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.
Sooth gets wacked and comes back with more talking points that move the goal posts.
Ok Sooth I know yours was in complete jest as to your paycheck from Soros, but I can put up my 30K per week income against your phantom 30K per month.
We can go to a neutral third party site we both agree on and trade check stubs and bet pink slips.
Still you have to wonder, I am sandbagging you only claiming 30k.
Here is one for Soothie! This is very bad for the Taliban and Very GOOD for the NATO and the coalition. One for the GOOD GUYS, so Soothie will not be pleased.
The Taliban’s TOP operational commander, Mullah Dadullah, has been killed in Afghanistan, security officials said on Sunday.
Pretty in PINK
Here is more for Soothie
May 13, 2007
Release A070513a
COALITION RAIDS TURN UP 35 SUSPECTED TERRORISTS
BAGHDAD, Iraq – Coalition forces detained 35 suspected terrorists during several raids Sunday morning targeting al-Qaeda in Iraq senior leadership.
During a raid near Tarmiyah, Coalition forces detained 11 individuals for their suspected involvement with a regional al Qaeda in Iraq emir and al Qaeda senior leaders. In two other operations in the Tarmiyah area, Coalition forces detained eight suspected terrorists allegedly tied to a network responsible for kidnapping, extortion and attacks against Coalition forces.
Coalition forces detained six suspected terrorists in Baghdad, including an individual with alleged close ties to an explosives expert who also facilitates the movement of foreign fighters into Iraq.
Northwest of Fallujah, Coalition forces targeted terrorists allegedly tied to an al-Qaeda in Iraq cell leader and detained 10 suspects.
“We’re steadily dismantling the al-Qaeda in Iraq network,†said Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, MNF-I spokesperson. “Their leadership structure is crumbling and their manpower pool is diminishing.â€
http://www.mnf-iraq.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=11859&Itemid=128
SUSPECTED SECRET CELL SENIOR LEADER DETAINED
BAGHDAD, Iraq – Coalition Forces detained three suspected secret cell terrorists Sunday morning, including an alleged senior leader in the organization, during operations in southeastern Baghdad.
Coalition Forces raided several buildings and captured three suspected members of a secret cell terrorist network known for its use of explosively formed penetrators, or EFPs, as well as facilitating the transport of weapons and EFPs from Iran to Iraq, and bringing militants from Iraq to Iran for terrorist training.
One of the detainees is an alleged senior leader within the secret cell group known for personally coordinating and implementing the use of EFPs.
After the ground force secured one of the buildings, one man inside who was initially compliant jumped to his feet and fled to another room. Coalition Forces determined he was a hostile threat and used appropriate self-defense measures to mitigate the threat, engaging and killing him.
“We continue to target the secret cell network, diminishing their capability to conduct attacks against innocent Iraqis and those who are striving for the forward progress of Iraq,†said Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, MNF-I spokesperson.
http://www.mnf-iraq.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=11860&Itemid=128
77 Taliban reported killed in week
Afghan and U.S.-led coalition forces killed 77 suspected Taliban militants in southern Afghanistan in the past week, driving the militants out of a district in Helmand province. A coalition spokesman said the operations had resulted in a “significant” number of militant casualties.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/05/12/asia/AS-GEN-Afghanistan.php
AJ…check out the press this morning…they are in mourning over the death of Mullah Dahdullah…AP called him that “impish” Taliban leader….Der Spiegel…has a glowing obit for his passing. And the whining has started over him having a bullet hole in the back of his head..
Truthslayer,
You’ve been all over the place on this: suggested before AlQueda never had anything to do with Iraq…until….we invaded it..to get it’s oil of course. Then suggest that you agree with the premise that this was all part of AlQueda’s plan to draw us into Iraq and we played into their hands by invading it. Now you are suggesting that there actually IS a global conflict going on and that it would be foolish to not view it that way and keep our eyes on other developing fronts. Bah!
Make up your mind son. Yes..it was foolish of you to argue that we should have kept our focus away from other parts of the world and simply focused on Afghanistan. It was foolish when you argued that this fight was not a global one. It was foolish when you argued that Iraq was NOT somehow strategically important to this in the large picture (as obviously it is). It was foolish when you argued that Iraq was not somehow important to AlQueda when you also understood that it was part of AlQueda’s plan to draw us in there. Now that you suggest that Iraq in fact IS strateigcally part of and always has been part of AlQueda’s plan to defeat us…you argue for withdrawing???
The difference is….after you have conceeded all of these points in your circle logic arguments without even realizing it, you suggest we should withdraw at once and that the major reason everyone else is fighting is because “we” are.
Perhaps my friend..it’s YOU who needs to think more about this a little more.
This one’s for Soothsayer …
Nigeria is loosing billions due to stolen oil production and sabotage by Muslim groups. Maybe it’s time to pull out of Nigeria … oh, wait … nevermind.
http://www.strategypage.com/qnd/nigeria/articles/20070513.aspx
Sooth, I would say that you, sir, are the idiot. To the best of my knowledge, we aren’t guarding oil fields. That is the job of private and Iraqi security. Our troops are currently busy doing other work. Besides, the vast majority of the oil fields are in the South which is the British area of operations or have been turned over to the Iraqis.
Maybe you should do a little reading and learn a little geography.
Duh.
Nigeria is a corrupt military dictatorship – not the flagship of ME Demoncracy WE installed. From the moment that the statue of Saddam came down, the US has been in functional control of the oil in Iraq. (And had we sent the number of troops suggested by Gen. Shinseki we might have been able to control events on the ground. Alas – the incompetent Bush and Rumsfeld blew it).
In any case, Iraqi oil – according to comb-licking, mistress subsidizing Paul Wolfowitz – was going to pay ALL of the costs of the Iraq misadventure. Under the stewardship of Paul Bremer. The lost oil revenues extend back into Bremer\’s reign – when we had uncontroverted control over the assets:
You say the field are guarded by private security? Whose security? Bechtel and Halliburton? Blackwater? All of these companies have close ties to Cheney and Bush.
You say to \”the best of your knowledge, US troops are not guarding oil\”. Based on what information do you make such a statement. Sources, please.
SS:
Maybe you can get your buddy Soros to cut a check to AQ in Iraq to guard the fields? And I’m sorry but can you tell me of any US companies who are large enough and specialize in rebuilding and force protection in the US? Isn’t this what the US free enterprise is all about, find a need and fill it, business boiled down to a basic essence. I guess in your Socialist mind this is evil? I guess the repairs to the oil industry should have used old and out dated hardware instead of new technology? With how valuable oil is, why would you put a band aid on the problem when you can redesign the whole infrastructure? Sure they could put all the talented Iraqis to work in the oil fields who have jury rigged things to keep the oil flowing. That would be like hiring the guy from the model T line to help with making the new Ferrari’s, really makes no sense. You get fresh new minds and you teach them the new technology, with out them having to unlearn bad habits.
Based on what information do you make such a statement. Sources, please.
You first, Sooth. You seem to have a habit of quoting somebody and then not even indicating who said it or where the quote came from, much less providing a link or a URL.