An Iraqi insurgent holds a modified launcher for surface-to-air missiles.
"I think they're in the last throes, if you will, of the insurgency."
—Vice President Dick Cheney, in an interview on CNN's Larry King Live
In late May, in an attempt to tamp down violence in Baghdad, Iraqi forces launch Operation Lightning, the toughest crackdown in Baghdad so far. More than 40,000 Iraqi troops contribute to the effort, which seeks to root out insurgents and terrorists through hundreds of checkpoints and military cordons, as well as house-to-house searches. Shortly after the operation begins, the Vice President makes his now oft-quoted statement. In the long run, Operation Lightning is generally unsuccessful: Baghdad continues to be wracked by sectarian killings.