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| Iraq |
| US hits al-Qaeda village stronghold |
| 2005-10-02 |
| About 1,000 US troops, backed by attack helicopters and fighter jets swept into Sadah, a village near the Syrian border, yesterday in an offensive to root out al-Qaeda militants and stem the violence that has shaken Iraq before this month's referendum on the new constitution. Air-to-ground missiles struck houses and cars as the force moved into the village of about 2,000 people on the banks of the Euphrates, eight miles from the border. The US military said that the offensive, named Operation Iron Fist, was mounted because al-Qaeda had taken control of Sadah and fighters were using it as a staging point after entering Iraq from Syria to join the insurgency. US soldiers sealed off the village, and American and Iraqi officials did not immediately release casualty figures. A doctor in the hospital in Qaim, the nearest town, however, said that 10 people had been killed and 15 wounded. Reporters with the American soldiers said that after the operation started in the early hours, troops went from house to house, blasting open doors in a hunt for insurgents. It was also reported that helicopters fired on three vehicles as the force moved in. Two allegedly turned out to be carrying suicide bombers, and it was claimed that the third vehicle was being loaded with weapons. Villagers said that in the evening, Marines clashed in the streets with insurgents, and a Humvee was seen burning. By last night, however, no weapons caches or key militants were believed to have been found. The assault was the fourth large US offensive in the border area since May. The militants are difficult to put down, and return to towns and villages after troops withdraw at the end of the assaults. In Baghdad, insurgents kidnapped the brother of the interior minister Bayan Jabr Solagh, the Shia official who heads police forces. Iraqi government sources said the son of another ministry official had also been kidnapped north of Baghdad. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #18 Ok, Vlad. Regards what to call Bush, well, "They call me Mr. Works for me. Perfect he's not. but thank your lucky stars or whatever Deity you choose that he's the President, not Gore or Skeery. And if you bring up McCain, as if that fucking gloryboy would actually have done dick, I'll go ballistic and post the screed I've had written up and waiting for you since 5:00 am, heh. |
| Posted by: .com 2005-10-02 23:02 |
| #17 asymmetrical triangulation, yer name is way kool. |
| Posted by: Billary 2005-10-02 22:04 |
| #16 Asymmetrical Triangulation sez: Well, yeah...we should have used the tactical nuke option the moment we KNEW things were NOT adding up. |
| Posted by: asymmetrical triangulation 2005-10-02 21:54 |
| #15 So sez the leader of the 42001st Armchair Brigade... |
| Posted by: Pappy 2005-10-02 21:00 |
| #14 Nothing personal. The status quo ante in Iraq is nothing but a form of defeatism. Oil productions levels are lower than they were 2 years ago. Khomenist Islamofascism is the official ideology in most Shiite cities. Jihadi groups like the Al-Sadrites form a paramilitary opposition. Sunni Iraq is in open revolt. US support for the war is at an all time low. We should either get tough or get out. |
| Posted by: Vlad the Muslim Impaler 2005-10-02 19:02 |
| #13 One year ago we were fighting for control all around Baghdad (sadr city, nasariah, etc). Today we are fighting in the last few towns on the border with Syria. How can this not be seen as success? It seems with where the new bar is set for success, we would have had to quit at the battle of the bulge (actually, the left would have quit at Perl Harbor). It appears all you need for the war to be labeled as "loosing" is for the enemy to make ANY TYPE OF ATTACK ANYWHERE. You could NEVER win a war with the new set of rules the left have established. |
| Posted by: Patrick 2005-10-02 15:30 |
| #12 Robert Spencer?!? Well, if you insist on holding him up as your primary authority, nothing more need be said. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2005-10-02 14:42 |
