May 11 2007
Iraq Update
Seems to be a big day in Iraq (unless you are al Qaeda, then it is probably not such a great day). In Ramadi we are seeing the core example of what might be the end result in Iraq. The Surge and Clear and Hold strategies now being implemented are in large part modeled after what has been a huge success in Anbar and Ramadi. A year ago this region was al Qaeda’s stronghold and Ramadi was the claimed Capitol City of al Qaeda’s modern Caliphate. Today it is becoming an integral part of the modern Democratic Iraq and its people allies to our cause:
“Six months ago some people said that al Anbar was lost, but today, due to the patience, perseverance and commitment of the people in that province, we are seeing encouraging signs of progress in regards to security,” Army Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV, Multinational Force Iraq spokesman, told reporters in Baghdad.
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Increased collaboration between tribal leaders and Iraqi officials has encouraged participation in municipal council elections and led to more active community mayors, he added.
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Caldwell said tribal leaders’ engagement in Anbar’s political process also has driven up Iraq army and police recruitment, despite the threat of terrorist reprisals. Anbar police forces, for instance, have suffered more than 500 attacks this year.
“The last three basic training courses for the Iraqi army ran over 100 percent of capacity just to handle all of the new recruits,” he said. “This ( is occurring ) in spite of, and in some cases in defiance of, al Qaeda’s continuous campaign of murder and intimidation that we see out there.”
People flooding to train and stand gaurd over their Province and push out al Qaeda? Who could not see this as enormous progress? What happened in Anbar and Ramadi is being started in Diyala Province – where Shia and Sunni Islamo Fascists ran to when the Surge and Anbar success pincered the terrorists. The retreat to Dilyala (which hosts the new Capitol City of the modern Caliphate: Diyala’s capitol Baqouba ) includes Shia and Sunni Islamo Fascists (which the media loves to call ‘insurgents’). So many have feld there US commanders are requesting more troops for that region:
A U.S. commander said on Friday he needs more troops in Diyala to secure that volatile province, which has seen a spike in violence as a crackdown in Baghdad drives insurgents out of the capital.
“I do not have enough soldiers right now in Diyala province to get that security situation moving,” said Army Maj. Gen. Benjamin Mixon, commander of forces in areas north of Baghdad.
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Diyala, a large, ethnically mixed region northeast of Baghdad has seen some of the worst violence since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. Sectarian killings and attacks by al Qaeda occur regularly and raise fears of full-scale civil war.
A security crackdown in Baghdad has increased violence in Diyala, as both Sunni and Shi’ite extremists move out of the capital into other areas of Iraq, Mixon said.
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“It has increased of course during the surge, but to try to put a specific measurement on that, the best I can tell you is we are sure there are elements of both Sunni extremists and Shia extremists that have moved out of Baghdad and relocated into not only Diyala province, but also into Salah ad Din province.”
We are pushing the entire lot of al Qaeda eastward. Which is interesting since it seems maybe that is were they came from – via Iran. One interesting article I ran across outlines how al Qaeda might be moving its operations to Iraq because of a falling out with the Taliban:
Some observers of al Qaeda believe the global terrorist organization is on the move, transferring its operations, including its headquarters, from the Afghan-Pakistan border area to Iraq after a falling out with the Taliban.
Indications of this came with the CIA’s announcement at the end of March that it had in its custody Abdul Hadi al-Iraqi, a top al-Qaeda operative, since late last year. Al-Iraqi was captured after he had moved out of Pakistan’s rugged and nearly inaccessible Waziristan tribal area and was apparently making his way to Iraq.
According to Pakistani writer Syed Saleem Shahzad, the falling out between the Taliban and al-Qaeda occurred over a deal the former made with the Pakistani government. In the accord, Pakistan will allow the Taliban unhindered use of its territory to funnel men and supplies into the conflict in Afghanistan. What Pakistan receives in turn is a presence again in Afghanistan via the Taliban against the India-friendly Kabul government as well as a disruption of relations between the Taliban and the anti-Islamabad al-Qaeda.
Read the whole thing and take it with a HUGE grain of salt. I doubt seriously the claims that Pakistan is sending material into Afghanistan. But I would not be surprised that the general tone of the story is true. I would not be surprised if the agreement Pakistan made with the Waziristan tribes to allow them to exist peacefully if they purged the foreign fighters (al Qaeda) from their lands is why al Qaeda is now “all in” in Iraq. We saw weeks of fighting foreign terrorists in Pakistan. So maybe we are pushing al Qaeda back to where they came – via Iran. If we push al Qaeda back into Iran then we will have cordoned off the terrorists.
The act is beginning. The US and Iraqis are beginning their initial sweeps and rolling up terrorist cells and facilities. There are new stories everyday. They may still be nibbling at the edges. But al Qaeda is being herded eastward, and possibly into a box where we can pick them off more easily.
but I thought there was NO plan
Here’s a good one from ABC news. Apparently we found and destroyed 4 anti-aircraft guns we spotted when they were practicing with them. Killed some AQI and nabbed others too. Near Fallujah.
