Article

2005-08-05 Iraq-Jordan

U.S. Military Launches Attacks in Western Iraq

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Posted by Steve 2005-08-05 09:27|| || Front Page|| [4 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 wretchard has a lot more on the military side of this at his site:

http://fallbackbelmont.blogspot.com/

its a bit hard to believe all this action is being done with only 1000 people

Posted by mhw 2005-08-05 10:30|| 2005-08-05 10:30|| Front Page Top

#2 U.S. military has defended its operations in western Iraq, insisting it is reducing insurgent attacks, despite the deaths of the 14 Marines.

There's a fair and balanced statement - 'defended its operations against' who/what Media turds, or just the specific author of this "article".

insisting it is reducing insurgent attacks, despite the deaths of the 14 Marines. So only when the deaths stop will the 'reduction in attacks' be believed? I hate the AP.

Why should I try to finish this piece of political campaigning drivel?

Posted by Bobby 2005-08-05 12:01|| 2005-08-05 12:01|| Front Page Top

#3 The trick to reading AP or Wapo or NYTimes stuff is similar to the trick used for many years to read Pravda (allowing for the ideological view and correcting accordingly as well as comparing the instant document to the previous chain of similar documents.

Of course it would be better if the MSM was objective (or even if they didn't outright hope for a terrorist victory).

Posted by mhw 2005-08-05 12:15|| 2005-08-05 12:15|| Front Page Top

#4 From the Belmont Club site - Speculation alert) There are probably many similar operations that are taking place along the river and to its north, as per the Di Rita briefing. One of them may have been undertaken by the US Marines at Haditha, during which 21 Marines were killed. One possible reason why this operation has been kept low key, despite its size, is that it may be literally ripping up the insurgent base of support along the upper Euphrates. If the LA Times article is accurate, the insurgents essentially took the whole population of Rawah with them; if the phenomenon is being repeated elsewhere, the displacement of the Sunni population must be huge. To the north there is the unsustaining desert; to the south across the river there is the sweep of the Marines; for the insurgents to leave the population in place would risk leaving intelligence in the hands of the Americans. This has got to hurt and it is only the beginning. The LA Times notes the abandonment of RPGs, sniper rifles, mortars -- stuff you wouldn't leave behind -- not willingly. The whole point of strangling the enemy lines of communication while building support bases is to set up the stage for pursuit. And they will be pursued. The focus of newspaper coverage in the coming days may abruptly shift from 'poor helpless Marines from Ohio' to 'we're slaughtering them! We're killers!' These are the hard choices of war, and as Hemingway once wrote "all stories, if continued far enough, end in death, and he is no true-story teller who would keep that from you."

I'm crossing my fingers the press will soon be complaining how mean our troops are! Go git 'em, guys!

Posted by Bobby 2005-08-05 16:36|| 2005-08-05 16:36|| Front Page Top

#5 The focus of newspaper coverage in the coming days may abruptly shift from 'poor helpless Marines from Ohio' to 'we're slaughtering them! We're killers!'

I suspect that is why we're getting CNN headlines stating the operation is taking place as a result of 21 dead marines, and not the other way around.

Posted by Pappy 2005-08-05 20:40|| 2005-08-05 20:40|| Front Page Top

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