| #11 Echo Ship, Iraq security forces, Border guards, & Police, and Soldiers are well on their way and growing stronger each day. It's True, that many batallions still have an element of coalition advisors, which technically prevents a full *independant op status*, but even those same units are still kicking ass and rounding up Baathist thugs and splodydopes everyday. Vlad: And I oppose the President who hung good troops out to dry. Patton wouldn't have appeared on al-Arabiya to condemn his own troops, before an investigation. But Patton wasn't an over-achieving rich brat either. ie...Sure we could have leveled Fallujah conventually in one morning, and maybe we should have..but I ain't running this war..so wtf.. Patton is a hero to all of us, but Ike, Marshall, & Roosevelt had a little more on their plate than the 3 Army, so it is with GWB. |
| Posted by: Red Dog 2005-10-02 12:22 |
| #10 a great summary of the training situation at: http://tigerhawk.blogspot.com/2005/10/lt-gen-david-petraeus-speaks-at.html |
| Posted by: mhw 2005-10-02 12:15 |
| #9 Why is Tater Sadr still alive? Why is Al Jazeera still transmitting? Why is the USAF not allowed to use their big brooms instead of snuffies going house to house? Get serious and get this over with. I have been a big supporter of Bush, but dragging this out is idiotcy. Finish this thing, declare victory, then get out. Massive airpower not seen since WWII needs to clean out the Sunni Triangle, not house to house fighting. We need to send an unambigiuous message to Syria and Iran: Don't F**k with the bull. You gonna' get the horn. President Bush: Less restraint, more progress. How mad can the French and their allies Kerry and Kennedy get? |
| Posted by: Flavins Pholuger6383 2005-10-02 12:15 |
| #8 Applying the same criteria, who many NATO formations, let alone the rest of world, are combat ready? More realistic criteria are: Are they sufficiently armed and will they fight? Expecting them to have US level training, equipment, logistics, planning, and intelligence assets are not realistic. |
| Posted by: ed 2005-10-02 12:05 |
| #7 Don't like my opinions? "I am the very model of a modern Armchair General. "I have the Answers to It All, both concrete and ephemeral..." |
| Posted by: Pappy 2005-10-02 11:58 |
| #6 It is true that the Iraqis have been slow to reach competent levels. However, they have a lot to overcome: - scubbing of Baathist and Jihadi syms - tribal loyalties - corruption of society - instinctive lack of initiative - islamic propaganda - CNN, AP, BCC propaganda |
| Posted by: Elmairt Flavise5497 2005-10-02 11:27 |
| #5 Similarly in 1941 the USMC at 2 ready to kick-ass Marine Divisions.... in February 1942 they didn't have any combat ready divisions, in 1943 2, in 1944 4, in 1945 6 with a USMC Army HQ being formed. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-10-02 10:06 |
| #4 Vlad, it's likely the 3 battlions have been broken up to form cadres. Fastest way to upscale an army. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-10-02 10:03 |
| #3 Lol. How could so many have been so wrong? And I was one of 'em, too - I'm soooo ashamed. Thanks, Vlad, Dubya's just dhimmi trash compared to you and the "experts" who scribble books and then say outrageous shit to sell 'em. You guys are the real tough motherfuckers - it's all so plain to me now. |
| Posted by: .com 2005-10-02 04:01 |
| #2 Missing link: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051001/pl_nm/iraq_bush_dc |
| Posted by: Vlad the Muslim Impaler 2005-10-02 03:20 |
| #1 Meanwhile, an oversight committee release reports a finding that the paltry 3 Iraqi batallions - out of 100 - that are capable of fully joining operations with US forces has been reduced to one. Why? Because the State Department is kissing asses of Islamofascists in order to get them to participate in phony one-time "democratic" elections. US troops do not have a fixed enemy. Iraqi friendlies are not allowed to have a fixed enemy. Only George Bush has a mortal global enemy: Secularism. His use of the Texas airhead Bible thumper - Karen Hughes - as the face of Americans, calls me to question the integrity of anyone who would support his whimp-war methodology. He is in the way. Yeah, I support the Abu Ghraib prep work for Psych-Intelligence. And I oppose the President who hung good troops out to dry. Patton wouldn't have appeared on al-Arabiya to condemn his own troops, before an investigation. But Patton wasn't an over-achieving rich brat either. Don't like my opinions? Best selling author, Robert Spencer, referred to GBW as "arch-dhimmi." Whatever you call him, do not call him resolute. |
| Posted by: Vlad the Muslim Impaler 2005-10-02 03:19 |