MICHAEL R. GORDON
"WASHINGTON, March 17 — In January, when President Bush announced his plans to reinforce American troops in Baghdad, Shiite militias were seen as the main worry. Some analysts predicted that bloody clashes with Shiite militants in the Sadr City district in northeastern Baghdad were all but inevitable. Instead, during the early weeks of the operation, deadly bombings by Sunni Arab militants have emerged as a greater danger. "

These militants were mostly involved with the terror group Al Qaeda, and struck very near Baghdad. They have been targeting American soldiers with IEDs (roadside bombs or improvised Explosive Devices) and car bombs for the past few years of the war. Rather than pulling out of Baghdad, however, American troops are increasing there numbers there.

“The Baghdad belts are increasingly seen as the key to security in Baghdad,” Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, the American officer in charge of day-to-day operations in Iraq, said in an e-mail message. “I believe this is where you can stop the accelerants to Baghdad violence..."

I think it is a clever move to increase security around the city when the insurgents are wishing for the opposite, it will frustrate their plans to do so in the future, as well because they know that we may very well do the opposite of what they want.