A Bounty

Brendan Miniter reminds us of the good news from Iraq:

Virtually every attack on American soldiers has drawn a response from coalition forces. The world is seeing that now–after the downing of three American helicopters, including a Black Hawk–with the strikes by F-16s with precision guided 500-pound bombs. Iraq hasn’t been the scene of such massive American firepower since April. The enemy is being made to pay a hefty price for each and every attack.

These spectacular strikes are but a small piece in the larger war raging in Iraq. That missile attack launched on the al Rashid Hotel in Baghdad when Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz was staying there was widely reported. He was unharmed, but the attack killed an American officer, scarred the outside of the building (which has made a good TV visual whenever the story is repeated), and scared many reporters who breathlessly reported how lawless the city must be if such an attack was possible.

But the military followed up by catching 18 suspects. Once in custody, the thugs were quick to rat out their friends. Those arrests led to the arrest of two dozen more enemy fighters.

And if some annoying soul complains to you that the suspects weren’t read their Miranda rights, and you slap them with your shoe, I will personally pay you seven dollars.

NOTE: There’s a bag limit of three — I haven’t been to an ATM all week.