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| Iraq-Jordan |
| Time Is Not on Sadr's Side |
| 2004-08-23 |
| EFL RTWT The situation in Najaf is evolving and devolving faster and more frequently than a wire reporter's updates. One moment, the battle between joint American-Iraqi forces and radical Shiite leader Moqtada al Sadr's Mahdi army appear to be coming to a close. Less than 30 minutes later, broken agreements and a renewal of sharp rhetoric spike the fighting. It's been this way for months. The possibility that al Sadr might have been yielding to U.S. and Iraqi military pressure was an obvious attempt to buy more time. It wasn't his first such ploy, and he knows his days are numbered. Still, months of battling U.S. Army and Marine forces have taken its toll on the Mahdi army. Most of al Sadr's front-line combatants are now dead. His current crop of fighters are mostly disenfranchised, newly recruited youths who are certainly capable of firing off a few rounds or launching a rocket-propelled grenade, but they often break and run when U.S. Marines and Army cavalry troopers move against them. "It appears to me that in April and May we killed the best and brightest [of the Mahdi army]," 1st Lt. Brian Suits of the Army's 1st Cavalry Division in Najaf, said during a radio interview with talk-radio host Kirby Wilbur on Seattle's KVI radio, last Thursday. "What al Sadr is doing now is sending in the guys who are left behind to make a statement. He's running out of guys. The guys he has are frankly running out of motivation. There are ill-prepared and ill-trained. They are beginning to question their authority. I think they're saying 'wait a minute, you told us that God was going to guide our bullets, but we haven't killed one American soldier in our area and we are dying left and right here.'" The past 24 hours have seen U.S. warplanes and helicopter gunships pounding Mahdi positions. Fighting continues on the ground in various sectors of the city, and the consensus among U.S. military personnel is that the insurgency is weakening. The latter is due in large measure to an increase in solid intelligence, a more formidable Iraqi national military force, and positive developing relationships between U.S. forces and Iraqi civilians. Not good for al Sadr. "Two nights ago on a patrol from midnight to 3 A.M., we actually saw Iraqis sitting out on rugs watching and listening to the Coalition aircraft doing their work in the cemetery," 1st Lt. Jeremy T. Sellars — a platoon commander with Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment — told National Review Online on Saturday. "Despite the obvious level of destruction they were inflicting, I watched Iraqis cheer every time the aircraft fired." |
| Posted by:Mrs. Davis |
| #26 Old Spook, German TV showed some of the people Sadr had brought as human shields into the "holy site"... they showed a woman, sick and over 80 who could barely walk out alone... Sorry sights...but certainly no good for Sadr. Exposing him for what he is sounds like a good idea to me. |
| Posted by: True German Ally 2004-08-24 12:10:50 AM |
| #25 Guys, I told you this was the best thing we could do: Discredit Tater by letting him leave his "troops" hung out to dry while he runs like a rat. We will never change the minds of the fanatics, but the "regular Joes" (or should that be the "regular Habib's") in Iraq, this is causing Sadr to lose traction (and more importantly, funding). Sooner or later the support will erode to where one of the senior clearics will issue a Fatwa against Sadr - if for no other reason than the little bastard has shown how he deals with rivals (he has them killed), and sooner or later he is going to be [literally] gunning for thier jobs as Ayatollah. The Madhi Army composed of fanatics, gullible children, and increasingly drawn from released criminals: they let em loose from the jail to get them to join - why else do you think police stations are thier favorite targets? As for "best and brightest" of the Madhi Army - considering the composition of their forces, I think thats setting the bar pretty low. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2004-08-23 11:38:05 PM |
#24 "It appears to me that in April and May we killed the best and brightest [of the Mahdi army]"I'm not there, and he is, so I hate to quibble, but I don't believe Sad Sack's bunch ever had any "best" or "brightest." |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2004-08-23 10:45:49 PM |
| #23 How long before the Blackhat Mullahs decide he's done? Soone or later, he becomes a liability showing their weakness |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-08-23 7:33:58 PM |
| #22 The only thing Sadr has on his side are a ho' lotta twinkies |
| Posted by: Comment Top 2004-08-23 7:07:44 PM |
| #21 "I think they’re saying ’wait a minute, you told us that God was going to guide our bullets, but we haven’t killed one American soldier in our area and we are dying left and right here.’" The problem was they didn't ask him exactly where God was going to guide the bullets. Sometimes it is the little things that count... |
| Posted by: Ol_Dirty_American 2004-08-23 7:06:35 PM |
| #20 Bwa-ha-ha! Great patches! I love the "Jane Fonda-Traitor" one! I can't find a matching "John Kerry-Traitor" patch, though...? |
| Posted by: Dar 2004-08-23 5:41:43 PM |
| #19 Don't leave out the brass knucks, Lucky. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2004-08-23 4:50:02 PM |
