PJ Media

PJ Mediahttps://pjmedia.com/richardfernandez/2008/07/06/intermezzo/feed/PJ Media is a leading news site covering culture, politics, faith, homeland security, and more. Our reporters and columnists provide original, in-depth analysis from a variety of perspectives.en-usTue, 09 Jun 2026 22:02:59 -0400Intermezzo<![CDATA[The Times Online‘s account of the offensive against the insurgent strongholds in Mosul entitled “Iraqis lead final purge of Al-Qaeda” captures one part of the Coalition’s efforts to shape the battlefield in the final months of the Bush administration’s tenure. Readers may recall that when General Petraeus briefed Congress on the situation in Iraq in April, 2008 he produced a map which contrasted al-Qaeda’s Iraqi network in December, 2006 and compared it with the situation in March, 2008. Steady effort had chopped the continuous network of infiltration routes which once led from the Syrian border down the Euphrates and Tigris rivers to converge on Baghdad into disconnected segments. But like a snake severed in pieces by a hatchet yet still spitting venom, the largest remaining piece was centered around Mosul, still clinging tenuously to ratlines anchored on the nearby Syrian frontier. It was that last al-Qaeda redoubt which was the subject of a furious attack by Iraqi forces codenamed “Lion’s Roar”, according to the Times Online.]]>Sun, 06 Jul 2008 09:32:12 -0400<![CDATA[Richard Fernandez]]>https://pjmedia.com/richard-fernandez/2008/07/06/intermezzo-n185722