Doesnt work like that.

Here is an article about a museum for the press

http://www.nypost.com/seven/04112008/postopinion/opedcolumnists/press_1__troops_0_106075.htm?page=0

what a waste

[Edited on April 15, 2008 at 10:54 AM. Reason : hm]

4/15/2008 10:54:16 AM

Basra residents welcome Iraq army crackdown

Quote :

"BASRA, Iraq (AFP) — Three weeks after Iraqi troops swarmed into the southern city of Basra to take on armed militiamen who had overrun the streets, many residents say they feel safer and that their lives have improved. The fierce fighting which marked the first week of Operation Sawlat al-Fursan (Charge of the Knights) has given way to slower, more focused house-by-house searches by Iraqi troops, which led on Monday to the freeing of an abducted British journalist. Residents say the streets have been cleared of gunmen, markets have reopened, basic services have been resumed and a measure of normality has returned to the oil-rich city. The port of Umm Qasr is in the hands of the Iraqi forces who wrested control of the facility from Shiite militiamen, and according to the British military it is operational once again. However, the city is flooded with troops, innumerable checkpoints constantly snarl the traffic, residents are scared to go out at night despite the curfew being relaxed, and the sound of sporadic gunfire can still be heard. An AFP correspondent said three northwestern neighbourhoods once under the firm control of the Mahdi Army militia of radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr -- Al-Hayaniyah, Khamsamile and Garma -- are now encircled by Iraqi troops who are carrying out door-to-door searches. Two other neighbourhoods once dominated by the Mahdi Army, Al-Qiblah in the southwest and Al-Taymiyyah in the centre, have been cleared of weaponry and many people have been arrested, military officials say. Residents expressed relief at the improved security. "I am very happy about the situation right now. The deployment of the Iraqi army has made gunmen and gangsters disappear from the streets," said court employee Mahdi Fallah, 42. "The gangs were controlling the ports and smuggling oil. Now the ports are back in government hands. Everything in Basra is better than before." Taxi driver Samir Hashim, 35, said he now felt safer driving through the city's streets and was willing to put up with the traffic jams caused by the many security checkpoints. "We feel secure. Assassinations have ended, organised crime is finished and armed groups are no longer on the streets," said Hashim. "I think Basra will be the best city in Iraq," he added optimistically. "We are finally beginning to feel there is law in Basra." "We feel comfortable and safe and secure," said civil servant Alah Mustapha. "The situation in Basra is stable. The Iraqi army controls the city and there are no longer armed groups on the streets." The Iraqi security operations have not been without severe problems, and on Sunday 1,300 police and soldiers were sacked for failing to do their duty during the assault, which began on March 25 under orders of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. Iraqi military officers have also come under fire from their coalition force allies for launching the operations without adequate preparation, with American commander in Iraq General David Petraeus saying Maliki had disregarded US advice to delay the assault. But the security forces were given a boost by the rescue of British photographer Richard Butler on Monday two months after he was kidnapped from a Basra hotel. The journalist was freed when troops from the army's Fourteenth Division raided a house in Basra's Jubaiyia neighbourhood, not knowing he was being held captive there. The US military, meanwhile, said that since the crackdown began, the Iraqi security forces have arrested some 430 people, including 28 death row convicts who had been on the run. And the British military, which is stationed at Basra airport giving logistical and air support to the Iraqi forces, said Iraqi soldiers had uncovered large caches of weapons and had dismantled a car bomb factory. The Sadr movement has bitterly denounced the crackdown, accusing the government of using the security forces to weaken its political opponents ahead of provincial elections due in October. A similar crackdown is also under way in the Mahdi Army's eastern Baghdad bastion of Sadr City where around 90 people have been killed in clashes between US and Iraqi forces and Shiite militiamen in the past 10 days. "

The media can only ignore the progress for so long.

Here is a nice little quote from another blogger.

Quote :

"This was an Iraqi planned and executed (with US logistical and air support) operation. Isn't this idea of Iraqis taking control of their own country suspiciously like what the US has been trying to accomplish all along and Democrats are demanding happen RIGHT NOW? Boy, we better withdraw faster before things get any better worse. "

4/15/2008 2:49:21 PM

4/15/2008 3:40:17 PM

http://politicscentral.com/2008/04/14/the_glenn_and_helen_show_micha_5.php

If you care one way or the other, you will listen to this.

4/15/2008 4:12:49 PM

............this is absurd.

How can a news source actually think this is what is going on.

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1731022,00.html

Quote :

"Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr threw down yet another challenge to the Iraqi government, demanding that policemen and soldiers Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki fired for refusing to fight al-Sadr's militia be reinstated "after honoring them.""

Sadr is winning!

oh wait

4/15/2008 9:23:40 PM

Another article confiming why the news in America is so out dated to what actually is happening on the ground.This latest Time article^ is another example for this problem. This is why this thread exists.

Some of you might have been fully aware of the desparity between conditions reported in the media vs conditions in Iraq. But I basically started this thread to show how big the difference was. Then I realized how much news goes unnoticed in America so basically decided to force feed this thread so there is no way anyone can ignore this. With the decisions made after this next election being so pivital, the reality on the ground must be shown to the people so they can make an informed decision.

Quote :

" 10) Moving Goalposts In Iraq http://www.nypost.com/seven/04082008/postopinion/opedcolumnists/moving_goalposts_105571.htm By RICH LOWRY April 8, 2008 -- EVEN in the age of instant communication, it takes three months or more for developments in Iraq to have any impact on the US political debate. The war is like a distant star whose light we only see well after the fact. So Democrats still warn that we'll never be able to police a sectarian civil war, even after violence has significantly declined in Iraq - because we have successfully policed a sectarian civil war. Some critics of the war have seamlessly passed from lamenting the unstoppability of the Iraqi civil war to warning that the rise of Sunni security volunteers could be a harbinger of . . . a civil war. The outdated anti-war sound bite of the moment is that the surge has failed because the Iraqi government hasn't met 18 benchmarks set out for it by Congress last year. It is routinely asserted that only a handful of the benchmarks have been met. In Newsweek in March, columnist Fareed Zakaria darkly noted that a few newly passed laws "add up to only three or four of the 18 benchmarks." The benchmarks are much cited, but apparently little read. Of the 18, seven have to do with supporting the surge and the effort to establish security in Baghdad: things like providing three brigades to support operations in the city; establishing joint security stations with US forces in neighborhoods; and reducing sectarian violence and eliminating militia control of local security. By any standard, almost all these security benchmarks have been met. They were formulated at a time when the Iraqi government's will to secure Baghdad was in question. Forget three brigades - as Fred Kagan of the American Enterprise Institute points out, soon enough the Iraqis will have three divisions in and around Baghdad. The neutralization of militias has been more problematic, but now Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has declared himself against the most dangerous Shia militia, Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army. The highest-profile benchmarks are the seven legislative ones. Four of the key ones have been passed: a law undoing the excesses of de-Baathification; a provision granting amnesty to former insurgents; legislation allowing the formation of semiautonomous regions; and measures setting out provincial powers and a date for provincial elections. Another important one, a hydrocarbons law, is stalled, but the passage of a budget sharing oil revenues around the country serves some of the same function. The balance of the other benchmarks has to do with the performance of the Iraqi government and protecting minority rights. They are harder to evaluate. Of course, all the grading is somewhat subjective, but roughly 12 of the 18 benchmarks have been met (and there's been movement on the others), which makes a much less seductive anti-war talking point. As the reality on the benchmarks slowly sinks in, opponents of the war will surely move on to something else - probably the war's cost. Needless to say, if a benchmark has been met, it doesn't necessarily mean the underlying law is wise or will be effective. The war's critics argue that, in its fine print, the new de-Baathification law may exclude as many Sunnis from government as the original, offending law. They're right. Which is why it was always foolish to try to judge the progress of a nascent, violence-plagued democracy by a crude checklist. Already, there has been a shifting of goal posts. Zakaria warned that some of the new laws passed only "after months of intense wrangling." Horrors! What was so remarkable about the Feb. 13 passage of a package including a budget, provincial-powers law and amnesty provision wasn't the intensity of the wrangling but the cross-ethnic and -sectarian logrolling that produced a grand compromise unlocking the stuck wheels of the Iraqi parliament. Logrolling, alas, is not one of the benchmarks. The last time Gen. David Petraeus came to Washington, he heralded tentative but widely discounted security gains. Now he brings news of tentative but widely discounted political progress. We'll know he's had an impact when the benchmarks fade away from anti-war discourse. "

[Edited on April 16, 2008 at 8:55 AM. Reason : b]

4/16/2008 8:54:11 AM

Good overall summary of the Complete domination of Sadr, and the media reports that support it.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/014/936meniz.asp?pg=1

Quote :

"LESS THAN 48 HOURS AFTER Iraqi security forces began their campaign against militant Shia factions in Basra, the media had already declared the operations a failure. The operations, which were initiated on March 25, were designed to quell rogue factions of Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army. In covering the fighting, the press displayed its previously seen penchant for quickly throwing in the towel when a military operation does not instantaneously meet its goals. Of course, the expectation of immediate success for an operation aimed at clearing densely-populated urban terrain is highly unrealistic. Recent history in Iraq shows this: it took months before Coalition efforts to clear and hold Baghdad showed progress, and even today only 75 percent of the capital city is considered fully secured. Last year the media declared the surge a failure long before the full contingent of forces was deployed, yet the press did not learn from its mistakes. Two popular myths have developed about the Basra fighting: that it constituted a complete failure for the Iraqi security forces, and that it resulted in a major political embarrassment for Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki. VIRTUALLY EVERY MEDIA OUTLET declared the Basra operations a military failure before a week had passed. A New York Times headline blared that the "Iraqi Army's Assault on Militias in Basra Stalls" on March 27, two days after the launch of operations. Two days later--just four days after operations began--Britain's Independent noted that "the Iraqi army and police have failed to oust the Mahdi Army from any of its strongholds in the capital and in southern Iraq." And six days after the onset of operations, the Guardian was reporting that "the Iraqi army had made little headway in Basra and large swaths of the city remain under the Mahdi Army's control." To be sure, the Iraqi security forces' performance in Basra is best described as mixed. However, they did not run into a wall. The Iraqi military was able to clear one Mahdi Army-controlled neighborhood in Basra and was in the process of clearing another when Sadr issued his ceasefire. The ceasefire came on March 30, after six days of fighting, and was seemingly unilateral in the sense that the Iraqi government made no apparent concessions in return. By that time, 571 Mahdi Army fighters had been killed, 881 wounded, 490 captured, and 30 had surrendered countrywide, according to numbers tabulated by The Long War Journal. Thus, an estimated 95 Mahdi Army fighters were killed per day during the six days of fighting. In contrast, al Qaeda in Iraq did not incur such intense casualties even during the height of the surge. The Iraqi security forces were at their best in the smaller cities in Iraq's south. The Mahdi Army suffered major setbacks in Hillah, Najaf, Karbala, Diwaniyah, Amarah, Kut, and Nasiriyah. The security forces drove the Mahdi Army off the streets in those cities within days. The casualties taken by the Mahdi Army in Baghdad, Basra, and the wider south surely played a role in Sadr's tactical decision to call a ceasefire. An American military officer serving in southern Iraq told us, "Whatever gains [the Mahdi Army] has made in the field [in Basrah], they were running short of ammunition, food, and water. In short, [the Mahdi Army] had no ability to sustain the effort." Time's sources in Basra paint a similar picture. "There has been a large-scale retreat of the Mahdi Army in the oil-rich Iraqi port city because of low morale and because ammunition is low due to the closure of the Iranian border," the magazine reported on March 30."

4/16/2008 10:01:58 PM

Quote :

" While the Iraqi security forces encountered stiff resistance, and while some units reportedly defected, it is a gross exaggeration to portray the fighting as a complete defeat for them. THE PRESS WAS EQUALLY INSISTENT that Maliki's move to secure Basra was a political embarrassment for him, with Sadr emerging the victor. The day after Sadr issued his ceasefire, Time claimed that "the very fact of the cease-fire flies in the face of Maliki's proclamation that there would be no negotiations. It is Maliki, and not Sadr, who now appears militarily weak and unable to control elements of his own political coalition." The Associated Press portrayed Maliki as "humbled within his own Shi'ite power base." And a second Associated Press report stated that "a strict curfew is ending in Baghdad, U.S. diplomats are holed up in their green zone offices, al-Maliki is resented and the private army of Muqtada al-Sadr is intact." But the fact is that the Maliki government did not agree to the nine-point terms for a truce that Sadr issued, nor did it sue for peace or promise that operations would cease. Instead the Iraqi government called Sadr's order for his fighters to pull off the streets a "positive step," and insisted that operations would continue. "The armed groups who refuse al Sadr's announcement and the pardon we offered will be targets, especially those in possession of heavy weapons," Maliki said, referring to the ten-day amnesty period for militias to turn in heavy and medium weapons. "Security operations in Basra will continue to stop all the terrorist and criminal activities along with the organized gangs targeting people." Subsequent to the ceasefire, the Iraqi military announced it was moving reinforcements to Basra, and the next day pushed forces into the ports of Khour al Zubair and Umm Qasr. Iraqi special operations forces and special police units have conducted several raids inside Basra since then, while an Iraqi brigade marched into the heart of a Mahdi-controlled Basra neighborhood on April 2. And two days after Sadr called for a ceasefire, the government maintained a curfew in Sadr City and other Shia neighborhoods in Baghdad. None of this would be happening had Maliki simply caved to Sadr. Maliki's governing coalition did not revolt over this operation. When the Iraqi opposition held an emergency session of parliament to oppose the Basra operations, only 54 of the 275 lawmakers attended. AFP reported, "The two main parliamentary blocs--Shiite United Iraqi Alliance and the Kurdish Alliance--were not present for the session which was attended by lawmakers from radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's bloc, the small Shiite Fadhila Party, the secular Iraqi National List and the Sunni National Dialogue Council." The fact that the major political blocs in Iraq's parliament ignored the emergency session is politically significant, and no evidence suggests that Maliki's governing coalition has been jeopardized since then. Despite this, there is no shortage of reports declaring Maliki's actions a political failure while announcing victory for Sadr and his Mahdi Army. Some of these press reports cited Sadr's own spokesmen and militia commanders to prove the point. "We did not really throw everything we have into battle. We only fought in self defense," an anonymous Mahdi Army commander told the Associated Press. "If al-Maliki has won, he would have dictated his demands. But it's we who did that." But none of the journalists bothered to ask one simple question: if Sadr was so successful, why end the fighting? If Iraq's army was being beaten and Maliki politically weakened, why not press the fight and make the government collapse? As an American military officer serving in southern Iraq told us, "Claiming a 'victory' and then withdrawing from the battlefield is the tactic of someone that is losing." WHILE THE RECENT FIGHTING AGAINST the Mahdi Army in Basra, Baghdad, and Iraq's south was not a stunning victory for the Iraqi government and military, neither was it the resounding defeat that many believe. It isn't entirely clear why the media leapt to the conclusions that it did about the Basra operations. Perhaps impatience coupled with a lack of knowledge about military affairs was the biggest factor. Perhaps, tired of six months of generally positive reporting about the surge, journalists were gleeful to announce that the situation on the ground was deteriorating. Or perhaps a negative angle was irresistible in light of General David Petraeus's upcoming congressional testimony. Whatever the reason, the press has done a major disservice to readers by misreporting the events in Basra."

4/16/2008 10:02:25 PM

Here is a good visual summary of the surge.

