What’s happening in Iraq?

It’s not all car bombs and insurgent attacks. But we only learn what the media report, generally speaking, and today several big media are a bit fascinated by the new strategy of Gen. David Petraeus that was just launched. Time has this report.

The thunderous start of Operation Arrowhead Ripper in Diyala province inaugurates the second phase of Gen. David Petraeus’s “surge” strategy. If the first, a massive security crackdown in and around Baghdad, was designed to smoke Al-Qaeda and other militant groups out of their foxholes, the new assault is meant to pick them off in open battle. The assault began in and around Baqouba, the volatile provincial capital about 31 miles northeast of Baghdad, and involves over 10,000 American soldiers and heavy air cover.

It may be several days or weeks before we know if Arrowhead Ripper lives up to its name, but it’s already clear that Petreaus is pursuing a very different offensive strategy from his predecessors.

The media aren’t reporting much on the successes the troops have been achieving there, information at least as important to the American people as the frustrations and setbacks. The forces there have had to adjust and readjust continually to the changing tactics of the enemy they’re fighting. Petraeus’ plan is ambitious and big.

Operation Arrowhead Ripper has been much quicker off the mark — although any offensive that requires the build-up of 10,000 soldiers can hardly be lightning-fast. But more important, it is accompanied by a second, flanking operation south of Baghdad. Over the weekend, elements of the 3rd Infanty Division began sweeping through militant-infested areas like Salman Pak and Arab Jabour. This means the militants facing the American forces in Diyala can’t run south for cover. (Even farther south, British and Iraqi security forces have been conducting raids against Shi’ite militias, especially the Mahdi Army, in around the city of Amarah.)

Look for news sources that give you complete coverage, without the political agenda. You need to be told what’s happening, not what to think about it.