| #18 I am willing to pay, a small sum for such a reproduction. I would need the Lucky Graph tho. I propose an artistic committee of everyone, we can point out the flaws in General Luckys design! It'll be fun. Make it go Lucky, do it your way and we'll buy. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-08-23 4:44:16 PM |
| #17 Zen - Lol! I guess this is the product of one of those "when artists go bad" moments, heh. Gotta be a Larson Far Side toon about it somewhere... Hey, General Lucky (Army of the Very Lucky) - you're an artist, right? Can you scope these out for inspiration and produce something apropos for RB? Something that embodies the fist-fight of the current logo, but updates it, gives it some uuumph! I think RB deserves something snazzy and fiesty - with the feel of Pirates! Yarrrr! Lol! |
| Posted by: .com 2004-08-23 4:17:15 PM |
| #16 .com, I'm not particularly big on death related symbols. That said, since death is what AC-130s do best, I've got to go with this patch. TASTY! |
| Posted by: Zenster 2004-08-23 4:00:33 PM |
| #15 LH - "make your own hummus this time Mahmud, i want to watch too" Lol! In your dreams! No woman in Arabia or Islam would dream of saying such a thing! Lol - but it was sweet to read, heh. Someday, perhaps. |
| Posted by: .com 2004-08-23 3:34:57 PM |
| #14 Thanks, all. Cool stuff. |
| Posted by: eLarson 2004-08-23 3:30:31 PM |
| #13 According to Suits, the vast majority of the Arabic-language news outlets in Iraq, "except Al Jazeera," are making the point that al Sadr is hiding behind the American respect for Shia Islam. Iraqis, now granted never-before-realized freedoms, are refusing to buy into the propaganda of the past. "Asked if Iraqi national military forces and police are measuring up to their U.S. and British allies on the battlefield, Suits said, "I've been in combat with these guys over the last couple of days, and I was as wary as anyone else. I saw their performance in the first Gulf War, but they have since coalesced into an effective force. I'm not lying. I'm not propagandizing. I'm not delivering a message someone else said. I have confidence in them being on my left or my right. They will go forward. They will close with the enemy. They will fix him. And they will kill him. They do not retreat. They do not cower. They support each other. They drag their wounded out of the line of fire. And I have confidence that these guys will be able to defend their country because they are doing it now." |
| Posted by: Liberalhawk 2004-08-23 3:27:22 PM |
| #12 "It appears to me that in April and May we killed the best and brightest [of the Mahdi army]," Where are the al-Snowdens of yesteryear? I think the Centcom Forward Air fella is a Spectre Driver. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-08-23 3:27:01 PM |
| #11 Two nights ago on a patrol from midnight to 3 A.M., we actually saw Iraqis sitting out on rugs watching and listening to the Coalition aircraft doing their work in the cemetery," 1st Lt. Jeremy T. Sellars — a platoon commander with Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment — told National Review Online on Saturday. "Despite the obvious level of destruction they were inflicting, I watched Iraqis cheer every time the aircraft fired." "fatima, the AC 130s are coming, make more hummus!!" "make your own hummus this time Mahmud, i want to watch too" |
| Posted by: Liberalhawk 2004-08-23 3:21:44 PM |
| #10 Duh - The Link |
| Posted by: .com 2004-08-23 2:40:27 PM |
| #9 You may get a kick out of some of the AC-130 patches. Some are pretty cool and many are "inside jokes". A memory trip for anyone out there? ed? |
| Posted by: .com 2004-08-23 2:40:02 PM |
| #8 AC-130A through AC-130H And what .com sez. |
| Posted by: ed 2004-08-23 2:33:11 PM |
| #7 Spectre is the AC-130H through AC-130H Spooky is the AC-130U Puff the Magic Dragon is the AC-47 |
| Posted by: ed 2004-08-23 2:30:57 PM |
| #6 Puff, Spectre, and Spooky are, indeed, an inspiring sight and something other-worldly to behold, heh. I just luuuv that minigun. The thought of that little machine raining bullets onto the target makes me think of splintered tree trunks, pockmarked walls, and torn and shattered enemy flesh. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2004-08-23 2:29:36 PM |
| #5 Hmm... now I'm really confused. I thought all the AC-130s were just Puff the Magic Dragons. :) |
| Posted by: eLarson 2004-08-23 2:26:28 PM |
| #4 eLarson - Link - "The AC-130H's call sign is "Spectre." The AC-130U's call sign is "Spooky. " The U-model is the third generation of C-130 gunships. All gunships evolutionized from the first operational gunship, the AC-47." Which was called Puff the Magic Dragon by some... Link |
| Posted by: .com 2004-08-23 2:26:24 PM |
| #3 Spectre I think is a type of A-130 gunship. Any bets on when we will see this on the MSM? |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2004-08-23 2:14:55 PM |
| #2 Which one is Spectre? I can't say I've heard that nick before. |
| Posted by: eLarson 2004-08-23 2:03:01 PM |
| #1 Jarines & Cav - Bringing new meaning to the term "Reduction in Force"... "Despite the obvious level of destruction they were inflicting, I watched Iraqis cheer every time the aircraft fired." Puff, Spectre, and Spooky are, indeed, an inspiring sight and something other-worldly to behold, heh. |
| Posted by: .com 2004-08-23 1:51:49 PM |