4/17/2008 3:31:13 PM

god damn double post

[Edited on April 18, 2008 at 12:51 PM. Reason : sdf]

4/18/2008 12:50:40 PM

Quote :

" Richard Stengel about what he believes the reporters and the news-room of Time Magazine need to do to be most effective in their jobs"

Quote :

"“I think since I’ve been back at the magazine, I have felt that one of the things that’s needed in journalism is that you have to have a point of view about things,” Stengel said. “You can’t always just say ‘on the one hand, on the other’ and you decide. People trust us to make decisions. We’re experts in what we do. So I thought, you know what, if we really feel strongly about something let's just say so.”"

This is our media, admiting that they give you their opinion.

4/18/2008 12:51:36 PM

More of the same with media outlets pointing out the failures of the mainstream.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2008/04/the_bigger_picture_with_the_ir.asp

Quote :

"The Bigger Picture in Sadr City The Iraqi government’s willingness to take on the Mahdi Army in its strongholds in Baghdad, Basra, and elsewhere in the South is perhaps the most significant news story from Iraq this year. In 2006 and 2007, analysts, pundits, military officers, and politicians said the Shia militias--particularly the Mahdi Army, pose the greatest long term threat in Iraq. Now that the Iraqi government has decided to take on the Mahdi Army, the press is fixated on distinct incidences of failure of the Iraqi security forces in their efforts to dislodge the Mahdi Army from their strongholds. In today's New York Times, Michael Gordon focuses on the desertion of a company of Iraqi soldiers from their outpost in Sadr City. The story is factually accurate. A company of about 80 Iraqi soldiers abandoned their post. They deserted while engaged with the enemy, which is a serious crime during war. This is the main focus of the article. Yes, Gordon touches on the fact that the Iraqi and U.S. military scrambled to get a unit to replace the company--and succeeded. Gordon briefly mentions the other Iraqi units on the line held. They even “fought hard.” He even recognizes the Iraqi Army is in Sadr City! But these are just one-off statements of little significance to the narrative, which summed up in a single paragraph: This episode was a blow to the American effort to push the Iraqis into the lead in the struggle to wrest control of parts of Sadr City from the Mahdi Army militia and what Americans and Iraqis say are Iranian-backed groups. The fact is the Iraqi Army is still inside Sadr City. A security zone has been carved out of 1/3 of the Mahdi Army controlled district. One company broke, the rest fought and seem to have acquitted themselves well, even if they expended plenty of ammunition (note: the Mahdi Army does the same thing). Gordon also fails to tell us what unit of the Iraqi Army this is. This is important, as some divisions are greener than others. The likelihood here is that this was one of the young brigades from the 11th Division. The 44th Brigade of the 11th Division, which is in Sadr City, went through what is called “Unit Set Fielding”--where a unit is formed and receives its equipment--in December of 2007. The 43rd Brigade went through the training in January of this year. The 11th Division was commissioned to form in November 2007. How do I know this? DJ Elliott meticulously tracks the formation of the Iraqi Army in his Iraqi Security Forces Order of Battle, which is updated monthly at The Long War Journal. Is it too much to ask the New York Times, with its near limitless resources, to do the same? The article also misses the wider implications of what is occurring with the Iraqi security forces. In 2006, Iraqi units either refused to go to Baghdad or did not have the logistical capabilities to deploy. Those that did were severely undermanned. In 2007 the logistical and manning issues were largely resolved, but Sadr City remained off limits. In 2008, just three weeks after the Iraqi security forces took on the Mahdi Army in Basra, which sparked fighting in Baghdad, the Iraqi Army is 1/3 of the way into Sadr City. That is the story you are not being told. "

4/18/2008 3:36:29 PM

http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/

Ok I dont think I need to harp on this anymore, but the results of the combat operation were particularly encouraging.

Quote :

"Friday, April 18, 2008 The Iraqi Army Can Hold, Too Earlier this week, much hay was made when an Iraqi Army company deserted its position in Sadr City. The next day, the New York Times interviewed an Iraqi Army company commander, also from Sadr City, who left his unit to take leave and speculated he may not come back. In two days, the narrative for the Iraqi Army and U.S. military incursion is set: The Iraqi Army is falling apart. Both of these stories get a feature-length report, while successes of the Iraqi Army are relegated to single paragraph throwaways. Buried in the April 16 story is the fact that an Iraqi company was rushed into Sadr City to take the place of the deserting company. In today’s New York Times, Michael Gordon writes about the wall being built to partition Sadr City. Buried in the article, we learn that the Mahdi Army assaulted a police station and the Iraqi forces were running low on ammunition. As the U.S. military prepared to reinforce the position, the Iraqi Army beat them to the punch: The militias’ main effort on Thursday was focused on dislodging Iraqi forces from a police station. American advisers took up positions with the Iraqi unit. As the fighting intensified and there were reports that militia fighters had closed to within 100 yards, Colonel Barnett moved tanks into position so they could rush to the Iraqis’ aid. Stryker vehicles also moved forward. But two Iraqi T-72s and four other Iraqi armored vehicles arrived on the scene before the American tanks were needed. The Iraqi Army has rushed ammunition to Sadr City, including machine-gun rounds and rocket-propelled grenades to give its units more firepower and address complaints of shortages. Moving armor into Sadr City while under fire is no small feat, particularly for the young Iraqi Army. The Iraqi Army outperformed their American betters on that day. Isn’t that worth a headline as well? There is certainly nothing wrong with reporting the defection of the Iraqi company on April 16, although the context of the story was seriously flawed. But when the Iraqi Army exceeds its expectations, that is news as well, and it should be treated in the same manner. "

[Edited on April 18, 2008 at 3:51 PM. Reason : fg]

4/18/2008 3:43:04 PM

I have been going over the same thought for the past week. The thought is about the significance of the timing of these operations. It is widely believed that the Mahdi army is the most dangerous long term threat to the Iraq government.

Important part = Operations to neutralize this threat, and the Mahdi army is a threat, have begun well in advance of the elections in America and any significant troop draw down. This means that these operations can be completed and they can let all the dust settle as a result. This means that there will be much less to deal with once the US begins the necessary draw downs that will happen at some point.

Anyway, back to the destruction of the Mahdi Army.

http://hotair.com/archives/2008/04/19/iraqis-forces-seize-mahdi-stronghold-in-basra/

Quote :

"Iraqis forces seize Mahdi stronghold in Basra posted at 10:30 am on April 19, 2008 by Ed Morrissey Send to a Friend | printer-friendly Despite the news media’s apparent insistence on clinging to their narrative of defeat and disaster in Basra, Nouri al-Maliki’s operation to restore control of the city to the elected government achieved its major goal today with the fall of the Mahdi militia’s stronghold in the city. An early-morning offensive against the Hayaniyah district of Basra netted dozens of arrests as the central government took control of the area for the first time: Iraqi soldiers swooped on the Basra stronghold of Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr on Saturday, saying they had seized control of his militia bastion where they suffered an embarrassing setback in late March. The dawn raid by government troops on the Hayaniya district of the southern oil city was backed by a thunderous bombardment by U.S. warplanes and British artillery. It came after more intense fighting in Baghdad between security forces and Sadr’s black-masked militiamen. Police said 12 people had been killed in the Shi’ite slum of Sadr City and hospitals said they received more than 130 wounded overnight. … “Our troops deployed in all the parts of the (Hayaniya) district and controlled it without much resistance,” Khalaf told Reuters. “Now we are working on house-to-house checking. We have made many arrests.” Maliki, himself a Shi’ite, has threatened to ban Sadr’s mass movement from political life if the cleric does not disband the Mehdi Army. In response, Sadr has threatened to formally scrap a ceasefire he imposed on his militia last August, a move that could trigger a full-scale uprising. The Mahdis claimed that the government faced no opposition and did not need to conduct a military operation to seize Hayaniyah. However, the Reuters report includes a reference to an armored vehicle with bullet marks, showing that the Iraqi Army took incoming fire. The Mahdis claim that they may end their cease-fire if the Maliki government doesn’t stop its offensive, but it looks like they may not have much juice left. They haven’t been able to slow down the Iraqi Army since the first days of the Basra operation, and the joint IA/US operation in Sadr City continues as well. Maliki has decided that the time has come to put an end to extra-legal armies in Iraq, and the evidence so far shows that he may have timed his operation well enough for success. Of course, others will likely continue to spin this as more disaster because “violence” has occurred. At some point, though, the central elected government had to displace the militias and ensure that they had an indisputable monopoly on force in the nation if they expected to remain credible and keep Iraq in one piece. They gave the Sadrists at least four years to disband on their own, and they refused to do so. Maliki’s confidence in his armed forces appears to have been justified, while the Mahdis look more like the paper tigers the IA was supposed to be."

This is the first comment made with this article. Might be to optimistic, but the first line I think hits it dead on.

Quote :

" Necessary surgery — people complain and whine, then after the surgery is complete, they forget all about the pain. Iraq is going to be a great success story — and the MSM will disappear among the other defeatists."

4/19/2008 12:45:58 PM

As they describe this.

MORE WAR PORN!!111

4/19/2008 12:56:11 PM

http://www.nypost.com/seven/04202008/postopinion/postopbooks/expert_witness_107315.htm?page=1

A good article about Michael Yon and more than enough reason to visit his site or buy his book if you want the truth.

http://michaelyon-online.com/

Quote :

"While in Baghdad he captured another iconic photo - Muslims and Christians rebuilding St John's church in the Dora district. "The most wonderful thing to see was how hard the Muslim neighbors worked to get the church reopened. Local Muslims invited me to see the reopening; they wanted Americans to know they protect Christians in their neighborhood," Yon explains. You may never have seen either of those pictures before. If so, you are not alone. "American combat soldiers don't want pity." Yon says, "They're ready to fight to the end; they just don't want it to be for naught. They have been fighting for two nations, one of which didn't seem to notice. The Iraqis noticed." "We can win this war," Yon declares. "And if we do it will be a victory of the same magnitude as the fall of the Soviet Union. It will not be a victory for the Republican Party. It will not be a victory for America and Great Britain and others 'against' Iraq. It will be a victory for freedom and justice. It will be a victory for Iraqis and for the world, and only then will it be a victory for us." "

4/21/2008 12:36:15 PM

Sadr now threatens open war if operations continue against him. It is my opinion that open war is what we have seen from Mahdi army up until this point. There may be forces left that we havent seen, but uhh, I dont see how this isnt just a last ditch effort to stop the destruction of the Mahdi Army.

http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2008/04/sadr_threatens_new_u.php

Quote :

"Sadr threatens new uprising; Iraqi and US forces press attack By Bill RoggioApril 20, 2008 7:41 PM Muqtada al Sadr. Click to view. The battle between the Mahdi Army and Iraqi and US forces intensified over the weekend. As the Iraqi Army took control of a Mahdi Army stronghold in Basrah, Muqtada al Sadr, the leader of the Mahdi Army, threatened to end the self-imposed cease-fire. Iraqi security forces have also stepped up efforts against the Mahdi Army in the center-south region of Iraq, and captured more than 40 of the Iranian-backed Special Groups, a Mahdi Army splinter group. Sadr threatened to end the cease-fire after Iraqi troops took over the Mahdi Army-dominated neighborhood of Hayaniyah in Basrah and ejected the Sadrist political party from government-owned offices in the city. He openly said he was prepared to revolt against the government. "Do you want a third uprising?” Sadr said, referring to the two Mahdi Army uprisings in Baghdad, Najaf, and the South in April and August 2006. "So I direct my last warning and speech to the Iraqi government to refrain and to take the path of peace and abandon violence against its people. If the government does not refrain and leash the militias that have penetrated it, we will announce an open war until liberation." The Iraqi government brushed off Sadr's comments and continued to maintain that the Mahdi Army must disarm while saying the Mahdi Army and the Sadrist movement was not a target. "The state can not withstand the existence of two armies," government spokesman Ali al Dabbagh said. Dabbagh also noted the government is not negotiating with the Sadrist movement. “We don’t have direct negotiations or contacts with the Sadr’s movement because we have nothing to negotiate with them but also we don’t have problems with the political factions,” he said. The US military and government responded forcefully to Sadr's threat to end the ceasefire. "If Sadr and Jaish al-Mahdi (Mahdi Army) become very aggressive, we've got enough combat power to take the fight to the enemy," Major General Rick Lynch, the commander of US forces in Karbala, Najaf, Babil, Wasit, and southern Baghdad provinces told the US media. US Secretary of State Condoleezza, who is currently visiting Iraq, taunted Sadr by implying he was hiding in Iran while ordering his fighters to oppose their government. "I know he's sitting in Iran," Rice said. "I guess its all-out war for anybody but him. I guess that's the message; his followers can go to their deaths and he's in Iran." The cease-fire is all but over The Mahdi Army cease-fire is all but dead, as the Mahdi Army has openly resisted the Iraqi government's attempts to assert control in Sadrist strongholds in Baghdad, Basrah, and the South. Sadr admitted his political movement issued orders to attack both US and Iraqi troops and has called for Iraqi soldiers and police to desert their units. Sadr's forces have continued to attack Iraqi government forces despite a cease-fire. An incident on April 19 south of Nasariyah backfired on the Mahdi Army as 40 fighters were captured, including two leaders, after attempting to ambush Iraqi forces in Suq Ash Shuyukh. The Iraqi security forces responded by sending a joint force of soldiers, police, and special police to battle the Mahdi Army force. The Mahdi Army forces "retreated to building that contained the local Sadr Trend office" after "facing a combination of armored vehicles and suppressive fire," Multinational Forces Iraq reported in a press release. Iraqi forces cleared the building and discovered a large weapons cache that included "explosively formed penetrators, Katyusha rockets, rocket propelled grenade launchers and a large quantity of additional weapons and ammunition." Iran has supplied explosively formed penetrators to the Mahdi Army and the Special Groups. A local police chief said 39 Mahdi Army fighters were captured, while 22 people, including two policemen, were killed, while another 19 police were wounded during the fighting. Multinational Forces Iraq said 40 "criminals" were captured and 12 Iraqi soldiers were wounded. US and Iraqi troops have been active in Baghdad and Sadr City as well. US soldiers killed 22 "criminals" and captured six during a series of engagements in Baghdad over the last 24 hours. On April 19, aerial weapons teams killed seven Mahdi Army fighters in Sadr City as they transported weapons and attacked US and Iraqi forces. US troops killed 20 Mahdi Army fighters today during a series of engagements in the Adhamiyah, East Rashid, and Kadamiyah districts in Baghdad. Coalition special forces captured a "suspected Iranian-trained Special Groups commander" and three lieutenants and killed three others during a targeted raid in Kadamiyah. US soldiers killed 12 Mahdi Army fighters as they planted roadside bombs and attacked US forces in Adhamiyah and East Rashid. Another five Mahdi fighters were killed and two wounded by air weapons teams late in the afternoon on Sunday. In Basrah, Iraqi troops conducted a cordon-and-search operation in the Al Kaziza region north of the city. Iraqi troops " captured a number of wanted men" and seized heavy and medium weapons during the operation. In Karbala, Iraqi troops also found a weapons factory with a large weapons cache containing "80 IEDs, 130 detonation devices and 60 kg of TNT." Karbala police also captured an eight-man cell, including the cell leader. Police "confiscated their documents that include names of politicians and religious clergies' representatives in Karbala, aiming at eliminating and assassinating them." Background on the fighting between the Mahdi Army and the Iraqi government Mahdi Army forces rose up after the Iraqi government started the assault on Basrah on March 25 to clear the city of the Mahdi Army and other Iranian-backed Shia militias. Sadr called for his forces to leave the streets on March 30 just as Iraqi Army and police reinforcements began to arrive in Basrah. Sadr later admitted he ordered his followers within the Army and police to abandon their posts and join the fighting against the government. US and Iraqi forces killed 173 Mahdi Army fighters in Baghdad alone during the six days of fighting from March 25-30. The fighting has not abated in Sadr City and other Mahdi Army-dominated neighborhoods in northern and eastern Baghdad. Sadr and his political movement have become increasingly isolated since the fighting began in Basrah, Baghdad, and the South. The Iraqi government, with the support of the political parties, said the Sadrist political movement would not be able to participate in upcoming provincial elections if it failed to disband the Mahdi Army. On April 13, the cabinet approved legislation that prevents political parties with militias from contesting provincial elections this year. The bill will now be sent to parliament for approval. Grand Ayatollah Ali al Sistani, the top Shiite cleric in Iraq, said the Mahdi Army was not above the law and should be disarmed. "

Quote :

""All must know that disbanding the Mahdi Army means the end of al-Maliki's government," Sadrist lawmaker Fawzi Akram told reporters. "

I dont see how this quote makes any sense.

