Jun 01 2006
Zarqawi May Be US Target
While this is pure speculation, the more and more I read about what is going on in Ramadi and Zarqawi losing his top aides (here, here and here) the more I think we have the man surrounded. And the military seems to be hinting this might be the case as well:
Al Qaeda militants have gained ground in Ramadi and the 1,500 extra U.S. troops brought to Iraq to help fight them will be used to try to break their grip on the town, the U.S. military said on Thursday.
“We are very concerned about Ramadi. The situation in Ramadi is very serious,” chief U.S. military spokesman Major General William Caldwell told a news conference.
The U.S. military has not suggested publicly that a big offensive is expected in Ramadi, 110 km (70 miles) west of Baghdad. But U.S. military officials appear to be focusing more on the town, capital of Anbar province, the insurgent heartland in western Iraq.
Two extra battalions have moved to Iraq from Kuwait to step up the fight against al Qaeda militants and insurgents in Anbar.
Some seem to even know where Zarqawi might be hold up:
But Anbar remains the area most vulnerable to insurgent forces. Ramadi residents say they have noticed increased U.S. and Iraqi checkpoint and patrol activity in the city.
Al Qaeda-allied militants, led among others by Jordanian Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and nationalists loyal to Saddam Hussein’s banned Baath party have found refuge in the desert wastes of Anbar since the U.S. invasion three years ago.
It could be just part of a sweep, but it also could be some of those aides of Zarqawi’s are making some deals.
I have to admit I wondered the same thing. After all the other guys got picked up and started talking and then the US decided to bring in back up to that region, I wondered if the coalition thought Zarqawi was there.
Even if he isn’t physically there, “turning” Ramadi would be a severe blow in the hearts and minds of the insurgents.
Right now a “big get ” would be wonderful for our military. Although I am sure somehow it would be portrayed as just another Bush failure.
Crosspatch, do you think “turning” Ramadi would be a severe blow to the hearts and minds of our MSM here at home? Those of us who search for the truth and recognize the successes will see it as another turn toward democracy while the others scream of its’ failure.
I guess more “letters to the editor” will be in order..not that they ever pay attention.
That is a more complex question than it appears to be on the surface. If things start going well in Iraq, the MSM will simply go silent on it. They won’t report good news but will be ready with criticism for any setbacks even after things start to go well. In other words, you are going to hear nothing but bad news, only less of it.
Iraq is just another issue in a long laundry list of issues that those who share a particular world view use to influence the perceptions of the polled public. The thing is that right now they have a lot to talk about around the Iraq issue but that can change and as I said, when it does they will simply go silent.
Drudge has the Siren going.
A defense attorney says military prosecutors plan to charge seven Marines and a sailor with murder and other charges in the death of an Iraqi civilian in April.
Why would the defense know what the prosecutors are going to do at this early stage, last I heard the investigations were still on going.
Also, it says nothing about a “Military” defense attorney so this just may be hype or it may be something.
I read and wondered if maybe someone has an axe to grind on the Haditha issue.
Seems one of the early sources on the story was someone that had been in US detention before. I also found a comment in this Fox News article interesting:
Drat, messed up a link. That first link is here.
Drudge now has a link to the story
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/06/01/D8HVNSE00.html
Sorry Folks Drudge’s post was Misleading. It appears this has nothing to do with Haditha.
The Iraqi man was killed west of Baghdad on April 26. His death was unrelated to the shootings of as many as two dozen civilians in the western Iraqi city of Haditha. The Pentagon is investigating troops from the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment in that case.
Haditha was the place where 20 Marines were killed last August. 14 in a very big road side bomb and 6 in an ambush. This was a bad place, a lot of like Ramadi and it may well be that the Marines had some prior knowledge of someone here.
That does not justify any criminal acts, but it might give an indication as to why they were ready to blow.
As for the other thing from Drudge, this was a case I heard about before. There have been a few of them but now all of a sudden we are getting the siren treatment.
139,000 troops, the odds are someone will do something they should not.
Let us remember the addage about innocent until proven guilty.
Crosspatch:
Thanks for the reply and I agree our media here has been consistently silent on any good news pertaining to Iraq or Afghanistan and for that matter anything that would bolster this administration and its’ policies.
Having been the child of a soldier who fought in both Korea and Vietnam I would hope the media could grasp how they hurt not only the soldiers through all of their negativity but also their families.
This is why I am so delighted that for those who wish to put some realism and civility to discussion we now have individuals who give much of their time to help us seek the truth.
Enjoy your insight Crosspatch both here and at other blogs which I frequent.
Oh, how I love flattery!
Thanks for your kind words.
AJ: Mac has a new piece up on Haditha situation you might want to check out if you haven’t already..interesting read.
Zarqawi to be caught?…
Can final victory in the war on terror be far off?
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More over at Sweetness & Light too. Seems the doctor the claimed the victims were all shot had an axe to grind too. This is starting to come apart a little at the seams for the side claiming this was a massacre if it turns out the doctor and the journalist were lying. Both apparently have reason to do so and were outspoken anti-US before the incidents.
New material here.
Jed Babin at Real Clear Politics sums Haditha best
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2006/06/the_haditha_story.html
First, the left will use every tool at their disposal to ensure that the Haditha incident becomes synonymous with the entire Iraq war. Abu Ghraib proved a propaganda bonanza for the terrorists and nations such as Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia that want us to withdraw from Iraq in defeat. Haditha – regardless of what the facts may turn out to be – will be used ceaselessly and purposefully to eliminate American support for the Iraq war and to demonize anyone who still supports it. Haditha will become the Orwellian centerpiece of the Democrats’ claim that they support the troops. “They’ve been there too long,” Murtha and his ilk will cry. “We have to bring them home before they kill more babies.” And then the Dems, feigning concern for our soldiers, will offer them psychological counseling when they return. The political fallout will be enormous, and it will damage both the ongoing war efforts and our troops’ morale.
What bothers me is that apparently the doctor that signed the death certs that says the people were shot was a fairly vocal anti-war activist before the events in question. While that doesn’t in and of itself invalidate the information, it would make me want to have a much closer look if I were going to trial. It also turns out the the “journalist” that brought the information that caused the investigation in the first place had been detained at least once before for suspicion of creating insurgent propaganda. That also doesn’t invalidate the information in and of itself. Those two items together raise questions in my mind and would cause me to proceed with caution.
First Cup 06.02.06…
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