Are Special Anti-Insurgent Military Operations Effective?

AL ANBAR PROVINCE, Iraq, Aug. 10, 2005 — -- U.S. forces have been trying to reduce the number of casualties in Iraq by leading a series of large military operations against the insurgency. The campaigns have focused on several suspected rebel strongholds west of Baghdad in the troubled Al Anbar province. But there are questions about their effectiveness.

At 6 a.m. on a recent morning in the province's withering desert heat, hundreds of Marines were preparing for Operation Dagger -- a mission to hunt down insurgents they feared were using the area as a safe haven.

"We can't be everywhere at once; however, we use the mobility that we have, we use surprise -- all these things to help gain an advantage over our enemy," said Capt. Robert Hancock, company commander of the 1st Battalion 6th Marines.

Yet Operation Dagger hardly seemed a surprise. With dozens of massive vehicles roaring through the desert, insurgents -- who rarely gather in large groups and know the territory -- had plenty of time to hide.

Only about 4,000 Marines cover a 30,000-square-mile area in Al Anbar. It is impossible for them to constantly patrol the area, which is why they believe insurgents move from one place to another.

After hours and hours of hunting, the only people the Marines encountered during Operation Dagger were startled goat herders and frightened Iraqi families.

"It's a lot of needle in a haystack," said Col. Mark Gurganis, commander of Regimental Combat Team 8. "Although the Marines have gotten good at noticing things that are different."

Overall, there have been close to a dozen of these types of operations. Officials say hundreds of insurgents have been killed, hundreds have been captured, and many have been driven away. The problem is the majority of the insurgents later return.

As one defense official told ABC News, until there are enough troops -- either American or Iraqi -- to sweep, clear and hold an area, they will have to repeat the operations again and again.

ABC News' Martha Raddatz filed this report for "World News Tonight."