4/21/2008 3:35:22 PM

This seems positive as far as reconsiliation is concerned.

http://www.alsumaria.tv/en/Iraq-News/1-16722-New-Iraq-front-holds-in-anti-Qaeda-members.html

Quote :

"Iraq News New Iraq front holds in anti-Qaeda members Saturday, April 19, 2008 09:31 GMT Head of Al Karama political front Abu Uzam Al Tamimi affirmed that members of factions fighting Al Qaeda and opposing its activities in Iraq have joined the front which was formed few days ago to participate in the political process. Al Tamimi told Al Hayat Newspaper that the new political bloc joins a number of tribal sheikhs and heads of awakening councils in Baghdad in addition to a group of technocrats and members of armed factions that have fought against Al Qaeda. He added that some members who used to operate with the Islamic Army in Iraq and Eshreen revolution brigades as well as Mujahidin army have joined Al Karama front noting that the organization will participate in upcoming elections. "

4/21/2008 3:52:25 PM

Annnnnnnnnnd +1 for us

http://www.mudvillegazette.com/archives/029980.html

Quote :

"Iraq’s Josef Alsadar said that Muqtada Alsadar has tainted our family reputation; we will deal with him internally. Alseyed Josef Alsadar a member of the honored Sadar family wrote a letter to Alrafedain news which said: ‘Muqtada Alsadar has tainted the reputation of this respected family, and the family disowns Muqtada. We are as innocent of him as the wolf is of the blood of Josef (Biblical (Old Testament I believe) and Koranic reference). The family is working on ways to discipline him with in the family. Consultation for this are held at the highest level to come up with punishments for its rogue son. These courageous and dangerous statements come, for the fist time, from a member of the Sadar family. Alseyed Josef Alsadar is considered to be a member of the family with deep faith who is rarely public. It appears he has broken his silence to show the truth before it is to late. Alrafidain has published this news after it consulted with Josef Alsadar, and expressed its concern that publishing his letter may threaten his life or safety. The news agency reminded him of the assassination of Said Riadh Alnoori some days earlier. He was assassinated after he wrote Muqtada a letter asking him to dissolve the Mehdi Army. Alseyed Josef insisted we publish his letter against all threats. "

This next quote is a different author.

Quote :

"Haider adds, A number of religious leaders and leading figures have stepped out of a long standing tradition of non confrontation of other religious leaders. This tradition is now being challenged. Muqtada was told by a number of Ayatollahs that it is against Islam to take arms against an elected government. The will of the people is to be respected and political change has to happen at the ballot box. This is very encouraging and really not a surprise. Islam teaches Muslims that it is their duty to speak out and take action to confront wrongdoings. It is time this teaching is put to practice by those who profess to be leaders of the religion. Muslim condemnations of terrorist attacks and bigotry have been heard for some time now. Suicide attacks have also been condemned by a number of Muslim leaders, now it is time to call those who entice violent political change to task. "

[Edited on April 22, 2008 at 3:57 PM. Reason : fg]

4/22/2008 3:57:09 PM

Quote :

"Then I realized how much news goes unnoticed in America so basically decided to force feed this thread so there is no way anyone can ignore this."

Seems like folks are doing exactly that.

4/22/2008 4:07:55 PM

The views would say different.

4/22/2008 4:09:13 PM

Right, because views, not the discussion, is the better metric to judge thread popularity from. There have been more comments by users telling you how hard your thread is failing and you defending than any actual discussion about anything you've posted.

But I'll leave it to be now.

4/22/2008 4:23:27 PM

I post what I find about Iraq here.

Anyone else can too.

This is where people who want to know about Iraq that cant find anything through traditional means because of the lack of reporting. They can search for it themselves and dont have to come here.

It doesnt matter that you are not interested in this thread.

4/22/2008 5:12:09 PM

Review of why Time sucks

http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2008/04/sadrists_push_negotiations_wit.asp

Quote :

"Sadrists Try and Negotiate a Halt to U.S. Offensive We keep hearing that Muqtada al Sadr has gained the upper hand after fighting “bogged down” in Baghdad and Basra. Time magazine has led the charge on this front. The April 15 article titled "Al-Sadr Tightens the Screws” epitomizes the tone of Time’s coverage in Iraq. “Sadr's Mahdi Army has effectively stopped an advance by U.S. and Iraqi forces into its strongholds in Baghdad and Basra after weeks of fighting” writes Mark Kukis. “Sadr's political power appears to be growing even as the crisis wears on.” These are difficult arguments to make considering: a) Sadr called for a cease-fire in Basra and Baghdad just as the Iraqi Army began to push reinforcements into the troubled areas. b) The Iraqi government decided to prevent political parties from participating in the upcoming provincial elections. Sadr’s spokesmen were in a near panic and admitted they were politically isolated as the continuum of Shia, Sunni, and Kurdish parties backed the measure. c) Iraqis troops have pushed through at least three of the five of the Mahdi Army strongholds in Basra. d) Iraqi and U.S. troops now occupy the southern third of Sadr City. e) Sadr has issued a series of demands, insisting that the Iraqi military pardon those who deserted during the recent fighting and halt military operations lest he call for a third uprising. The Iraqi government has not pardoned the soldiers and police, nor has it stopped military operations. f) Sadr called for a million man march in Najaf, then moved the march to Baghdad, then canceled the march. He claimed the military was interfering with his supporter’s movement but his recent marches have been less than stellar, drawing at most 10,000 supporters. The latest bit of news from Iraq shows the Sadrist political movement is desperate to end the advance in Sadr City. Voices of Iraq reported that the Sadrists has asked former Prime Minister Iyad Illawi to mediate a cease-fire with the U.S. military. “Sadrist bloc lawmakers called on [me] two days ago to mediate with U.S. troops to cease military operations and to stop the concrete walls siege imposed on Sadr city for over a month,” Illawi said at a press conference in Baghdad, referring to the barriers being put up to partition the city to allow Iraqi and U.S. forces to stabilize the neighborhoods. It will be interesting to see how this latest move by Sadr will be spun into a moment of triumph. "

4/23/2008 10:40:33 AM

More confirmation that the Iraqi Army is focused on destroying the Mahdi Army, no bs anymore. They have to get their country straight before any US pullout.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2008/04/mnfi_changes_its_tune_on_the_m.asp

Quote :

"MNF-I Changes Its Tune on the Mahdi Army Multinational Forces Iraq has dramatically changed it’s messaging concerning the Mahdi Army and attacks in Baghdad. While MNF-I continues to refer to the Shia militias as “criminals” or Special Groups in their press releases, there are no longer any calls for the Mahdi Army to obey Muqtada al Sadr’s cease-fire order.This is occurring as the Iraqi government and MNF-I are pressing the fight against the Mahdi Army in Baghdad, Basra, and elsewhere in the South. In the past, MNF-I press releases would refer to Sadr with the honorific “al-Sayyid” and appeal to the Mahdi Army to adhere to the ceasefire. Here is an example of a typical press release from late December 2007, which leaves an opening for Sadr and his Mahdi Army to end the violence: "We commend all those who honor al-Sayyid Muqtada al-Sadr’s ceasefire pledge… Significant progress has been made in the fight for a secure and stable Iraq, but dangerous criminal elements still exist." Now, MNF-I is explicitly stating the goal is to “capture or kill these criminals” while dropping any pretenses about the neutrality of the Mahdi Army. Here is an example from a press release today: ”Iranian-backed Special Groups and other criminal elements who refuse to honor the rule of law are directly responsible for the current violence in Baghdad, as well as the deaths of countless innocent civilians,” said Lt. Col. Steven Stover, a spokesman for MND-B. “We will continue to work with Iraqi civilians and Iraqi Security Forces to identify, capture or kill these criminals who are terrorizing the people of Baghdad.” A press release from April 20 actually noted that “criminal” fighters “retreated to building that contained the local Sadr Trend office” after a clash with Iraqi soldiers and special police. In the past, MNF-I would not directly link the “criminals” and “Special Groups” to Sadr’s political movement. The change is significant. Just a few weeks ago, General David Petraeus was giving Sadr an out by saying he had a place in Iraq’s political process. Last week, Admiral Michael Mullen, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Sadr could either participate in the political process or not, the choice is his. This weekend, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice openly insulted Sadr by calling him a coward for hiding in Iran while he instructed the Mahdi Army to fight U.S. and Iraqi forces. "I know he's sitting in Iran," Rice said. "I guess its all-out war for anybody but him. I guess that's the message; his followers can go to their deaths and he's in Iran." Now MNF-I drops its friendly titles for Sadr and references to the cease-fire, while killing or capturing Mahdi Army fighters on a daily basis. MNF-I is withdrawing the carrot and applying the stick."

[Edited on April 23, 2008 at 10:42 AM. Reason : fsd]

4/23/2008 10:42:42 AM

This is the break down of the Iraqi Army's formation. Involves rounding out existing divisions this year and adding more support brigades that do not exist.

http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2008/04/the_real_surge_conti.php

Quote :

"The Real Surge Continues: Iraqi Army Corps Formation By DJ ElliottApril 22, 2008 7:43 PM Iraqi Battalions. Courtesy of MNF-I. In the "Iraqi Security Forces Order of Battle: April 2008 Update," the additional elements forming in the Iraqi Army were projected as probable indicators of additional divisions. Additional information and reappraisal indicates that was incorrect. While the Iraqi Army plans to add divisions, they will not be stood up this year. Other formations have priority. The addition of the two Kurdish divisions to the Iraqi Army remains on hold while the Government of Iraq and the Kurdish Regional Government wrestle over money. "Baghdad central government also refused to pay the salaries of more than 190,000 Peshmerga fighters through the budget of the federal Ministry of Defense (MOD)." With the delays in this transfer and the time needed for retraining/equipping, these elements probably will not be operational this year. General Petraeus' Congressional Brief slides projected an Iraqi Army battalion count of 187 at the end of 2008. This 15 to 16 division equivalent count prompted a request for information to Multi-National Security Transition Command-Iraq. The number had appeared to confirm the addition of two more divisions to the Iraqi Army by the end of 2008. The response from Captain Roy provided a correction and mentioned a factor not allowed for in the April update: "There are battalions which are not aligned to any particular division such as the Engineering Infrastructure Battalion. This separate battalion is charged with the security and repair of Iraq's energy infrastructure. This organization just completed the Unit Set Fielding process on 2 APR." The Iraqi Army has several gaps in its structure, most of which were listed in the "Projected ISF Five year Plan (end-2012)". Among them is the corps level structures and subordinate units. _____Corps Independent Brigades. Normally, corps have additional field artillery, ADA [Air Defense Artillery], engineer, aviation, and other independent brigades. None of those additional components has formed. The announcement of the formation of four Iraqi Army corps over the next four years includes the formation of these corps subordinate units. One point to clarify, these are separate Iraqi Army organizations from the seven joint operations commands that have formed, but a pattern of organization can be inferred from those joint commands. First they stand up an operations center, then the security and quick reaction elements, then support and administration units, then extra units, etc. The five Regional Support Units have been converted to divisional Base Support Units, so replacement field corps support brigades will be needed. Projecting this year's elements and using the planned divisional average of 12 battalions per division, and with the 6th Division retaining the 54th Brigade (future lead brigade of 15th Division), 159 of the 187 projected combat battalions will be divisional elements. Of the remaining 28 battalions, six are forming or formed elements of the Iraqi Special Operations Force. That leaves 22 battalions, one of which is the new Engineer Infrastructure Battalion (EIB) and five are in the independent Presidential Brigade. There are 16 Iraqi Army combat battalions not accounted for. Most (if not all) of those are probably Corps' Quick Reaction Brigade components although some may be reinforcements to existing brigades. BTR-3E1 Some of the indicators of what is forming are: • 1. There are four army corps forming in addition to the joint operational commands. • 2. There are approximately 20 battalions in excess of standard organization in 2nd (4), 4th/12th (8), 6th (4-6), and 8th (3) Iraqi Army Divisions. • 3. The 37th (old 4-9) Brigade has a unique organization and may be the training and test bed for Iraqi Stryker units (wheeled armored units). • 4. The 37th Brigade has been receiving "Stryker" training. (Stryker Brigades are regularly used as Multi-National Corps-Iraq's reserve.) • 5. The 4-9 Reconnaissance Battalion, with the only 35 EE9s wheeled 90mm gun armed scout cars in the Iraqi Army, has an odd battalion designation, indicating a temporary designation. • 6. There are an additional 336 BTR3E1s in Foreign Material Sales purchases and these were chosen instead of BTR80s since "Operational lessons learned demonstrated the need for a larger caliber main gun." That is eight battalions worth of armored cavalry vehicles. Adding route clearance vehicles, EE9s, and HMMWVs, these could easily fill out five brigades. BTR-3E1s are a cavalry vehicle, armed with 30mm canon, 40mm grenade launcher, anti-tank missiles and light machine guns but, carrying only six infantry and three crew. By comparison, a BTR-80 armored personnel carrier carries nine infantry and only two crew with a heavy machine gun. • 7. The Presidential Brigade is forming and is described as a five-battalion mix of light infantry, motorized and armor. While this brigade is assigned to the Joint Baghdad Operational Command, it provides a framework for probable independent brigade organization. • 8. Major elements of the oversized 25th Brigade (nine battalions) and possibly elements of 8th Division went through "Commando Training". (The standard corps' reserve for the old Iraq Army was two BTR-60 mounted commando brigades. The 25th Brigade may be being used for training up commando elements.) • 9. The formation of the operational commands has included the detachment of better battalions as their security and quick reaction force (Joint operational commands simular in organization to army corps). • 10. The additional trucks ordered and over 300 sedans. (The sedans probably represent staff cars and the rest, headquarters and corps' sustainment brigades vehicles.) • 11. The formation of the 1st Infrastructure Engineer Battalion. (This is too small for the nationwide duties and should be looked at as the start of engineering brigades.) What these indicators add up to is the start of the formation of corps headquarters and corps-subordinate security/quick reaction force brigades. The missing aviation and air defense elements are probably planned for the 2009-2012 period. The missing artillery for the corps will form after the divisional artillery regiments start to form in 2009. Factoring in training and equipment delivery time, the corps' support brigades' personnel training and equipment will probably not be done by the end of 2009. The first priority is the divisional support elements of which eight (of 13) are established and the remainder are being built and expanded. The engineers will not be formed this year. Engineers have a long training pipeline and only the 1st Infrastructure Engineer Battalion has formed so far. The current plan is to fill out the divisional engineering components in 2009/2010. The planned Iraqi Army corps structure is estimated to be: • Corps' Headquarters (forming by end-2008) • Corps' Independent Cavalry Brigade (forming by end-2008) • Corps' Sustainment Brigade (forming 2009/10) • Corps' Artillery Brigade (forming 2010/11) • Corps' Engineer Brigade (forming 2010/2011) • Corps' Air Defense Brigade (speculation, forming 2011) • Corps' Aviation Battalion or Brigade (speculation, start forming by 2011) • Three to five divisions (already formed but, receiving own sustainment in 2008, engineers in 2009/10 and divisional artillery in 2009/10) Independent Security and Quick Reaction Force (QRF) Brigades The formation of the Presidential Brigade was a glaring hint to the start of independent brigades and their probable organization. The Presidential Brigade represents the joint Baghdad Operational Command's security and QRF element. The probable organization of its five planned battalions is: • Two motorized light infantry (or commando) battalions for security duties (probably ILAV/HMMWV equipped). • Two light armored cavalry battalions for QRF duties (probably BTR/HMMWV equipped). • One armored reconnaissance battalion for QRF duties (probably re-designated 4-9 recon battalion with EE9/HMMWV) The four army corps' QRF/security brigades will probably be equipped with three cavalry battalions with BTR/HMMWVs and one battalion of light infantry (or commando) with ILAV/HMMWV. Three light armored cavalry and one motorized commando battalion for security/QRF in each corps. The uniquely organized 37th Brigade is probably being used as a training and testing formation for the independent QRF Brigades' light armor components. When the 37th finishes training, it probably will be re-designated as an independent brigade and a new 37th Armor Brigade will be formed using the NATO donated T-72 tanks arriving later this year. "

