so much for bush's surge...

Al-Qaeda's influence in Mosul - the country's second largest city after Baghdad
- has grown tremendously since the U.S. military campaign to subdue Baghdad
began more than four months ago. The capital of Nineveh Province, Mosul used to
be a mosaic of faiths, sects and nationalities, a feature that has eroded
significantly since the 2003 U.S. invasion.

al-qaeda even brazenly held a parade through mosul the other day, so little do they fear bush's "coalition"----