Quickly Faltered?

clipped from hotair.com The “quickly faltered” meme sounds suspiciously like the “American invasion bogged down in the desert” analysis that occurred in week two of the 2003 invasion.  It’s the result of an attention-span deficit in the media.  Rather than wait for an outcome, journalists draw conclusions from the first hours of a battle.  Major military actions take longer than a single news cycle. Maliki’s aggressive action in Sadr City shows that he has confidence that he can maintain pressure on Sadr and the Mahdis.  If Iraq is to have provincial elections, the central government has to control security in the provinces, and Maliki has six months to make that happen.  He also needs to cut off Iran’s influence in the south, which has primarily come through Sadr.  With Sunnis, Kurds, and other Shi’ites supporting him, Maliki has an opportunity now to rid Iraq of the Mahdis, the last significant militia in independent operation. And so far, it appears he is succeeding.