[Edited on April 23, 2008 at 11:25 AM. Reason : kk]

4/23/2008 11:24:31 AM

Quote :

"The commando training at Kalsu by the oversized 25th Brigade is probably for the infantry components of these brigades. All of these brigades will probably be assembled from experienced and highly trained battalions. These will likely be light armored cavalry with commando trained infantry components, or the equivalent of a Stryker brigade reinforced with Rangers. New Brigades planned, forming, or estimated. Just to add to the battalion confusion, there are five round-out brigades planned or forming. The Iraqi Army is trying to standardize its divisions at four brigades, each with three battalions per brigade. The signs of the formation of new independent brigades can be missed or mistaken for these brigades (and vice-versa). With this caveat, the following is the status by division and where some divisions have battalions in excess, indicating probable new brigades assembling and training: • 1st Division does not show any signs of expansion. Currently has one brigade each augmenting Baghdad (4th) and Basrah (3rd). • 2nd Division has four more battalions than standard, including the one already detached to Ninawa Operational Command. These extra battalions probably are future components of an independent QRF Brigade. • 3rd Division has its fourth brigade (12th) in the Unit Set Fielding program at Besmaya. This will bring them to standard next month. • 4th and 12th Divisions are not splitting apart until June. Combined strength is short one brigade headquarters but, with sufficient battalions (8) for two more brigades. These extra battalions probably represent one round-out brigade for 4th Division (17th) and an independent QRF Brigade . • 5th Division received its fourth brigade (21st) from Besmaya in early March. No other signs of expansion. • 6th and 11th Division. 6th is planned to have five brigades, currently has four, and has battalions for seven at standard strength. All of those excess battalions are located in the triple strength 25th Brigade. The 25th Brigade may be involved in cadre and commando training for new brigades. The adjacent 11th is still short its fourth brigade (45th). Also, the independent Presidential Brigade is assembling. The excess battalions in the 6th Division probably represent components of the assembling 23rd/6th, 45th/11th, and Presidential Brigades. The Presidential Brigade is the joint Baghdad Operational Command's independent QRF Brigade. • 7th Division received its fourth brigade (29th) on April 3. No other signs of expansion. • 8th Division has recently finished fielding its replacement brigade for Wassit (32nd) and has formed three excess battalions in Karbala's 33rd Brigade. Those extra battalions probably are components for an independent QRF Brigade. • 9th Division is at slight over-strength and has an unusual configuration in its 37th Brigade. The 37th Brigade is probably the test, training, and cadre Brigade for wheeled armored units (Strykers). As the 37th finishes this role, it will probably become part of a new corps' independent brigade. The 37th will probably be replaced with a T72/BMP1 equipped brigade when the NATO donations of 70-120 T72s is settled later this year. • 10th Division is at standard strength and does not show any signs of expansion. • 14th Division is due to receive its newly formed fourth brigade (53rd) from Besmaya in May/June. These personnel are currently in boot camp. • Iraqi Special Operations Force (ISOF) also factors into this expansion since they have been recruiting for their expansion from graduates of the 25th Brigade's Commando Course. They then send them to the Operator Training Course. Graduates go to the 2nd Counter-Terrorism Battalion, while the others go to the forming and expanding regional commando battalions. The current rate of Iraqi Army combat brigade formation is one every five weeks, but the Unit Set Fielding Program has expanded from Besmaya to include new formations training and forming at Habbenayah (29th) and Taji (1st EIB). Part of that will be employed for finishing the expanded divisional support units. Additional Divisions The job of Quick Reaction Force has been handled primarily by the Coalition. The establishment of 9th and 1st Iraqi Army Divisions as QRF formations has started the transition, but most of those troops are already employed in Mosul, Baghdad, and Basrah which has resulted in an additional brigade being borrowed from 4th Division (14th from Tikrit). This indicates a greater need for such forces, the probable assignment of 4th Division to QRF, and the need for additional forces to cover the areas currently covered by these QRF Divisions. The establishment of a corps-level QRF Brigade components is good and necessary, but the Iraqi Army is not done adding new divisions. There are still components and indicators of additional Divisions in the future structure. • The Kurdish forces will still be incorporated into the Iraqi Security Force and they number 100,000 active. The two divisions that have been hung up in budget negotiations are only a quarter of that force. Discounting the 30,000 that are likely to end up in the Iraqi Police, there is an entire corps of Kurdish troops left to be absorbed into the ISF after those first two Kurdish divisions. This is the largest element that is being absorbed but not the only one. • South Baghdad has a division-sized task force composed of the oversized 25th Brigade (nine battalions) and the 34th Mechanized Brigade augmented with the 2-35th Armored Battalion. This area will continue to require forces and elements will be needed to cover north Baghdad with the deployments of 9th Division. • The Basrah Sector has a temporary third division, composed of the 1st Division headquarters, 1st Brigade(-), 3rd Brigade, 14th Brigade, and 36th Armored Brigade(-). This is a strategically significant area, and it would be practical to have an additional permanent division there. (It also would be practical to expand the Iraqi Marine Battalion to brigade strength.) • With the assignment of 1st Division to QRF and deployment to Basrah, Anbar needs an additional division to cover that huge area, especially when 1st is deployed. • Similarly, the 8th Division has too big an area. It covers Karbala, Babil, Wasit, Qadisayah, and Najaf provinces. It needs to split and expand to two divisions -- preferably three to establish another QRF division. The 12th Iraqi Division forms this summer. After that, the priority is independent brigades, round-out brigades for the existing 13 divisions, filling out the de facto divisional support brigades, and establishing the four corps' headquarters. In 2009, the formation of field artillery and further support will be a priority. Factoring in training and the establishment of the other missing components (e.g. artillery), the Iraqi Army will probably be adding one division per year, two in those years that Kurdish divisions are assimilated. At the end of 2007, the Iraqi Army had 125,000 personnel. At the start of this year, it was just under 200,000. Training is increasing this year to 130,000 boot camp graduates per year. The Iraqi Army is still growing and it will add additional new divisions, but not this year."

4/23/2008 11:24:52 AM

ATTN: Extremists, this is your destroyer!

Quote :

"WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Army Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, has been chosen to become chief of U.S. Central Command, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday. Gen. David Petraeus has been the commander in Iraq for more than a year. 1 of 3 Petraeus replaces Adm. William Fallon, who said last month he was resigning. Fallon said widespread, but false, reports that he was at odds with the Bush administration over Iran had made his job impossible. In addition, Gates said, Army Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, commander of the Multinational Corps-Iraq -- the No. 2 position in Iraq -- is being nominated to fill Petraeus' post. Odierno has been home from Iraq only for a couple of months, but has agreed to return, Gates said. The plan is for Petraeus to leave Iraq in late summer or early fall, Gates said, to ensure a smooth transition and plenty of time for Odierno to prepare. Central Command headquarters is at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida. Gates said Odierno is well known to troops in Iraq, to military leadership and to Iraqis, and "I believe, in most parts of the world, especially in the Middle East, personal relationships make a difference." "I believe that this arrangement will probably preserve the likelihood of continued momentum and progress," Gates said. Odierno also served as commander of the 4th Infantry Division -- the unit that captured former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. Petraeus was picked in January 2007 to replace Gen. George Casey as the chief commander in Iraq, and won Senate confirmation that same month. He previously served as head of the U.S. Army Combined Arms Center and as a commander in Iraq and was one of the main writers of an Army manual on counterinsurgency efforts. Don't Miss Petraeus challenged on Iraq Petraeus calls for halt to withdrawals He was seen as the logical choice to replace Fallon. In his new post, he will oversee U.S. forces in all the Middle East, not only Iraq and Afghanistan. "I recommended him to the president because I am absolutely confident he is the best man for the job," Gates said. In testimony to Congress earlier this month, Petraeus said Iranian agents have played a "destructive role" in Iraq by backing Shiite militants, called "special groups" by the United States. The U.S. believes Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force is behind the support for militants. "Unchecked, the special groups pose the greatest long-term threat to the viability of a democratic Iraq," Petraeus testified. Gates said Fallon's departure was unexpected -- he had intended that Fallon stay on for a third year. Senate confirmation will be required for both Petraeus and Odierno. Gates said he had spoken with Sens. Carl Levin, D-Michigan, John McCain, R-Arizona. and John Warner, R-Virginia, and "I don't really anticipate any problems." Last month, in an interview with CNN's Kyra Phillips in Baghdad, Petraeus acknowledged some "friction" between himself and Fallon in the past year, but "actually, over the last six months or so, our relationship was really very, very good." "There was friction in the beginning. He has a different job than I have," Petraeus said. "There can be understandable differences of your take, if you will, on a situation. As they say in politics and government 101, where you stand on an issue sometimes depends on where you sit in the organization, and we sit in different chairs." "

4/23/2008 1:23:24 PM

Check Mate

Quote :

"Iraq military gives top Mahdi militia leaders in Basra 24 hours to surrender The Associated PressPublished: April 22, 2008 BASRA, Iraq: The Iraqi army command in Basra is giving top leaders of the Mahdi Army in the city 24 hours to surrender. The order comes from Gen. Mohan al-Freiji, who told reporters Tuesday that Basra city and the surrounding province are back under government control. Al-Freiji says he has warrants for 81 people, including senior leaders of the Mahdi militia, and they have 24 hours to give up. The Mahdi Army is led by hard-line Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who is believed to be in Iran. "

4/23/2008 2:34:37 PM

Quote :

"Young women are daring to wear jeans, soldiers listen to pop music on their mobile phones and bands are performing at wedding parties again. All across Iraq’s second city life is improving, a month after Iraqi troops began a surprise crackdown on the black-clad gangs who were allowed to flourish under the British military. The gunmen’s reign had enforced a strict set of religious codes. Yet after three years of being terrified of kidnap, rape and murder – a fate that befell scores of other women – Nadyia Ahmed, 22, is among those enjoying a sense of normality, happy for the first time to attend her science course at Basra University. “I now have the university life that I heard of at high school before the war and always dreamt about,” she told The Times. “It was a nightmare because of these militiamen. I only attended class three days a week but now I look forward to going every day.” She also no longer has to wear a headscarf. Under the strict Islamic rules imposed by the militias, women had to cover their hair, could not wear jeans or bright clothes and were strictly forbidden from sitting next to male colleagues on pain of death. “All these men in black [who imposed the laws] just vanished from the university after this operation,” said Ms Ahmed. “Things have completely changed over the past week.” In a sign of the good mood, celebratory gunfire erupted around Basra two nights ago and text messages were pinged from one mobile phone to another after an alleged senior militia leader was arrested. Raids are continuing in a few remaining strongholds but the Iraqi commander in charge of the unprecedented operation is confident that his forces will soon achieve something that the British military could not – a city free from rogue gunmen. ... For the first time in four years local residents have been emboldened to stand up to the militants and are turning in caches of weapons. Army checkpoints have been erected across Basra and traffic police are also out in force. ... The contrast could not be more stark with the last time The Times visited Basra in December, when intimidation was rife. "

4/25/2008 11:24:26 AM

Quote :

"Yesterday: Al-Sadr may restart full-scale fight against US in Iraq Today: Hey Everybody Let's Have a Nice Cease-Fire! —Ace He seems to be doing more pleading than threatening. He doesn't seem like a guy holding a lot of high cards. He seems like the jerkoff chasing the gutshot draw who keeps whining that other bettors keep upping the ante. The threat: Muqtada al-Sadr is considering setting aside his political ambitions and restarting a full-scale fight against U.S.-led forces — a worrisome shift that may reflect Iranian influence on the young cleric and could open the way for a shadow state protected by his powerful Mahdi Army. A possible breakaway path — described to The Associated Press by Shiite lawmakers and politicians — would represent the ultimate backlash to the Iraqi government's pressure on al-Sadr to renounce and disband his Shiite militia. By snubbing the give-and-take of politics, al-Sadr would have a freer hand to carve out a kind of parallel state with its own militia and social services along the lines of Hezbollah in Lebanon, a Shiite group founded with Iran's help in the 1980s. It also would carry potentially disastrous security implications as the Pentagon trims its troops strength and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki finally shows progress on national reconciliation. The pleading: Less than one week after threatening to conduct an uprising against the Iraqi government and US forces, Muqtada al Sadr, the leader of the Mahdi Army, has called for his fighters to maintain the self-imposed cease-fire. The US and Iraqi military continue to strike at Sadr’s Mahdi Army in Baghdad. Ten “criminals” were killed in strikes in Sadr City, making 82 Mahdi fighters killed in the six days since Sadr threatened renewed violence. In a statement read during the Friday prayers at the Al Hikma mosque in Sadr City, Sadr called for his militia to halt the fighting. “You have been patiently committed to the freeze decision and magnificently obeyed your leader,” Sadr statement read, according to Voices of Iraq. “I hope you retain your patience and faith.” Sadr also said he did not threaten the Iraqi government with “open war” last weekend, but was directing his threat against Coalition forces. “The open war we threaten is meant against the occupiers,” Sadr said. “There is no war between us and our Iraqi brothers regardless of their sect or ethnicity.” After that he made another threat. Meanwhile the IA and US forces are ignoring his threats and bluster and pulping his criminal lunatic army. Correction: someone points out that today's statement doesn't contradict yesterday's as I imagined it did. I've changed the headline to avoid that error. Posted by Ace at 01:08 PM New Comments Thingy Michelle Obama's Name Scrubbed From Friends Lists of Terrorist Fundraiser Slublog Photoshop Added Below Fold! —Ace Continue reading "

If I could give Iraq a high five, I would.

4/25/2008 3:00:14 PM

Looks like they are preparing for an assault on the northern portions of Sadr City. Either that or making it look like they are going to so the reports reach Sadr as the delegation goes to discuss the disolving of the Mahdi Army with Sadr himself.

