaining security on the streets."

'A focus on security in the streets' appears to mean 'we protect normal Iraqis. The Baathists can go to hell.' The chief of security knows who the hunters are, and he plans to do nothing whatever to stop them. That sounds like, 'If you folks from the coalition really want them to stop, you go stop them.'

Ali says there are between twenty and thirty political parties operating in southern Iraq who have united to cleanse their country of Saddam's fascists.

And, the good news just keeps coming in this story:

A large colour portrait of Saddam Hussein was found hanging from a major pedestrian bridge in downtown Basra early this week, eyewitnesses said.

The portrait was removed and torn into small pieces by dozens of activists.

Ali charged that "remnants of the deposed regime" were coordinating with Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network to carry out attacks against vital institutions.

"Just five days ago, a group of terrorists hurled several hand grenades on a school in Jomhuriya neighbourhood. Thank God, no one was hurt and there was no damage.

"A group of people were arrested. They are members of the former regime, but were found to be linked to Al-Qaeda," said Ali, declining to give further details.

It's heartening to see people spontaneously ripping apart Saddam's image. It is even more heartening to catch former regime men with Qaeda connections. Every one of those caught is an intelligence treasure: they provide insight into both groups of insurgents.

Finally, we have these two quotes on the effectiveness of the terror war in Iraq:

According to Ali, coalition forces in the Basra area have arrested a large number of suspected "terrorists" and Saddam loyalists. . . .

"Terrorists try to come through Basra. . . They include members of terror networks like Al-Qaeda and organized crime gangs. They try to infiltrate through the southern region also because of its long land borders," with Iran, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, he said.

The coalition forces in coordination with the Iraqi police have launched an offensive to crack down on oil smugglers and others involved in illegal activities. Hundreds have been arrested.

Take heart: our dead are not wasted men, but warriors in a noble cause. We are winning. There can be no better proof than this. You can be sure that Iraq will be free, for her people are freeing themselves.