Talking the talk–it’s a start:

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki vowed on Thursday that his crackdown in Baghdad would leave militants nowhere to hide, even if they sought refuge in mosques or schools.

In a speech to parliament, Maliki urged politicians on all sides to support his Baghdad security plan, backed by some 17,000 U.S. reinforcements, which is seen by many as a last chance to stem sectarian violence in the capital.

“There will be no safe haven — no school, no home, no (Sunni) mosque or Shi’ite mosque. They will all be raided if they are turned into a launchpad for terrorism, even the headquarters of political parties,” he said.

In the NYSun, Nibras Kazimi analyzes the “turnaround in Baghdad’ and advises:

Counterinsurgency strategists will argue about the precise moment when this turnabout occurred and will try to replicate the victory elsewhere. Pundits will argue about who or what policy was responsible for it, a matter eventually to be settled by historians. Victory has a way of making everyone associated with it golden, and many will claim right of place. Defeat has a way of turning everyone associated with it to ash, and many will disclaim responsibility for it.

Let me state the lesson of this turnabout clearly lest it be obscured amidst the euphoria: Never mind who takes credit, kill or capture more of the killers to ensure victory.

Michael Yon shares similar thoughts from Mosul with John Noonan at Op-For.

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