This will end soon one way or the other.

http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2008/05/us_troops_kill_28_ma_1.php

Quote :

"US troops kill 28 Mahdi fighters in Sadr City By Bill RoggioMay 1, 2008 9:38 AM The apparent respite in yesterday's fighting was illusionary as US forces killed an additional 27 Mahdi Army fighters and a senior Special Groups leader during a series of engagements in the afternoon and throughout the night in Sadr City. One of the larger clashes occurred as US force were attacked while constructing the barrier that divides the southern portion of Sadr city where US and Iraqi troops have established a foothold. The fighting began just before noon as Mahdi Army fighters attacked US troops with rocket propelled grenades and small arms fire as they were building the concrete security barrier in Sadr City. US soldiers responded and killed three Mahdi fighters. Ten minutes later, US troops killed seven Mahdi Army fighters as they attacked the soldiers with mortars and machine guns. No US casualties were reported killed in either incident. US troops killed another 17 Mahdi Army fighters in a series of engagements throughout the day as they transported weapons, set up rockets for launching, planted roadside bombs, and attacked US troops in Sadr City. Coalition Special Forces also conducted a daylight strike today inside Sadr City. A Coalition airstrike targeted a "known Iranian-sponsored senior Special Groups leader" inside Sadr City this afternoon Baghdad time. "According to our operational reports the 'Special Groups leader' ... was killed," Multinational Forces Iraq responded in an email inquiry by The Long War Journal. The Special Groups are Iranian-trained, financed, and armed elements of the Mahdi Army. The Mahdi Army has taken heavy casualties in Sadr City since the fighting broke out on March 25. According to US and Iraqi reports compiled by The Long War Journal, 463 Mahdi Army fighters have been killed in and around Sadr City. These numbers do not include Mahdi Army fighters who may have died after receiving wounds during the fighting. A buildup in Sadr City The US and Iraqi military have rapidly built up their forces in and around Sadr City over the past several weeks. Two Iraqi Army brigades and elements from an Iraqi armored brigade and an Iraqi National Police brigade, along with eight US Army battalions have been reported in military press releases to be operating inside Sadr City over the past several weeks. In early April, only two US Army battalions, and Iraqi Army brigade, and elements from an Iraqi National Police brigade were known to be operating inside Sadr City. A US Army brigade, three Iraqi National Police brigades, and an Iraqi Army brigade are also operating in the neighborhoods adjacent to Sadr City. This unprecedented buildup of forces indicates the Iraqi government and the US military are serious about advancing into Sadr City beyond the southern third of the district being hemmed in by the security barriers being erected. Units Operating inside Sadr City: US Army: • 1st Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment • 4th Battalion, 64th Armored Regiment, 4th Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division • 1st Battalion, 64th Armored Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanized) • 1st Combined Arms Battalion, 68th Armored Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division • 2nd Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade, 10th Mountain Division • 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division • 1st Battalion, 66th Armored Regiment, 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division • 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division Iraqi Army: • 42nd Brigade, 11th Iraqi Army Division • 44th Brigade, 11th Iraqi Army Division • Elements from the 35th Tank Brigade, 9th Iraqi Army Mechanized Division Iraqi Police: • Elements from the 8th Brigade, 2nd National Police Division "

[Edited on May 1, 2008 at 4:10 PM. Reason : hjk]

5/1/2008 4:10:27 PM

Enjoy

5/2/2008 10:28:11 AM

Details on the Iraqi Army current and scheduled deployments. Also goes into some speculation on how the Kurdish Peshmerga are going to be integrated into the IA.



http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2008/05/iraqi_security_force_13.php

Quote :

"Iraqi Security Forces Order of Battle: May 2008 Update By DJ ElliottMay 3, 2008 1:24 AM Iraqi and Coalition forces Order of Battle as of April 30, 2008. The May 2008 updates to the Iraqi Security Forces Order of Battle are now available at the ISF OOB homepage. The significant changes to the Order of Battle that occurred in April are summarized below. Provincial Iraqi Control (PIC) During General Petraeus' testimony on April 8, the schedule for Iraq’s provinces taking primary responsibility for their own security was listed on one of the slides. In the plan for Provincial Iraqi Control, Anbar is scheduled for June 2008, Qadisiyah for July, Babil and Wasit for November, Baghdad and Diyala for December, Ninewa and Salahaddin for January 2009, and Kirkuk (Tamin) is to be determined. The schedules for Provincial Control regularly have slid backward and should be looked at as tentative until each handover ceremony is actually held. Iraqi Ground Forces Command (IGFC) Quick Reaction Forces (QRF) The 1st Iraqi Army Division has officially joined the 9th Iraqi Army Mechanized Division as a part of the Iraqi Ground Forces Command Quick Reaction Forces. The forces currently under 1st Division in Basrah are the 1st, 3rd, 14th, and 26th Brigades from Anbar and Salahadin Provinces. Their rapid deployment to Basrah with no notice indicated a significant improvement in Iraqi Army capabilities. In August 2006, the Iraqi Army couldn't deploy three battalions to Baghdad with a month's notice. They had some difficulty deploying three brigades to Baghdad in early 2007 with plenty of notice. Now they are able to deploy an entire division to Basrah in five days with no notice. This would be difficult even for the US Army to accomplish. The forces belonging to the 1st and 9th Divisions are almost all deployed out of their garrisons which indicates they have no further reserves in the QRF available at this time. 1st Division HQ based: Habbenayah, Anbar. Deployed to: Basrah. • 1st Brigade based: Ramadi, Anbar. Deployed to: Basrah. • 2nd Brigade based: Falujah, Anbar. Deployed to: Taji, north Baghdad (probably for motorization and training). • 3rd Brigade based: Habbenayah, Anbar. Deployed to: Basrah. • 4th Brigade based: Abu Ghraib, Anbar. Deployed to: Baghdad (Rusafa). 9th Division HQ based: Taji, north Baghdad. Deployed to: Forward Operating Base Hammer, south Baghdad. • 34th Brigade based: Taji, north Baghdad. Deployed to: FOB Hammer, south Baghdad. • 35th Brigade based: Taji, north Baghdad. Deployed to: Baghdad (Sadr City). • 36th Brigade based: Taji, north Baghdad. Deployed to: Basrah (except one battalion). • 37th Brigade based: Taji, north Baghdad. Deployed to: Mosul (except one battalion). The deployment of 14th and 26th Brigades to Basrah indicates that the 4th and 7th Divisions may be added to the Quick Reaction Forces. However, this is unconfirmed. The assignment of the 4th Division would not be likely until the 12th Division finishes splitting off and assuming control of its sector. The assignment of the 7th Division would make all the Iraqi Army forces in Anbar part of the Quick Reaction Force. Iraqi Army (IA) Force Development The 29th IA Brigade graduated the Unit Set Fielding program at Habbenayah on April 3. This was the first brigade to graduate this training and equipping program from a location other than Besmaya. This graduation combined with the 1st Iraqi Army Engineer Infrastructure Battalion graduating the same program on April 2 indicates the expansion of the program and an acceleration of unit fielding. The Iraqi Army has been fielding one new brigade per month average over the last year. On April 20, it was announced that Iraq has engaged in a contract to purchase 411 Symphony counter-improvised explosive device jammers. "After numerous technical and administrative delays, fielding is now under way within the Baghdad area of operation. Along with tier one and two vehicles the system will also be distributed to a number of Iraqi forces as well," said Coen McFarland, Program Office Liaison. "These forces include the Iraqi Special Operation Forces, Ministry of Defence and Ministry of the Interior elements to include the Iraqi Army, police, national police and explosive ordinance disposal units." The system is already up and running in a few vehicles with more slated within the next month and the rest of the systems to be fully employed by summer. "To field the remaining systems this summer the fielding efforts will be transitioned from here to Taji," said McFarland. "The Taji National Depot will be our long term Symphony installation and maintenance facility after the transition." On April 28, the first operational mention of the EE9 equipped 37th Reconnaissance Battalion was noted in reporting. This battalion is apparently advised by US Special Forces. It received its 90mm gun armed armored cars in January. Issue of M4 and M16s has started at Qayyarah West. This indicates that the northern divisions are now being re-equipped with US personal arms. Previous issues have been from Habbenayah, Taji, and Besmaya. Iraqi Divisions equipped with US personal arms are the 1st, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 11th, 14th, and ISOF. Ministry of Interior The 2nd Battalion, 2nd Brigade of the Iraqi National Police graduated phase III Carabinieri training on April 21. This is the third battalion to graduate this advanced training. The other two are the Emergency Response Unit (Dec 19, 2007) and the 1st Battalion, 2nd Brigade (Feb 19, 2008). One battalion per brigade is to receive this training and then that battalion will train the rest of its brigade. Iraq's Department of Border enforcement has renumbered its 12 brigades. Like the Iraqi Army and the Iraqi National Police, they are now consecutively numbered. Speculation on future Corps and the Status of the Peshmerga Speculation In "The Real Surge Continues: Iraqi Army Corps Formation," last month's update was corrected. What follows is more speculation on the future organization and strength of the Iraqi Army. On April 17, the Iraqi Chief of Staff indicated that the two Peshmerga divisions will be under the Ministry of Defense like the other IA Divisions. This is only a quarter of the Peshmerga's size. On April 23, "The Premier announced significant progress on the future and status of the Peshmerga forces, the constitutionally mandated regional guard. Two divisions of the Peshmerga will be incorporated into the Iraqi army and stationed in the Kurdistan Region. The other Peshmerga forces will be funded by a special allocation from Baghdad and form a regional guard for the Kurdistan Region. A commission from the federal Ministry of Defence will travel to the Kurdistan Region to address the issue in the near future." This indicates that the Kurdish Regional Government has negotiated an agreement with the Government of Iraq for a de facto fifth Iraqi Corps: The Kurdish Regional Guards. "

5/3/2008 9:03:00 AM

Iraq presents proof of Iranian meddling: official

Quote :

"By Khalid al-Ansary BAGHDAD (Reuters) - An Iraqi delegation in Iran has confronted Iranian security officials with evidence that Tehran is providing support for Shi'ite militias battling Iraqi government forces, an Iraqi official said on Friday. "They presented a list of names, training camps and cells linked to Iran," Haidar al-Ibadi, a member of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's Dawa party, told Reuters. "The Iranians did not confess or admit anything. They claim they are not intervening in Iraq and they feel they are being unfairly blamed for everything going on Iraq," he said of the talks, which took place on Thursday. Ibadi said he had been in contact with the delegation. Washington has long accused Tehran of backing Shi'ite militias, particularly fiery cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's Mehdi Army, providing them with weapons, funding and training. It has displayed some of the weapons, including rockets and mortars. The Shi'ite-led Iraqi government, however, has generally been more restrained in its criticism of its Shi'ite majority neighbor, which denies the charges and says it supports the government. Maliki launched a crackdown on the Mehdi Army in the southern oil hub of Basra in late March, provoking a furious response by the militia in southern Iraq and Baghdad, including relentless volleys of Iranian-made rockets against the Green Zone government and diplomatic compound in the capital. The U.S. military said this week that "very, very significant" amounts of Iranian weaponry had been found in Basra and Baghdad during the offensive. Some of those arms were made in 2008, a senior U.S. military official said on Friday. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said there had been a "sea change" in Baghdad's view of Iranian activity in Iraq since the discovery of the weapons. "Basra changed it for the Iraqis. I'm not sure they believed it before. But they went to Basra and saw it first hand," he said. Maliki's ruling United Iraqi Alliance, a coalition of Shi'ite Islamist parties, sent the delegation to Tehran to tell Iranian officials to stop backing the militias. The delegation includes the deputy speaker of parliament, Khalid al-Attiya, Ali al-Adeeb, a lawmaker from Dawa, and Hadi al-Amari, a powerful figure in the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, one of the biggest Shi'ite parties in Iraq. IRAN'S FIRST COMMENT ON TALKS Iran's official IRNA news agency said Tehran wanted to help end fighting in its neighbor and welcomed the opportunity offered by the delegation's visit. "Iranian officials will be holding talks with the delegation with a view to helping resolve the differences and clashes in Iraq," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini was quoted late on Thursday as saying. "Tehran has generally emphasized stability and security in Iraq and the invitation to the Iraqi delegation has been for this goal, and Iran's past measures has been to bring stability and security in Iraq," he said without giving more details. Analysts say Tehran wants to keep a friendly, Shi'ite-led government in charge but wants to ensure rival Iraqi Shi'ite factions look to the Islamic Republic as a power broker. They also say Iran wants a stable Iraq, after fighting a bloody war with its neighbor in the 1980s. But at the same time Iran does not want to give its long-time foe, the United States, an easy ride lest it considers military action in its row with Tehran. Ibadi said the delegation had presented evidence showing that Mehdi Army leaders in Basra had escaped to Iran to avoid the assault by government troops. "The delegation also carried evidence of the smuggling of weapons and training of individuals in Iran to enter later into Iraq," he said. The senior U.S. military official said the delegation had taken with them photographs of the recently seized weapons with markings showing they originated in Iran, as well as testimony from detained militants who had received Iranian training. In the talks, the delegation stressed Iran should have contacts only with the Iraqi government and not with other groups, Ibadi said. "The Iranian side confirmed their support for the Iraqi government and the political process in Iraq and their readiness to ... help the government control outlaws," he said. (Additional reporting by Dean Yates in Baghdad and Edmund Blair in Tehran, writing by Ross Colvin, Editing by Sami Aboudi)"

It is quite obvious that Iran is sending men and arms into Iraq particularly for Basra before the most recent operation.

It is clear now that another goal, or at least a side effect of the Basra operation is that it has become clear to everyone of Iran's involvement.

I am particularly curious about how the Sadr City operation will end. They don't want to assault the city because of the backlash that will occur like in Fallujah 1 and 2. But the Iraqi government cannot have a semi organized militia force organized against Iraq's best interests. They must get rid of the Mahdi army, but not completely eliminate the sadr political bloc, it seems.

A problem may be that, like in Basra, the civilians living under Sadr/Mahdi army rule grew to despise them and the rampant criminal activity the organization allows to exist. So I would assume the same can be said for the civilians in Sadr city. That means, if they were to liberate Sadr city like they did in Basra, you would eliminate a threat without alienating the people.

There will be some sort of final push through Sadr city, or the complete disillusion of the Mahdi army before the IA/US forces will back off. If the disillusion somehow takes place the IA/US forces will move into Sadr city to secure it. The Mahdi forces in Sadr city who reject the disillusion will fight and die or run away.

Regardless, we need the situation to end relatively soon so we can reinforce the Mosul efforts against AQI and all the many militias in Mosul. We need more troops there to do what we did during the surge and drive them out while securing territory(So says Yon's book where he was last at before he came back to the states.). Hopefully we can get more forces to Mosul before any type of breathing room is created for AQI.

