"BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraq's new prime minister promised Tuesday to show "no mercy" to terrorists and said before President Bush arrived for a surprise visit that a long-awaited security plan for Baghdad will include a curfew and a ban on personal weapons.
Bush, who was expected to be in Baghdad for about five hours, met with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to discuss Iraq's next steps.
Security officials said tens of thousands of Iraqi and multinational forces would deploy Wednesday throughout Baghdad, securing roads, launching raids against insurgent hideouts and calling in airstrikes if necessary.
Underscoring the lack of security, a series of explosions struck the northern city of Kirkuk, killing at least 16 people.
Iraqi security forces planned to deploy 75,000 Iraqi and multinational forces in Baghdad as part of al-Maliki's ambitious plan to crack down on security in the capital, a top Iraqi police official said.
Bush's visit came on the final day of a two-day work session aimed at keeping up the momentum generated by last week's swearing-in of key Iraqi national security officials, and the U.S. airstrike that killed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq.
Maj. Gen. Mahdi al-Gharrawi, the commander of public order forces under the Interior Ministry, said al-Maliki's plan includes securing roads in and out of Baghdad, banning personal weapons and implementing a 9 p.m.-6 a.m. curfew.
Al-Gharrawi told The Associated Press that the plan to be launched at 6 a.m. Wednesday would be the biggest operation of its kind in Baghdad since the U.S. handed over sovereignty to Iraq in 2004."
While the MSM has speculated on why Bush went to Iraq today. The fact is that the meeting had been planned for a while and all apart of the Bang of a Summer Campaign I've been harping about for the last month or so. Bush told Nouri al-Malik, it is time to take control of his country and pledged full military support to snuff out all resistance.
Personally, I've been told that "make no mistake, Baghdad's days as a sideshow are over". It's time to strike while the insurgency is in major disarray (reguardless of whether or not they've picked a new leader) - stike while they're down and deliver the final blow.
"Al-Maliki said the plan "will provide security and confront the terrorism and ... enable Iraqis to live in peace in Baghdad."
"The raids during this plan will be very tough ... because there will be no mercy toward those who show no mercy to our people," he said in a news release distributed Tuesday."
Hoorah! Git-R-Done!
UPDATE: Via GOP Bloggers, here is a part of what you will be seeing here at home.
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