| Submit your comments on this article |
| Iraq |
| Iraq 'Surge' - Doesn't Seem Confined to Baghdad |
| 2007-02-28 |
| Clips from four CentCom press releases today, each reporting at least one successful coalition effort not in Baghdad proper. Dismounted paratroopers located an insurgent safe house uncovering a weapons cache and freeing two hostages south of Baghdad Feb. 26. Paratroopers from 2nd Battalion, 377th Parachute Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division located the safe house, where they found the two hostages and a weapons cache near Mahmudiyah. Samarra Iraqi Police and Coalition Forces captured a suspected insurgent bomber during operations Feb. 27 southwest of Samarra. The suspect was captured during operations targeting an insurgent improvised explosive device cell conducting attacks against Coalition Forces and Iraqi Security Forces. The cell is responsible for emplacing IEDs targeting Coalition Forces and Iraqi Security Forces along Main Supply Route TAMPA and other locations in Samarra. Al Hillah Iraqi Special Weapons and Tactics personnel captured eight suspected members of the Mahdawiyah insurgent group during operations with Coalition advisors Feb. 26 in the Wardiyah district of Al Hillah. The suspects are believed to be involved in attacks against Iraqi civilians and security forces in the area. The suspects are allegedly part of the insurgent group that fought against Coalition Forces and Iraqi Security Forces Jan. 28 in Najaf. The suspects are believed to threatening the lives of persons within the leadership of Iraqi Security Forces in Babil Province. Coalition Forces killed eight terrorists and detained six suspects during operations Wednesday morning targeting foreign fighter facilitators and the al-Qaeda in Iraq network. Intelligence reports indicated terrorists associated with small arms and rocket attacks against Coalition Forces were operating northeast of Taji. As Coalition Forces approached the targeted area, they noticed several armed men maneuvering toward them in a nearby palm grove. Coalition Forces called in close air support to eliminate the threat. Rotary-wing and fixed-wing aircraft used precision fires killing eight armed terrorists. Coalition Forces also captured two suspected terrorists in Amiriyah. Just the reported items for one day for part of Iraq, virtually all of which gets buried by the MSM, leading to the public perception that all is hopeless and the Coalition is doing nothing. |
| Posted by:Glenmore |
| #8 "targeting foreign fighter facilitators" Who might they be? Where is Taji? |
| Posted by: Hank 2007-02-28 22:13 |
| #7 Perhaps we can do something about that in 2008, SteveS. One way or another. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2007-02-28 20:10 |
| #6 The Iraqis would be lucky to get al Rudy. They could use someone like him right about now. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2007-02-28 17:24 |
| #5 Sounds like a job for Rudy Guliani. |
| Posted by: ed 2007-02-28 17:12 |
| #4 And the squeegee men, too. |
| Posted by: Grunter 2007-02-28 15:44 |
| #3 They should start arresting people who jump the turnstiles in the Baghdad subway too. Also, graffiti writers. |
| Posted by: Excalibur 2007-02-28 10:03 |
| #2 Part of the character of the surge that is being missed is that only small areas of Baghdad needed to be cleaned out with major operations. Most of the city just needed to be quietly occupied for a few months to achieve several goals: 1) Break the momentum of enemy actions. Much of their perceived effectiveness is based on keeping up daily attacks. 2) It gives the Iraqi authorities time to establish themselves in a neighborhood and start to fix up the place. The identify who are the good people, which makes it harder for the bad guyz to come back. 3) Once all the neighborhoods are secure, then city-wide operations can go into effect, such as limiting Baghdad to five major access points, and setting up really large permanent checkpoints on those roads. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2007-02-28 09:32 |
| #1 Good. Hit them everywhere now that you have flushed them out of the city. No safe place. You can run, but you'll just die tired. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2007-02-28 09:28 |