5/3/2008 11:50:52 AM

Iraqis begin to "despise" the Mahdi Army in Baghdad's Rusafa district

Quote :

"BAGHDAD, IRAQ: The nighttime walk through a difficult neighborhood in Southern Rusafa was uneventful; a careful “presence patrol” designed to show local citizens American forces and gauge public opinion. The jumbled maze of brightly-lit ramshackle shops and pitch-black back alleys was one of the less secure parts of the district. Southern Rusafa is “a neighborhood with the most potential to become violent because of the JAM (Mahdi Army) special groups networks that are known to operate in that area,” according to Lieutenant Mike Hebert, the patrol’s leader. No one challenged the platoon and the expressions of Iraqi civilians were studiously neutral. But the Mahdi Army presence was apparent in the nervous energy of shopkeepers who hesitantly spoke with the Americans, a fear that increased when directly asked about the Shia militia. Rusafa is a large district in central Baghdad bordered by the Tigris River on the southwest and Sadr City on the northeast. The district is predominantly Shia, but contains significant Sunni enclaves and a small Christian population, with a surprising number of openly practicing churches, according to Colonel Craig Collier, the commander of the 3rd Squadron, 89th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade of the 10th Mountain Division. The 450 soldiers of the 3-89 Cav are responsible for the district’s security, in conjunction with thousands of Iraqi Army, Iraqi National Police, Iraqi Police, Kurdish private contractors and Sons of Iraq (citizen militia). Rusafa contains Baghdad’s largest and most famous markets, including the Shorja, Saria and Bab al Sharji, some of which were the scenes of high profile suicide bombings during the sectarian-fueled carnage of 2006-2007. Over the past year, and especially over the past six months, the district has calmed significantly. The predominant remaining threats are Mahdi Army mortar rounds aimed at the green zone that fall short, and suicide vest bombers and car bombs that target the markets and Coalition forces. Less successful suicide attacks occur maybe once a month, while once common highly successful “spectacular attacks” have become much less frequent. The Iraqi security forces show improvement in Rusafa Soldiers in the 3-89 attribute improved security to a few main factors. As is the case with Iraqi Security Forces across the country, leadership is everything. Collier believes that changes in leadership of the Iraqi National Police and Army have improved the performance of the Iraqi Security Forces. “We have now taken over an area, and because the first of the Surge units left, it’s twice the size it was before, and I have less than half the people, and it’s still working, so far,” said Collier. “And that is in good measure because of the quality of Iraqi Security Forces. I was here two years ago and I’ve seen a noticeable improvement, and it’s really the hope that this country has, that they’re able to do things on their own. And they are -- they’re doing quite a bit on their own.” Collier said that there remains variation in operational quality among units, but notes that many are performing well. He also states that logistics remain “the biggest weak point” with the Iraqi Security Forces, but asserts gradual improvement. “The Iraqi Army battalion 3/4/1 [3rd Battalion, 4th Brigade, 1st Division] which just transitioned here from Fallujah is one of the most professional battalions I’ve seen,” said Captain John Thornburg, commander of the 3-89’s Bravo Troop, who is responsible for a Joint Security Station (JSS) in southern Rusafa. “They uphold the (operational and uniform) standard on checkpoints, they’re battle-hardened professionals, and are the future of the Iraqi Army that we’d like to see. They’re proud, professional-looking soldiers, and the people see the difference.” White Platoon of the Blackfoot Troop, 3-89 Cavalry conducts a presence patrol in a difficult neighborhood in southern Rusafa District, Baghdad. Click the image to view. Photo by Bill Ardolino. A Shia Awakening But Thornburg attributes most of the improvement in his area in southern Rusafa to the Sons of Iraq (SOI), the local neighborhood watchmen who are paid by the US. The SOI program was started 7 months ago by local leaders and the 82nd Airborne, the unit last responsible for the lower half of Rusafa, which is essentially downtown Baghdad. Local SOI leaders claim they were “the first Shia Awakening” against militias and al Qaeda. “The SOI have exceeded expectations. They’ve turned one of the most violent areas of Baghdad into one of the most quiet,” said Thornburg. “Specifically, they are looking for Mahdi Army. They know who comes into their area, they man checkpoints 24 hours a day, they do vehicle searches, they question people and they patrol. The locals trust them and they are happy with them. They’ve earned a lot of wasta (respect) from the citizens, and the results speak for themselves. It’s a real success story.” The Sons of Iraq in the al Sadria area (a collection of neighborhoods in southern Rusafa) are about 250-strong and primarily Shia. But Faris Abdul Hassan, their leader, refuses to hire individuals with sectarian allegiances. The Americans still write the SOIs’ contracts, pay them, and issue their security instructions, but the government of Iraq is attempting the process of taking control of the program. The transition is contentious and marked by a lack of trust, as exemplified by a heated meeting that took place on Friday at JSS Babalsheikh. An SOI leader from the al Fahdil area angrily yelled at a local Iraqi Police general that “the government has done nothing for my people in 5 years.” Hassan and his al Sadria Sons of Iraq also mistrust the government, specifically asserting that the Iraqi Police are still infiltrated “maybe 50 percent” by special groups. An American officer agrees that there remains some level of Mahdi Army infiltration in the Iraqi Police. The al Sadria SOIs have a more favorable opinion of the Iraqi Army, though overall distrust of the government remains an issue that will make integration with Iraqi Security Forces a difficult, delicate process. The Mahdi Army is disliked in Rusafa Above all, Hassan and his neighborhood watchmen do not like the Mahdi Army. “Originally the Jaish al Mahdi (Mahdi Army) in our area used to deceive people by using the name of the religion to do their purposes,” said Dhia, Hassan’s executive officer. “They were all corrupted. They have history in crime, robberies, murders, rapes and all kinds of bad things. They even reached the level of kidnapping people and demanding ransoms just because they have money. It didn’t matter if he is Shia or Sunni; just because he has money. They gave a bad reputation for Islam.” American officials assert that the final factor that has improved security is the citizenry’s fatigue with violence and the militias. “They’re still intimidated by [the Mahdi Army], but they’re tired of them,” said Thornburg. In the past the Mahdi Army commanded local support because of the need for security in a vacuum and intimidation tactics. But as security improved and other forces are gaining prominence, support for the Mahdi militia in Rusafa is evaporating. “Right now because of the fighting Sadr City, people have started to despise [the Mahdi Army] because of the situation they created,” said “Rammie,” an Army interpreter raised and living in Rusafa. “People have started to know the truth of [the Mahdi Army] as kidnappers, killers, car-jackers and agents of the Iranian government. But the recent fighting against the [Iraqi security forces] means they are also against the government. They are not trying to just fight the invasion forces as they claim, but they fight whoever interferes with their mafia activity.” Thus far, the fighting just north in Sadr City has not significantly spilled over into Rusafa, but it is affecting the lives of the district’s residents. Mahdi Army militiamen used to egress from the southeast border of Sadr City to fire rockets and mortars at the green zone, then duck back into the Shia slum, which served almost like a safe zone where no Iraqi or US military units would follow. "

5/3/2008 7:15:47 PM

Quote :

"Mahdi mortars and rockets fall short in Rusafa Since the government operation against the Mahdi Army in Basra, Mahdi fighters began firing mortars and rockets from Sadr City itself, a move that spurred the recent Iraqi Army and US incursion into the poor Shia enclave. A side effect of this new trajectory for indirect fire is that some rounds fall short of their target and land in southern Rusafa, killing civilians and destroying property. US personnel assert that this is angering the district’s populace against the militias, and 3-89 Cav soldiers press the issue by immediately passing out leaflets that explain where the artillery came from after an attack. Businessmen in Rusafa say that the recent deterioration in security directly impacts their business, driving up the prices they pay for goods and causing consumers to save rather than spend. “Whenever there is peace and safety, my business does well,” said a shopkeeper in southeastern Rusafa. “The prices of goods have increased because of the events (in Sadr City).” When asked what he thought of the Mahdi Army, his voice dropped precipitously and he nervously glanced around before answering: “This is their country, but everywhere you can find someone who will destroy his own country, his own house.” While opinion has shifted against the militias and is more gradually moving towards the Iraqi Security Forces, the views of Mahdi Army leader Muqtada al Sadr are varied and complex, as characterized by some individuals who despise both his Special Groups foot soldiers and their Iranian paymasters, but avoid placing blame on the cleric himself. “These guys, [the Mahdi Army], are fighting between the houses (among civilians),” said a corporal in the Iraqi Army. “They use the houses as their armor, so that’s why many innocent people are killed, because they shoot mortars between the houses and run away. Iran will pay a lot of money for ignorant people to behave crazy. They claim that they belong to Muqtada al Sadr, but they do not belong to Muqtada, they belong to Iran.” Others have developed a distaste for the radical cleric. Rammie asserts that “many educated people” know that both the Mahdi Army and Iran are affiliated with Sadr, and that his popularity is waning in Rusafa as a result. “He is in Iran, not even here fighting with his own people,” Rammie said. “Muqtada is an immature guy,” said Hassan. “He is not mature enough to lead such a militia and I don’t think he even controls or leads the Mahdi Army, he’s being directed by higher people.” Efforts to stabilize the area continue as surge units draw down and the battle in Sadr City escalates. Some American officials believe that the Iraqi government’s confrontation with the militia is giving the Iraqi Army momentum and further shifting public opinion. “We are so close to establishing a fully legitimized ISF (Iraqi Security Forces) structure,” said Captain Nathan Hubbard, the commander of the 3-83 Cav’s Alpha Troop, who is responsible for a Joint Security Station in the al Fahdil area of Rusafa. “I would say that with the successful conclusion of Bara and the continuation of (the offensive in) Sadr City – the closing off of the criminal elements down there – you’ll see a significant swing in public belief in the ISF. More (Iraqis) would buy into ISF being a legit force. Right now, the citizens are maybe 40 percent pro-government, 40 percent on the fence and some seriously anti-ISF guys on the side. The people want a force that is willing to go after any terrorists, including AQI [al Qaeda in Iraq], Mahdi Army, the PKK [the Kurdistan Workers Party]. They just like to see the government doing something.”"

5/3/2008 7:16:09 PM

GMLRS strike knocks out Special Groups command center in Sadr City

Quote :

"US and Iraqi forces continue to target the Mahdi Army as an Iraqi delegation visited Iran to confront the country over its support of Shia militias battling the government. The US military conducted a guided rocket attack on a Special Groups headquarters adjacent to a hospital in Sadr City, while 14 Mahdi Army fighters have been killed during clashes over the past 24 hours. The US army targeted and destroyed a Special Groups command and control center with Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System in Sadr City at 10 a.m. Saturday morning, Multinational Forces Iraq reported. "There were six GMLRS rocket strikes on these Special Groups criminal command and control nodes," Lieutenant Colonel Steven Stover, the chief Public Affairs Officer for Multinational Division Baghdad, told The Long War Journal while refuting claims that the US used aircraft to attack. "We conducted a precision strike, hopefully got a few leaders, and sent a very strong message." The Special Groups have been using the location near the hospital for an extended period of time and US intelligence has followed the activities at this site. "We had been tracking it for some time," Stover said. "Operations made the call to hit it. There may have been damages to the hospital - broken glass. There was likely ambulances damaged; however, it was the Special Groups criminal leadership that purposely put their command and control node there." The Special Groups are a subset of the Mahdi Army that receives backing from Iran's Qods Force, its foreign clandestine operations wing that has supported Shia terror groups in Iraq. The Mahdi Army and the Special Groups have intentionally fought amongst the civilian population and use civilians as human shields in an attempt to inflate civilian casualties and create a media backlash against Iraqi and US operations. The Rusafa health department media director claimed 28 Iraqi were wounded in the strike, and nine ambulances and 40 civilian vehicles were damaged. The Sadrist bloc ran the Health Ministry prior to withdrawing from the government in 2007, and the hospitals in Sadr City are known to be infiltrated with Mahdi Army and Sadrist bloc members. The Mahdi Army used hospitals as staging areas for sectarian attacks and weapons storage depots. Construction on the Al Qods barrier continues US and Iraqi forces killed 14 Mahdi Army fighters in Sadr city and northern and eastern Baghdad over the past 24 hours and the construction the wall continues. The US military described the barrier as a "magnet" for Mahdi Army attacks as they seek to stop the construction effort. The US military killed ten Mahdi fighters on May 2 as they attempted to stop the construction of the concrete barrier on Qods Street that is separating the southern third of Sadr City. Four more were killed in the early morning today as they planted roadside bombs and the deadly explosively formed projectile mines supplied by Iran. Iraqi government confronts Iran on arming Shia terrorists As the fighting against the Iranian-backed militias continues in Baghdad, the Iraqi government's delegation to Iran has returned after conducting talks on May 1. The delegation was sent to Iran to confront the country's involvement in recruiting, arming, and training Shia militias that have attacked the Iraqi government and security forces and Coalition forces. "[The delegation] presented a list of names, training camps and cells linked to Iran," Haidar al Ibadi, a member of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki's Dawa party, told Reuters. "The delegation also carried evidence of the smuggling of weapons and training of individuals in Iran to enter later into Iraq." The Iranians denied any involvement in Iraq, as they have in the past. "The Iranians did not confess or admit anything," Ibadi told Reuters. "They claim they are not intervening in Iraq and they feel they are being unfairly blamed for everything going on Iraq." he said of the talks, which took place on Thursday. The Iraqi government changed its view of Iran's involvement after evidence of Iranian weaponry manufactured in Iran was confiscated during operation in Basrah. "Basra changed it for the Iraqis," an anonymous US military officer told Reuters. "I'm not sure they believed it before. But they went to Basrah and saw it first hand." Iran claimed that talks with the US on Iraq's security crisis were canceled due to Iranian objections of "US savage attacks against the Iraqi people." "Under the current circumstances and given the US widespread attacks against Iraqi people in different cities, Iran does not feel these negotiations are necessary," an unnamed Iranian official told Fars, an Iranian government-supported news outlet. But the Iraqi government, led by Prime Minister Maliki, has said operations would continue against "criminals" and illegal militias. The Iraqi government has ignored the Sadrist bloc's request for a negotiated settlement to the fighting in Baghdad, Voices of Iraq reported. "The government has not responded on the initiative to start talk to end the crisis and the Sadrist bloc did not receive an official response from the government on the initiative," Salah al Ubeidi, a spokesman for the Sadrist bloc said on May 2. Maliki has said the government would end the operations once the Mahdi Army puts down its weapons and disbands. Background on the recent fighting in with the Mahdi Army Mahdi Army forces openly took up arms against the government after the Iraqi government started the assault on Basrah on March 25 to clear the city of the Mahdi Army and other Iranian-backed Shia militias. Sadr called for his forces to leave the streets on March 30 just as Iraqi Army and police reinforcements began to arrive in Basrah. Sadr later admitted he ordered his followers within the Army and police to abandon their posts and join the fighting against the government. In Baghdad alone, US and Iraqi forces killed 173 Mahdi Army fighters during the six days of fighting from March 25 up until Sadr declared a cease-fire. The fighting has not abated in Sadr City and other Mahdi Army-dominated neighborhoods in northern and eastern Baghdad. A total of 465 Mahdi Army fighters have been confirmed killed in and around Sadr City since March 25. Sadr and his political movement have become increasingly isolated since the fighting began in Basrah, Baghdad, and the South. The Iraqi government, with the support of the political parties, said the Sadrist political movement would not be able to participate in upcoming provincial elections if it failed to disband the Mahdi Army. On April 13, the cabinet approved legislation that prevents political parties with militias from contesting provincial elections this year. The bill will now be sent to parliament for approval. Grand Ayatollah Ali al Sistani, the top Shiite cleric in Iraq, said the Mahdi Army was not above the law and should be disarmed. Sadr has refused to disband the Mahdi Army. On April 20, Sadr threatened to conduct a third uprising, but later backed down from his threat, claiming it was directed only at US forces. The Maliki government has stood firm and said operations would continue until the Mahdi Army and other militias disarm and disband. The Iraqi government has sent a delegation to Iran to ask the Iranian government to halt its support for attacks inside Iraq and to stop arming and training Shia terror groups."

5/3/2008 7:16:38 PM

Good listen

http://www.am1500.com/pcast/008031001.mp3

5/4/2008 10:10:34 AM

I wonder if we will ever back an Iraqi lead invasion of Iran in 10-20 years?

