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Insurgents examine U.S. success in Iraq
A comment after the article -- Maybe this article should be required reading for the Democratic politicians who still insist the Surge has failed. The U.S. military's successes in Iraq last year were more than partly due to better intelligence, says an analysis posted on the Web by insurgents. The Jihadi forum Montada.Yaqen posted what one expert called "an extensive analysis" of the security plan implemented in Iraq by U.S. and Iraqi forces as part of President Bush's "surge" policy adopted early last year. According to an analysis for the Jamestown Foundation, a forum participant identified as a "correspondent" on the "Iraqi front" commenced his analysis by citing Sun Tzu. "Iraq's Islamist insurgents believe that the U.S. military allocates a significant portion of its assets to the creation of hostile propaganda that spreads false information and exaggerates accounts of the successes of Coalition security campaigns," reads the analysis by the foundation's Abdul Bakier. He says the correspondent identifies three phases to the U.S. plan: a "preliminary phase," which "started three to four months before the actual implementation of the plan," and focused on intelligence about the various insurgent networks, because a lack of it "was the major reason for U.S. failures in previous operations." U.S. forces "succeeded in penetrating the secrecy shield of the Jihadis," writes Bakier, "allowing intelligence units to analyze Jihadi groups in different operational sectors and 'hot spots.'" U.S. forces also exploited differences between the groups, Bakier adds: "The rivalry between various Jihadi factions compromised Jihadi security and secrecy, denying the resistance the element of surprise in their operations. "The behavior and relations between the people of Iraq were examined and comprehensive intelligence situation reports were prepared, this phase concentrated on collecting intelligence on different jihadi factions." The second phase identified in the self-described insurgent analysis prioritized what the author calls "defensive operations" -- "an all-out confrontation with various Jihadi detachments, characterized by sustained direct contact by U.S. forces and Iraqi police units." This phase included "defining areas of confrontation with Jihadis, confining and isolating these areas, constructing camps and control points in these areas and setting up ambushes along routes" they frequented. The final phase involved "interception" -- with U.S. and Iraqi forces launching search and seizure operations deep within Iraqi cities. "Hundreds of Jihadis were detained in a matter of weeks and a significant number of arms caches were uncovered," states Bakier. Posted by: Sherry 2008-01-09 |
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