AWESOME
Also, notice what part of ABC News’ site that article is in. It isn’t in the World News section nor is it in the national news section … it is in the Politics section. There is NO DOUBT that to the left, the war in Iraq is a purely political issue. They are not capable of seeing the big picture, this is a NATIONAL SECURITY issue, not a Democrats/Republicans issue but that is how they see it. They even put war news in the “Politics” section of the site.
Hello AJ.
Sorry to post off-topic, but couldn’t find a direct mail link to you.
Some links I found recently to the Litvinenko case may be of interest to you.
http://www.thecopydude.com/?p=255
I see that Cindy Sheehan may run for something in ’08.
And Alec Baldwin is going to add support behind her.
And…Batiste got fired by CBS.
Progress in Iraq: Billions in Iraqi Oil Dollars Missing
Either the Maliki government and the State Dept have been lying in order to put lipstick on a pig OR someone’s been rustling the oil. My money says Cheney’s boys have been stealing us blind.
Nope! Not Cheney nor his boys.
Sooth
You always spout to predictable talking points.
We who are old enough to remember saw the flower power revolution and all the entrails dragging behind it like wannabes.
Lately we note that the dem congress is being led by the nose of the most radical left organizations and funders of such and are seemingly willing to take the most indefensible positions if they are truly examined.
We can only hope it is due to the increased velocity a pendulum takes towards the end of it’s arc.
GWB as been not extreme, but a steady hand in what was dealt to him.
Compare that to the choice of action the dems have decided to follow.
You can load polls and get the MSM to preach and supposedly teach, but flyover America and other areas are not buying your dog and pony show.
We for the most part are quietly waiting for you to emulate crash dummies and see you stepping on the gas as you approach the wall.
Your choice to not engage in substantive debate or even less shows how thin your logic support is.
I have almost given up on zinging you, since you do more than enough on your own.
Simply put, sooth is irreversibly stupid. A complete waste of time.
No sooth is not stupid he just has a different opinion, in other words he will read talking points and spew their opinions here. I think I would just call him a drone like the rest of the lefties in the Dem. party
No stupid is the correct term. When all facts that may possibly threaten your view are simply ignored, unproven opinions accepted as fact and all logic and reason thrown to the way-side, then you become unable to learn, and therefore stupid. It is quite different than simply ignorant.
Sooth,
Stealing of oil by corrupt individuals has been going on forever in Iraq. It would be nothing new to learn that “skimming” was going on. This is just an attempt to find some piece of bad news and hype it up. Nothing new here. Corrupt individuals also skim off refined products too such as gasoline, diesel, and kerosene too. Same thing goes on in Iran too. Someone’s brother-in-law works at a loading area, allows them to fill a tanker with oil or fuel , they take the truck to Pakistan and sell the contents. In Iraq it mostly goes to Turkey or Syria.
Nothing at all new going on here and nothing that hasn’t gone on for ages.
Stealing of oil by corrupt individuals has been going on forever in Iraq.
Idiot.
Our troops guard the oil fields. We have enjoyed operational control over Iraq for four years. You think BILLIONS of dollars can be stolen without anyone in our government knowing about it? Give me a freakin’ break – The US command is either shamefully crooked or woefully incompetent – take your pick.
And as for all the back-patting and self-congratulation about how swell things are going in Iraq – tell that to the families of the 5 dead soldiers and 3 captured soldiers:
Soothie:
Be honest for a change….you don’t care about American soldiers or the families of American soldiers. I’m so sick seeing people like you talk about soldiers when you could care less if they live or die. You cheer for Al Qaeda successes and put down American military successes. I sometimes wonder if you are a member of Al Qaeda yourself… it’s so hard to tell the difference lately between liberals and Al Qaeda anyway – they sound the same when they spew their propaganda.
_____
AJ …did you see the post in Powerlineblog about the paramilitary islamists groups in the US? http://powerlineblog.com/archives/017615.php
Was wondering if you have heard anything else about them?
Fucking ghoul SS, I thought you had some redeeming qualities but all you are is another LLL ghoul secretly cheering the deaths of Americans so that you can point it out in your next toddler rant. The debate is over with you, you and your party deserve a shovel full of dirt in the face.
You people need to quit picking on poor Soothsayer. After all, a fellow has to earn a living and his employers, either Media Matters or Moveon.org, has assigned him the AJ Strata blog to spew their garbage no matter how stupid or asinine it is. He is obligated to repeat the e-mails he receives each day from his masters. He is just following orders and you need to cut him some slack. I wonder if part of his job was to catch Imus in an impropriety or if that was just another of his colleagues.
If you clowns really want to find something to worry about – forget Iraq – and Iran – and focus on our ally, Pakistan:
Hey, guys, have you checked The Anchoress’s post about the reinstatement of war bonds?
Looks like there would be many that would help pay for the war bonds! Shame that we still had to divvy up our tax money to the Democrats.
Jacqui
Here is another look at the situation of the camps
http://tinyurl.com/2llkaz
Be sure to read the pdf they reference in their article
Oil fields & infrastructure is guarded so that it isn’t sabotaged, bombed, incapacitated — corruption happens downstream … idiot. And guess what — war is dangerous. Sometimes, unfortunately, our brave & selfless soldiers make the ultimate sacrifice. SS & the dems only care is for making political hay on statistics.