Quote :

"In Iraq, a storm before the calm By Michael Yon Monday, May 5th 2008, 4:00 AM April saw 49 U.S. casualties in Iraq, the highest total in seven months. Does this mean, as some insist, that the enormous progress we have made since the start of the military surge is being lost? As one who has spent nearly two years with American soldiers and Marines and British Army troops in Iraq - having returned from my last trip a month ago - here's my short answer: no. We are taking more casualties now, just as we did in the first part of 2007, because we have taken up the next crucial challenge of this war: confronting the Shia militias. In early 2007, under the leadership of Gen. David Petraeus, we began to wage an effective counterinsurgency campaign against the reign of terror Al Qaeda in Iraq had established over much of the midsection of the country. That campaign, which moved many of our troops off of big centralized bases and out into small neighborhood outposts, carried real risks. In every one of the first eight months of 2007, we lost more soldiers than we had the previous year. Only as the campaign bore fruit - in the form of Iraqi citizens working with American soldiers on a daily basis, helping uncover terrorist hideouts together - did the casualty numbers begin to improve. Now we are helping the Iraqis deal with a much different problem: the Shia militias, the most well-known of which is "Jaysh al-Mahdi," known as JAM, largely controlled by Moqtada al-Sadr. To comprehend our strategy here, we need to understand the goals of these militias, which pundits, politicians and the press all too often gloss over. Al Qaeda's aim was to destroy Iraq in civil war. Allegedly devout Muslims, the terrorist savages were willing to rape, murder and pillage their own people just as long as they could catch America in the middle. One reason Al Qaeda in Iraq can regenerate so quickly, despite being hated by most Iraqis, is that, armed with generous funding from outside Iraq, they mostly recruit young men and boys from Iraqi street gangs, giving them money, guns and drugs. In contrast, JAM and the other Shia militias do not want to destroy Iraq; they want power in the new Iraq. They did not, for the most part, start out as criminal gangs, but as self-defense organizations protecting Shia neighborhoods from the chaos of post-invasion Iraq, including Al Qaeda. Because the militias are strong, well-organized and long had deep support among the population, and because their goal is political power, not random destruction, some have argued that we should have nothing to do with taking them on. They predict a bloody and futile campaign that would make us once again enemies of the Iraqi people rather than their defenders. These critics miss a crucial on-the-ground reality: Virtually all insurgencies, however noble their original purpose, eventually degenerate into criminal organizations, classic Mafia-like protection rackets, especially as they achieve their original goals. With Al Qaeda mostly wiped out of Baghdad, the militias that once defended Shia neighborhoods now prey on them. In Basra to the south, where al Qaeda always feared to tread, the situation is even worse. Practically speaking, that city has been ruled by an uneasy coalition of rival Shia gangs for years. The great victory of the past year and a half has been the decision of Sunni citizens to turn against Sunni outlaws. Now, neither we nor the Iraqi government can maintain our credibility with the Sunni if the Shia militias are allowed to remain outside the law. The militias, unlike Al Qaeda, are not insane; we can negotiate with them. But we and the Iraqi government can only capitalize on the shifting sentiments of the Shia neighborhoods if we first demonstrate that we and the government - not the gangs - control the streets. That means, for the next few months, expect more blood, casualties and grim images of war. This may lead to a shift in the political debate inside the United States and more calls for rapid withdrawal. But on the ground in Iraq, it's a sign of progress. Yon is an independent reporter and blogger (michaelyon-online.com). His new book is "Moment of Truth in Iraq."By Michael Yon "

5/5/2008 2:50:11 PM

First of all, this is from THE NEW YORK TIMES!!!!!!111

I dont know how this one got through the cracks. Maybe they actually realize where this is going. I strongly recommend reading the comments.

http://baghdadbureau.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/05/back-from-syria/

Quote :

"May 5, 2008, 10:40 am Back From Syria By Mohamed Hussein Mohamed Hussein is an Iraqi employee of The New York Times in Baghdad. He left Iraq on New Year’s Day in 2007 to escape the sectarian violence from Shiite militias and Sunni insurgents who were both active in his mixed neighborhood. He returned last week, after 15 months out of Iraq. The name of his neighborhood has been withheld, because he is still afraid. BAGHDAD — I came back to Baghdad last week. First, it is important to mention the main cause that made me leave everything behind and go to Syria. By the end of 2006 my neighborhood had become an unbearable place. No one could continue there. It was without any simple services, from bakery shops to the hospital and physicians. They all closed their doors and left. But the real cause is something hidden inside me that affected me more. One day while driving my car to work I saw a corpse thrown alongside the road, and for next three days no one could remove or even touch it. If you moved it you would face the same fate. So I was gazing at that corpse twice a day for the next three days. That made me think about the whole situation and I said: “It is possible there will be a day when I will be the next corpse laid on that road.” The other more important cause that made me leave was that it seemed like someone had started a campaign to assassinate everyone living in my area, no matter from which side -Sunni or Shiite - as they just needed numbers of people who had to be killed. In Syria I did not really get any rest because although my wife and children came with me, my parents stayed behind. They were alone and they are both aged people, so they did not think anyone would target them. But what could I do for them either staying in Syria with all that agony inside me, or returning back and paying with my life as the price of that compassion? After spending more than a year in Syria one day my father called me saying: “You can now return, and do not worry. Everything is fine now.” I felt happy for them and for me, but only for a moment. Later, that feeling began to become a mixture of happiness and wariness. I wanted to return, but at the same time I hesitated. I wanted to know if the situation there was as people said, or if they just exaggerated. During my travel from Syria to Baghdad I was completely relaxed. There were no worries, no fear of looters and terrorists with Al Qaeda, or Ansar al-Sunna (Protectors of the Sunni), Jaish al-Mohammed (Army of Mohammed) who used to control everything on the expressway between Syria and Baghdad. Then when we stopped to get some rest near a big restaurant called Bilaad ash-Sham I saw many Iraqi and Syrian buses filled with travelers, and many four-wheel-drive vehicles. They told me that everything was going fine and that stories that I had heard about the security situation in some Baghdad districts were right. I reached Baghdad at 6 a.m. The driver dropped me in the Mansour district. My mother was waiting for me there. Sometimes when I was calling her I could not keep back my tears. She always makes me feel like a young child, which is something I like. It covers me with kindness and warmth. She can read my thoughts and feels what’s inside me. I put my luggage inside my mother’s car and we drove to my neighborhood. While driving I was amazed to see what I had heard about: the huge difference in security, which was much better than when I left. My mother said: “Drive normally and just slow down when you are near a checkpoint.” It was a really strange feeling to see my neighborhood again. In some ways it was the same, in others different. The main road had become ugly because there are now many damaged buildings and shops, and I noticed the marks of bullets and shrapnel everywhere around. At the end of the journey when we reached the main entrance of my neighborhood my mother told me “Just slow down and say ‘Asalaam alaikum,’ (Peace be with you). Do not tell them you were in Syria.” She was afraid they would think I was a wanted man who had run away. At that moment everything I had heard before seemed not right and I became more anxious with each meter I came closer to the checkpoint. Then I turned my head to the left and I saw the biggest cement wall I have ever seen, which encircles my neighborhood. There were two Iraqi soldiers standing at the checkpoint. One of them stopped me and told me to open the trunk and engine. The other smiled, saying: “It is the day of bombed cars.” He inspected my car with an explosive detector device. The other was just looking at us and it seemed that he recognized my mother’s face because he said: “Hi, auntie.” Now I felt really safe because those people were working properly, not like the security forces in my neighborhood before who were making a secure path during the night for militia members to pass through, targeting everything there. I think that the Iraqi police and army are working in the right way because there is an American military center inside my neighborhood. But all the people I met said that if the Americans left, those militias would eat our flesh without mercy. I spent my first night without hearing any kind of shooting and mortar bombing, not like a year earlier when my daughter was asking me about all the sounds around and I was telling her, “Do not panic, baby, that is fireworks.” This morning I heard the man who sells cooking gas knocking on the cylinders shouting “gaz, gaz, gaz ” which is something that had not happened for two years in my neighborhood. This meant that all the things I heard about the improvements are true. Even the people are more friendly and I can say that there is now a kind of mutual trust between the people and the soldiers, not like before when there was no trust between each other. Now, maybe if we think deeply about it, we will find that each needs the other. People need the soldiers to secure them. At the same time the U.S. troops are now in a safe place, maybe they can have more than one Green Zone. Will it stay safe or not? I guess that all depends on the American troops, since we will not have qualified Iraqi forces soon. Although most Iraqi forces are sincere you find some have been infiltrated by groups of gunmen and sectarian people who made the mess all around us. So we still need the Americans because if they intend to leave, there will be something like a hurricane which will extract everything - people, buildings and even trees. Everything that has happened and all that safety will be past, just like a sweet dream. As people say in my neighborhood: “The Americans are now Ansar al Sunna.” Protectors of the Sunni. "

You cant get any more ground truth than this.

[Edited on May 6, 2008 at 4:29 PM. Reason : gdf]

5/6/2008 4:17:15 PM

http://covertradioshow.com/


http://media.libsyn.com/media/brettwinterble/CR5608.mp3

Quote :

"Covert Radio & The Long War Journal By Bill RoggioMay 6, 2008 4:49 PM The Long War Journal is pleased to announce a partnership with Covert Radio, which is hosted by Brett Winterble. We will produce a weekly show to explore issues surrounding the War on Terror, or what we call The Long War. This week we take an in depth look at Iraq, the influence of Iran in the region, and the latest in over the horizon strikes in Somalia."

This will keep you guys current.

5/6/2008 5:51:08 PM

AQI areas of operations.




The 10 senior-most al Qaeda in Iraq leaders killed or captured in April and May. Image from Multinational Forces Iraq.

Quote :

" US and Iraqi security forces continue to pursue al Qaeda in Iraq's networks as the terror group works to reestablish footholds in Baghdad, Mosul, and northern Diyala province. During the month of May, US and Iraqi security forces have killed or captured 50 senior members of al Qaeda in Iraq’s network over the past month, Major General Kevin Bergner, the spokesman for Multinational Forces Iraq said during an operations briefing today in Baghdad. Bergner singled out the 10 senior-most al Qaeda leaders. Of the ten senior al Qaeda leaders identified, US and Iraqi forces have captured five emirs, or leaders, one cell leaders, and five facilitators and bomb makers. The capture of these ten leaders will allow the Coalition and Iraqi forces to conduct interrogation and strike further at al Qaeda in iraq's network. Al Qaeda in Iraq's areas of influence, dated March 2008. Map from Multinational Forces Iraq. Click to view. Mosul remains an al Qaeda hotspot. Three of the leaders captured were responsible for operations in Mosul, and one was responsible for operations in Bayji. In April, US and Iraqi forces killed or captured five senior al Qaeda leaders in Mosul, where al Qaeda is attempting to reestablish its network and disrupt Iraqi and Coalition efforts to secure the city. Al Qaeda in Iraq's last major ratline into Syria spans westward from Mosul into Tal Afar and the crossing point at Sinjar. Senior Al Qaeda in Iraq operatives killed or captured in Mosul, Baghdad, Salahadin Province: Mosul: • Ibrahim Ahmad Umar Nasir al Sabawi: Al Qaeda's emir of eastern Mosul. Sabawi facilitated the movement of foreign al Qaeda operatives into Mosul and worked closely with Abu Yasir al Saudi, also know as Jar Allah, one of two Saudi al Qaeda leaders killed in a US airstrike in Mosul in February. • Ayyad Jasim Muhammad 'Ali: Al Qaeda's emir for northeastern Mosul. • Adnan Muhammad: An Al Qaeda cell leader in Mosul. • Nawaf 'Ali Muhammad Sultan: An Al Qaeda suicide car bomb cell leader in Mosul. • Husam Asim Sayid Mahmud: An al Qaeda suicide car bomb facilitator for Mosul. Baghdad: • Abbas’ ‘Abd Ahmad Hamad: An al Qaeda car bomb maker for the South Karkh network. • Riyad 'Abbas Husayn: Al Qaeda's sharia emir, or religious leader in charge of enforcing al Qaeda's Taliban-like religious rule, in South Karkh. • Sa'ad Abdullah Salih: An al Qaeda bomb maker who facilitated the movement of foreign al Qaeda operatives into Baghdad. Salahadin Province: • Yusif Dhalaf 'Abd Fayyad: Al Qaeda's security emir in Bayji. • Najah Husayn 'Ali Ismail: An Al Qaeda weapons facilitator in Tikrit."

5/7/2008 6:25:22 PM

Kewl looking engineer combat crane thing. Never seen one before.

Its about to go down once that wall is completed.

19 Mahdi Army fighters killed during Baghdad battles
By Bill RoggioMay 8, 2008 9:30 AM

Quote :

"US and Iraqi forces have reported heavy fighting during multiple engagements in Sadr City and the surrounding districts. Nineteen Mahdi Army fighters have been killed and nine were captured during clashes and raids in Baghdad. US and Iraqi troops and US air weapons teams killed 17 Mahdi Army fighters during a series of engagements in the Baghdad districts of Sadr City, New Baghdad, Adhamiyah, Kadhamiyah, and the Taji Qada northwest of Baghdad. Many of the Mahdi Army fighters were killed as they attacked barrier emplacement teams and planted roadside bombs in Sadr City on the night of May 7 and the morning of May 8. US Special Forces units killed an additional two Mahdi Army fighters as the US teams were providing security for engineers "making safety infrastructure improvements in Sadr City." The US and Iraqi military have been constructing concrete barriers around the southern third of Sadr City to cut off the Mahdi Army from the area and provide security and humanitarian assistance. The US military has described the barrier as a "magnet" for Mahdi Army attacks as they seek to stop the construction effort. A total of 539 Mahdi Army fighters have been confirmed killed in and around Sadr City since March 25, according to numbers compiled by The Long War Journal. Bagdad-neighborhoods-map-thumb.jpg Map of Baghdad neighborhoods. Click to view. US and Iraqi troops also captured nine Mahdi Army fighters during raids and operations in Baghdad. Iraqi Special Operations Forces captured seven Special Groups operatives, the Iranian-backed elements that are a subset of the Mahdi Army, during a targeted raid inside Sadr City. The Iraqi special forces teams went after a cell behind the importation and use of the deadly explosively formed penetrator roadside bombs against US forces as well as the firing of mortars and rockets into the International Zone. The Special Groups cell was also using mosques as weapons caches, prisons, and command and control centers for their operations. "Some of the reported uses of mosques by these Special Groups criminals include: as headquarters for operations, as holding facilities for their kidnapping victims, as interrogation places for captured Sons of Iraq, and as launching points for their attacks against Iraqi and Coalition forces," Multinational forces Iraq reported. US soldiers captured "a suspected criminal linked to a foiled explosively formed penetrator attack" in the Fadailliyah neighborhood in New Baghdad (number 35 on the map). Another "criminal" was captured in the Taji Qada or county) in northwestern Baghdad province. Sadr's radio station is shut down The Iraqi government ordered that the Al Ahad radio station, a news outlet for Sadr's political movement, be shut down. "An Iraqi-U.S. force stopped Al Ahad radio station's broadcast, according to a memo that carried Premier Nouri al-Maliki's signature," Abid Abu Zahra told Voices of Iraq. The fighting may intensify over the next several days. The closing down of Sadr's newspaper in the spring of 2004 partially fueled the first Mahdi Army uprising. Iraqi soldiers also warned residents to evacuate their homes in the southeastern section of Sadr City. It is unclear if the affected residents are in the neighborhoods inside the concrete barriers or outside the wall. "

5/8/2008 4:44:47 PM

http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2008/05/sadrist_bloc_buckles.php



You know, I am really glad the media never reported this war correctly. Otherwise we wouldn't have quality sites like this to fill the void.

