Rebuilding Iraq, One Bridge, One Road at a Time.

The Surge isn't all combat operations...a lot of it also involves rebuilding projects just like this one where a bridge bypass was recently completed allowing traffic to flow again:

TUZ KHURMATU, Iraq –Iraqi government officials, Coalition and Iraqi Security
Forces completed a critical bypass road to reestablish traffic around the Sarihah Bridge near Tuz Khurmatu, Iraq, June 24.

The Sarihah Bridge provided a critical link between Baghdad and the northern Kirkuk Province. The bridge was destroyed by an insurgent bomb June 2. Soldiers of the Iraqi Army’s 4th Iraqi Army Division in conjunction with the 25th Infantry Division’s 3rd Brigade Special Troops Battalion constructed the bypass, which serves as a temporary solution until the bridge can be repaired.

“This [bypass road] is essential to the economic health of Iraq,” said Gov. Abdul-Rahman Mustafa, governor of Kirkuk Province. “But it is temporary. We are here today to reassure the public that we will continue to cooperateto rebuild the bridge.”

Kerry's Terrorists strike again...

Projects like this highlight the fact that the insurgents goals are to simply wear down the populace, they destroy those things that the locals rely upon for their livelyhoods and depend upon to make life better. Thankfully we aren't allowing them to do so without consequences, and when they do succeed in destroying the infrastructure, we are there to re-build it. Winning the Hearts and Minds one bridge at a time.