May 13 2007

More Troops To Diyala

Published by at 3:58 pm under All General Discussions,Diyala,Iraq

Progress is coming fast and furious in Iraq as the end game seems to be coming upon us. Al Qaeda is now backed into a corner in Diyala Province, having been rejected int the Sunni province of Anbar. The fact Anbar has rejected al Qaeda means it is now left with the unstable position of making the Sunni-Shia mixed province of Diyala home. But if al Qaeda cannot keep a Sunni community in line, a mixed province is probably out of hits grasp (as this military blogger points out).

There is a reason neither Al Qaeda or the Iranian Shiite Insurgents have no traction in Kurdistan. There is no sympathetic and compliant host body. There is a reason Al Qaeda has no traction in the southern/eastern Shiite areas of Iraq. There is no compliant, sympathetic (which is to say, Sunni) host body. There is only one place left with enough of a sympathetic, compliant host body for Al Qaeda to keep itself alive in. This is the mixed Sunni/Shiite Triangle of Death.

The US General overseeing operations in that area of Irag has been requesting (and receiving) new troops to apply the required force to bring that province under control. And now the Iraqis are following suit. It seems like Diyala will be teaming with US and Iraq forces in very short order. The battle for Iraq may be at hand very soon.

But as important is the new relationship being forged at the national level between the Shia PM and the Sunni VP. A week ago the news was all about the collapse of Maliki’s government. Our VP Cheney spends some quality time there and now there are all sorts of news about new coordination and new roles. Harry Reid must be just killing himself for every labeling the Dems as the loser party….

5 responses so far

5 Responses to “More Troops To Diyala”

  1. lurker9876 says:
    May 13, 2007 at 5:24 pm

    Yeah! Glad to see new posts. Was anxiously waiting to read new posts here in the last few days!

  2. Soothsayer says:
    May 15, 2007 at 9:03 am

    Nothing gets older than the tired accusations that members of the reality based community are rooting against our troops. It is insulting, demeaning and ultimately irresponsible. Irresponsible because as long as the discourse is filled with Surrendercrat accusations, the situation on the ground for our troops does not get addressed.

    This post by AJ is a perfect example; Progress is coming fast and furious based on the opinions of self-appointed expert Pat Dollard. Meanwhile – Major Gen. Benjamin Mixon, the commander of US forces in northern Iraq, admitting

    he does not have enough soldiers to contain the escalating violence in Diyala province, which neighbours Baghdad and has become the focus of the heaviest fighting between largely Sunni insurgent groups and the US army, which has seen casualties increase by 300 per cent. Sixty-one US soldiers have been killed in Diyala this year, compared with 20 in all of last year.

    Mixon has not made a secret of his frustration at the declining situation in Diyala and has already reinforced the area around Baqouba – the centre of the heaviest fighting – with additional troops.

    Ironically, the violence in Diyala has been exacerbated by an influx of both Shia and Sunni fighters displaced from Baghdad by the surge and also from Anbar province who have relocated to Diyala to join a series of jihadi and nationalist groups already based there.

    Mixon, who was speaking in Tikrit, said: ‘I’m going to need additional forces, to get that situation to a more acceptable level, so the Iraqi security forces will be able in the future to handle that.’ He was also highly critical of Iraqi government in Baghdad, charging that it was riddled with corruption.

    Who shall I believe – an admitted Hollywood pimp – or the commander in the field? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

  3. scaulen says:
    May 15, 2007 at 11:40 am

    What is there to believe, the General wants more troops and is complaining that there is a corrupt government in place in the triangle of death. The terrorists are being squeezed into a corner, and I’m sure the influx of targets is making him wish he had more rifles. He asked for more troops, and he is getting more troops. And he is complaining about corruption in government? If you change his rank to that of a police chief he sounds almost like the head of the Boston PD. It’s just amusing that the Iraqi’s have learned political corruption so quickly, and for a Democrat to complain about political corruption in another country is the pot calling the kettle black.

    And why are you so bitter when a liberal sees the light and becomes a conservative? What if he were a conservative turned liberal who was writing against the war? You cherry pick when it suits you, you are a disgrace, and you are an example of why the war on terror is going to drag on and cause more deaths then it should.

  4. Soothsayer says:
    May 15, 2007 at 2:06 pm

    Yeah – the general wants more troops. But Bush won’t send more troops. He won’t send enough troops to make a meaningful surge (50,000-100,000) because he’s afraid to. So he’s willing to leave our troops – improperly equipped and armored – as targets in the world’s most expensive terrorist training ground and shooting gallery – and we – the TAXPAYERS – are paying for the training al-Qaeda and the Sunni and Shia militia are getting – with our troops as targets.

    Brilliant.

    Bush says he listens to the generals. This one wants more troops.

    And for the idiotic statement of the day:

    It’s just amusing that the Iraqi’s have learned political corruption so quickly

    For cryin’ out loud, fool, the Iraqis have been corrupt since the 2nd millenia B.C. You don’t think the Hanging Gardens were built with graft, corruption and bribed inspectors???

  5. For Enforcement says:
    May 18, 2007 at 9:09 pm

    You don’t think the Hanging Gardens were built with graft, corruption and bribed inspectors???

    No. what is your evidence supporting your accusation?
    .