Quote :

"Sadrist bloc buckles, agrees to let Iraqi Army in Sadr City By Bill RoggioMay 10, 2008 10:54 AM After over six weeks of heavy fighting in and around the Mahdi Army stronghold Sadr City, where Mahdi Army forces took lopsided casualties in the fighting, the government and the Sadrist political bloc has signed an agreement to end the fighting. The agreement will allow for the Iraqi military to operate freely inside Sadr City while the Mahdi Army must halt its fighting. The negotiations, which took place over the course of the last several days, culminated in the signing of a 14-point agreement. Both Iraqi government spokesman Ali al Dabbagh and Sadrist spokesman Sheikh Salih al Ubaydi confirmed an agreement was reached. The full details of the agreement are not public. According to several press reports, the Mahdi Army has made major concessions to the Iraqi government, including allowing the Army to enter Sadr City. There is no agreement for the Mahdi Army to fully disarm, as Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki has insisted since the conflict began on March 25. The major points of the agreement, based on press reports, are as follows: • The Iraqi government and the Mahdi Army would observe a four-day cease-fire. • At the end of the cease-fire, Iraqi forces would be allowed to enter Sadr City and conduct arrests if warrants have been issued, or if the Mahdi Army is in possession of medium or heavy weapons (RPGs, rockets, mortars). • The Mahdi Army and the Sadrist bloc must recognize the Iraqi government has control over the security situation and has the authority to move security forces to impose the law. • The Mahdi Army would end all attacks, including mortar and rockets strikes against the International Zone. • The Mahdi Army must clear Sadr City of roadside bombs. • The Mahdi Army must close all "illegal courthouses." • The Iraqi government would reopen the entrances to Sadr City. • The Iraqi government would provide humanitarian aid to the residents of Sadr City. The Sadrist said the US military would not be allowed to operate inside Sadr City; however there is no confirmation of this from the Iraqi government or the US military. "The Iraqi forces, not the American forces, can come into Sadr City and search for weapons," Baha al Araji, a Sadrist legislator said. "We don't have big weapons, and we want this to stop." The Iraqi government insists that internal pressure forced the Sadrist movement to the negotiating table. "It is not the government who pressured the Sadrists into entering this agreement," said Ali al Adeeb, a leading member of the Dawa party. "It is the pressure from the people inside Sadr City and from their own people that will make them act more responsibly." There is no word on the status of the concrete barrier that is being built that will partition the southern third of Sadr City from the northern neighborhood. In an inquiry to Multinational Division Baghdad, the US command that is working with the Iraqi military to build the barrier in Sadr City, does not expect the construction will stop as the Mahdi Army has not obeyed Sadr's past calls to cease the fighting. "Seeing as how the Special Groups never listened to [Sadr] to begin with, I don't see how things will change," Lieutenant Colonel Steven Stover, the chief Public Affairs Officer for Multinational Division Baghdad, told The Long War Journal. Multinational Division Baghdad is continuing with the building of the Sadr City barrier. "We're not stopping," Stiver said. "The barrier emplacement is ongoing and about 80 percent complete." The Mahdi Army has taken heavy casualties in Sadr City and the surrounding neighborhoods since the fighting began on March 25. A total of 562 Mahdi Army fighters have been confirmed killed in and around Sadr City since March 25, according to numbers compiled by The Long War Journal. Multinational Division Baghdad recently began to announce that US Special Operations Forces are openly operating on the ground in support of the building of the barrier. The Iraqi government has also pressured the Mahdi Army in Basrah, where 70 percent of the city is now reported as cleared, and the wider South. Background on the recent fighting in with the Mahdi Army Mahdi Army forces openly took up arms against the government after the Iraqi government started the assault on Basrah on March 25 to clear the city of the Mahdi Army and other Iranian-backed Shia militias. Sadr called for his forces to leave the streets on March 30 just as Iraqi Army and police reinforcements began to arrive in Basrah. Sadr later admitted he ordered his followers within the Army and police to abandon their posts and join the fighting against the government. In Baghdad alone, US and Iraqi forces killed 173 Mahdi Army fighters during the six days of fighting from March 25 up until Sadr declared a cease-fire. The fighting has not abated in Sadr City and other Mahdi Army-dominated neighborhoods in northern and eastern Baghdad. A total of 520 Mahdi Army fighters have been confirmed killed in and around Sadr City since March 25. Sadr and his political movement have become increasingly isolated since the fighting began in Basrah, Baghdad, and the South. The Iraqi government, with the support of the political parties, said the Sadrist political movement would not be able to participate in upcoming provincial elections if it failed to disband the Mahdi Army. On April 13, the cabinet approved legislation that prevents political parties with militias from contesting provincial elections this year. The bill will now be sent to parliament for approval. Grand Ayatollah Ali al Sistani, the top Shiite cleric in Iraq, said the Mahdi Army was not above the law and should be disarmed. Sadr has refused to disband the Mahdi Army. On April 20, Sadr threatened to conduct a third uprising, but later backed down from his threat, claiming it was directed only at US forces. The Maliki government has stood firm and said operations would continue until the Mahdi Army and other militias disarm and disband. On May 1, the Iraqi government sent a delegation to confront Iran on its involvement with the insurgency, but Sadr, who is currently in Iran, refused to meet with the Iraqi government representatives. "

5/10/2008 12:29:44 PM

Map of the disposition of Iraqi and US forces in and around Sadr City, and the progress on the barrier. The red portion has yet to be completed. Map courtesy of Multinational Forces Iraq.



Graphs depicting the indirect fire attacks in Baghdad over the past two months.

Quote :

"Operations continue in Sadr City By Bill RoggioMay 11, 2008 10:55 AM US and Iraqi forces continue to strike at the Mahdi Army in Baghdad despite the agreement reached between the Iraqi government and the Mahdi Army late Friday. Seventeen Mahdi Army fighters were killed in northeastern Baghdad over the past 24 hours. Nine of the Mahdi Army fighters killed were killed in Sadr City: four Mahdi fighters were killed by an air weapons team as they planted an explosively formed penetrator roadside bomb; three were killed as they attacked the barrier emplacement teams along Qods Street; and two were killed as they fired rockets. Five more Mahdi Army fighters were killed by air weapons teams in New Baghdad as they grouped for an attack, and three more were killed as they conducted attacks in Adhamiyah. The cease-fire signed yesterday between the Sadrist movement, which runs the Mahdi Army, and the government of Iraq will not hinder the building of the concrete barrier or operations against the Mahdi Army, US military officials have stated. Multinational Forces Iraq indicated "Seeing as how the Special Groups never listened to [Sadr] to begin with, I don't see how things will change," Lieutenant Colonel Steven Stover, the chief Public Affairs Officer for Multinational Division Baghdad, told The Long War Journal on May 10. "We're not stopping [construction on the barrier]," Stover said. "The barrier emplacement is ongoing and about 80 percent complete." Brigadier General James Milano, the Deputy Commanding General for Multinational Division Baghdad, confirmed the barrier is 80 percent complete and gave no indication he construction would be halted. During a briefing in Baghdad, Milano showed a map detailing the barrier. The northwestern portion of the wall running along Qods Street, which divides the bottom third of Sadr City for the northern neighborhood, is all that remains. Estimates indicate it will take two weeks to complete this segment. US Army air assets have relentlessly pursued the Mahdi Army in and around Sadr City. "To date, 57 rocket rails and mortars have been destroyed and 150 Special Groups Criminals killed," Milano said. The Mahdi Army has taken heavy casualties in Sadr City and the surrounding neighborhoods since the fighting began on March 25. A total of 562 Mahdi Army fighters have been confirmed killed in and around Sadr City since March 25, according to numbers compiled by The Long War Journal. More than one-quarter of the Mahdi Army fighters killed have been killed via the air. The Mahdi Army has fired over 1,000 rockets and mortars into Baghdad, causing 269 casualties. "The majority of these attacks have come from Sadr City," Milano said. The Mahdi Army is also using the deadly explosively formed penetrator, or EFP, roadside bombs to target US forces. Most of the roadside bomb attacks are EFPs, which are "the number one killer of our soldiers," Milano said. Iran has supplied EFPs to the Mahdi Army and the Special Groups, which are a subset of the Mahdi Army."

5/11/2008 8:01:23 PM

The end is near for AQI in northern Iraq. Primarily Mosul.

Quote :

"92 targets achieved during operations' first day – Ninewa operations commander Ninewa - Voices of Iraq Monday , 12 /05 /2008 Time 4:26:09 Ninewa, May 10, (VOI) – Iraqi forces conducted military operations against 92 targets in different locations throughout Mosul city, said the Ninewa operations commander. He explained that the security operation to track down al-Qaeda fighters in the province was officially announced on Saturday, but it was practically started before that. "We reached 92 targets in different places in Mosul, 60 of them wanted by security forces, with the cooperation of the city's residents," Lieutenant General Riad Jalal Tawfiq said in a press conference on Saturday afternoon, at Ninewa operations command headquarter. "The military operation to track down al-Qaeda fighters in Ninewa province was started a while ago, but we announced its commencement on Saturday at 6 a.m.," he added. Earlier on Saturday, Ninewa security operations commander said that the military operation to track down gunmen of al-Qaeda network in the province of Ninewa has started after "huge" military reinforcements arrived from the Iraqi capital Baghdad. "The operation, codenamed Za'eer al-Assad Fi Saulat al-Haq (Lion's Roar in Rightful Assault), is focused on hunting down the al-Qaeda remnants in Ninewa as well as misled terrorist groups and outlaws," Tawfiq said in a statement he read out to reporters at the Ninewa Operations Command headquarters on Saturday. He, in the statement, called on "professors, intellectuals, tribal chieftains, and notables and clerics, who represent a second line for the security forces, to back and help us liberate the province." He also appealed to the members of the "former Iraqi army to join hands with security forces to hunt down the gunmen of al-Qaeda Organization in Iraq." Tawfiq had told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq – (VOI) on Friday that his command has announced an indefinite curfew all over Ninewa as of 9:00 p.m." A source in Mosul city police had said on Friday that senior military officials have arrived in the city from Baghdad leading massive forces to take part in the military operation planned in Mosul to track down members of al-Qaeda. "The officials were the undersecretaries and general directors of the interior. Also, other field commanders and military divisions are reportedly expected in the city on Saturday," the source said. In late January 2008, two powerful bombings occurred on al-Pepsi street in Zanjili area, western Mosul, leaving more than 205 people killed or wounded, prompting Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to move security forces to Ninewa and form a "crisis cell" to run a "decisive battle against terrorist groups" in the province. Mosul, the capital of Ninewa, lies 405 km north of Baghdad. MH/SR "

5/12/2008 9:55:58 AM

Now, I am just gonna quote the entire thing because he sums it up pretty well.

http://www.ace.mu.nu/

Quote :

"Time Magazine Declares Sadr Capitualition as "Win[ning] Another Round" —Ace jI had oked that the media would portray Sadr's latest defeat as a victory . I have to tell you I didn't really believe that. I was being hyperbolic. There was no way they could spin a near-complete surrender as a victory. I was wrong. Al-Sadr Wins Another Round By MARK KUKIS/BAGHDAD Sun May 11, 10:35 AM ET For the first time in weeks Sadr City saw no fighting Sunday, day one of yet another hastily brokered cease-fire between U.S.-backed Iraqi forces and the Shi'ite Mahdi Army militia. Word of the pact emerged Saturday night, when an aide to Mahdi Army leader Muqtada al-Sadr said a deal had been reached to end roughly two months of street fighting in eastern Baghdad. Soon afterward, U.S. and Iraqi officials endorsed the agreement, which came as Iraqi forces working with U.S. troops were signaling plans for a new push to break from areas where they had remained stuck for weeks. Details of the cease-fire remain largely unclear beyond an immediate end to the battles that have displaced thousands of residents from the Mahdi Army stronghold of Sadr City, a vast slum home to more than 2 million people. In announcing the deal, al-Sadr aide Sheik Salah al-Obeidi said the agreement, "stipulates that the Mahdi Army will stop fighting in Sadr City and will stop displaying arms in public. In return, the government will stop random raids against al-Sadr followers and open all closed roads that lead to Sadr City." Al-Obeidi, who issued a statement from the southern Iraqi city of Najaf, added: "This document does not call for disbanding al-Mahdi Army or laying down their arms." The fact that a leading figure in al-Sadr's ranks announced the deal and pointedly rejected the Iraqi government's key demand to disarm suggests that the cleric is still controlling the agenda tactically and politically... Actually, it suggests nothing of the sort. It suggest the opposite, in fact. It suggests that a group which just capitulated to Iraqi security forces patroling Sadr city for the first time ever is trying to spin the surrender as a victory. Who would fall for such a ruse? Time Magazine, naturally. Furthermore, Time Magazine takes Sadrist propagandists' explanation of the details of the agreement as presumptively true. Based on these two thin reeds -- Sadr actually said something about the deal, Sadr and his minions claim the deal says x -- Time Magazine feels it has enough information to declare victory on behalf of al Sadr. The NYT, meanwhile, actually admits success in Basra, on page one. Thanks to CJ, Via LGF. "

http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20080511/wl_time/alsadrwinsanotherround

Quote :

" Three hundred miles south of Baghdad, the oil-saturated city of Basra has been transformed by its own surge, now seven weeks old. In a rare success, forces loyal to Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki have largely quieted the city, to the initial surprise and growing delight of many inhabitants who only a month ago shuddered under deadly clashes between Iraqi troops and Shiite militias. Just as in Baghdad, Iraqi and Western officials emphasize that the gains here are “fragile,” like the newly planted roadside saplings that fail to conceal mounds of garbage and pools of foul-smelling water in the historic port city’s slums. Among the many uncertainties are whether the government, criticized for incompetence at the start of the operation, can maintain the high level of troops here. But in interviews across Basra, residents overwhelmingly reported a substantial improvement in their everyday lives."

5/12/2008 1:30:20 PM

American army >>>>>> all others.

Quote :

"US troops to help 'deluded' British in southern Iraq By Damien McElroy, Foreign Affairs Correspondent Last Updated: 2:32AM BST 13/05/2008 American troops will be deployed to southern Iraq this summer with orders to adopt a more robust approach than the "self-delusional" British. A senior US officer has told the Telegraph that Iraqi troops had not been ready to assume responsibility for Basra when British forces withdrew late last year. He also said that US commanders in Iraq believe the Shia south is ready to copy the developments that transformed the western province of Anbar from being the main hotbed of insurgency into one of Iraq's most peaceful regions. To foster this change, US troops are moving south for the first time since the 2003 war. "There's going to be a whole new approach when we send troops down there," said the US officer. Article continuesadvertisement "We won't take the self-delusional route of convincing ourselves that the Iraqis are ready to fight but then standing back while they fall apart. "They're not ready and we have to be more proactive. There's too much at stake." Britain has been in charge of four provinces in southern Iraq since Saddam Hussein's downfall. While the divisional command will continue to operate under British leadership at Basra airbase, the orders of the US units will be to "get out front" and resume patrols and combat missions. US hopes of making the whole of Iraq secure before its eventual withdrawal have been raised by what commanders see as a potential southern version of the Sahwa, or tribal awakening, which turned locals against al-Qa'eda. Troops have been shifted from Anbar province to the Tallil airbase, Nasiriya, to assume responsibility from 550 Australian troops pulling out of the country. According to the US assessment, the Australians followed the mistakes of the British by pulling back to "overwatch" local forces but then neglecting the security challenges in the area. The US officer said its allies had adopted a "University of Arizona" attitude - American slang for being rigid and unimaginative. "There's dirty work to be done and we've got to go forward to it," he said. "

5/13/2008 8:28:20 AM

Thanks for posting all of this--it's very interesting. And, of course, it's no surprise to me that the MSM isn't reporting a lot of this. But many here won't believe any of it no matter what--it just doesn't fit their narrative.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tw8ES7E2-D4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0U1nc-xnGM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZASD4KDfgY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5ibVEQvxrQ&feature=related

And the "Out of Iraq Caucus" keeps trying to cut war funding--to no avail.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0kEW1YH-Gk

5/13/2008 9:20:38 AM