You have commented 339 times on Rantburg.

Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Foto Photo
Submit your comments on this article
Iraq
US on major drive for ex-Iraqi leaders
2003-12-18
Using intelligence gained in part from the capture of Saddam Hussein, US forces have mounted a blitz to capture mid-level leaders of the former Iraqi regime who are believed to be key to the insurgency in Iraq.
"Get 'em while they're hot!"
"In the past 48 hours, we have had a very good haul," General John Abizaid, chief of the US Central Command, told reporters in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk on Wednesday. He said the leaders of several Baathist cells had been captured. Abizaid's assessment of the impact of the capture on Saturday of Saddam Hussein on a farm south of his hometown of Tikrit was the most upbeat yet by a senior commander. "Make no mistake: the loss of Saddam Hussein is a huge psychological blow and will pay dividends over time," said Abizaid. "We have got a lot of fighting ahead of us, but this is a big win for the young soldiers that made it happen, and for the young intelligence professionals that were smart enough to put the information together to lead us to the right place."
And we don't have nearly as much fighting ahead of us as we had a week ago...
In what appears to have been a major intelligence coup, US commanders have said a trove of documents were seized in the raid that netted Saddam, including minutes to a meeting of resistance attacks leaders that listed by name those who attended.
Whoa! Toilet paper usage just spiked in the old Triangle!
The find shed light on a leadership network that financed and issued general guidance to some 14 cells operating in the Baghdad area alone, Brigadier General Martine Dempsey, the commander of the 1st Armored Division said on Tuesday. "We continue to use information that we have gained from the intelligence system,.. some of which came from the capture of Saddam, to continue to take down those folks that are conducting attacks against the coalition," Abizaid was quoted as saying.
The intel guys are wallowing in red meat, trying to digest it all before it spoils...
Abizaid said US forces were focusing on mid-level leaders of the former regime who are believed to be running the resistance attacks. Other military officials have said that many are former majors, lieutenant and colonels from the former Iraqi military and security services who have risen to prominence since the regime's collapse. "From fighting this particular enemy, (we have learned that) knocking out the mid-level leadership is the key to success," Abizaid said. "If they were to take out our lieutenant colonels and colonels, we would have trouble, too. That is what we are doing to them." Abizaid added coalition forces captured several mid-level Baathists who were leading cells in areas where previously there had not been a clear picture of the enemy. "We have a full-court press on, understanding the environment better and connecting the various pieces of information we have from various sources," he said.
Posted by:Fred Pruitt

#20  "Clinton(H)-Edwards"

Damn! That sounds like a plan, liberalhawk! Here, I'll buy you a tube of lipstick: put enough of it on that pig, and you might even get her into the prom.

But not into the White House.

LOL...
Posted by: Dave D.   2003-12-18 2:27:38 PM  

#19  Interesting observation by Jonah Goldberg over at NRO, concerning news reports about the course of Saddam's interrogation:

"A few quick points before I get on a plane. First, where are all the Democrats denouncing these leaks from Saddam Hussein's interrogation room? I mean we were told that leaks are terrible, especially pertaining to intelligence operations, right?

"More important, I'm kind of at a loss as to why all of these reports of Saddam being defiant and arrogant are being taken at face value. . . .

"Since when does the CIA -- who's handling Saddam -- leak how super-important interrogations are going? In other words, any news that's allegedly coming out of Saddam's pie hole is news his handlers want leaked. My most hopeful guess is that Saddam's actually singing like a bird but the Americans don't want the bad guys to know it. Normally, you keep even the capture of an important asset secret so you can roll-up all of his contacts without them flying the coop. Since that was impossible, my hope is that the Americans are saying he's not cooperating even as they have all of these successful raids. Doesn't that seem plausible?"
Posted by: Mike   2003-12-18 2:25:12 PM  

#18  If I were an intel troop in Iraq right now, I'd be watching for massive runs on consumables, especially, as someone mentioned, toilet paper. Anything CAN be used, even the stuff the Germans sell, but good toilet paper is hard to find. When you're scared enough to not know whether to sh$$ or go blind, nature usually makes the decision for you.

Jarhead: I don't feel comfortable with McCain. For some reason, every time I see him, hear his voice, or read what he's said, I get flashbacks of the "Manchurian Candidate" running through my head. I've had enough experience with personal life-saving prescient episodes I don't ignore them.
Posted by: Old Patriot   2003-12-18 2:24:20 PM  

#17  LH, one problem bro'; no self-respecting hetero-sexual man will vote for Billary. Maybe some pseudo-enlightened intellectual weenies who like to go to wine tasting events - but no straight shooters. Rice would split the black vote. A lot of folks in N.C. don't even like Edwards. Better hope it's J. Bush running and not McCain. If its McCain, the dems get crushed again.
Posted by: Jarhead   2003-12-18 2:19:09 PM  

#16  it'll still backfire Dave D. Dean goes down like a lead balloon in '04, dem hawks led by Hillary smash doves led by Gore in '08. Clinton(H)-Edwards beats Bush(J)-Rice in general.
Posted by: liberalhawk   2003-12-18 1:19:48 PM  

#15  Or it could just be that there was no list of names, but the intel guys put out the word that there was to see who bolts.
Posted by: mojo   2003-12-18 11:55:55 AM  

#14  "...so lets all vote for Joe..."

Nah. I'm gonna do what any good Republican's gonna do: contribute to Howlin' Howard's primary campaign, then vote for Bush.

The Democratic Party deserves no less.
Posted by: Dave D.   2003-12-18 10:27:56 AM  

#13  Actually NMM, Saddam is hiding WMDs............ up his pussy.
Posted by: Jarhead   2003-12-18 10:16:21 AM  

#12   "if only a Democrat were waging it."

so lets all vote for Joe and test NMM out.
Posted by: liberalhawk   2003-12-18 9:05:26 AM  

#11  Repressive regimes tend to document everything

Agreed, just look at the detailed records the Nazis kept on the death camps, the Soviet archives, the East German Stasi spy files, etc. I believe they found the same in Cambodia. That may be one reason for the "looting" and all the fires in government buildings when we took Baghdad. Someone was trying to destroy as many records as possible. Look at the mountain of records the WMD team is sifting through. When Cuba and North Korea fall, watch for the same thing to show up.
Posted by: Steve   2003-12-18 8:39:31 AM  

#10  Can't add much more to the commentary noting the callousness and cynicism of NMM. One gleans more about the voids in his character from what he doesn't say as from what he does.

Old Patriot's observation of increased troll activity being dependant on good news for George Bush and/or America seems to be holding. I vote that we elevate it to a theory. Too bad we can't design experiments to test it properly...

Posted by: Ptah   2003-12-18 7:53:58 AM  

#9  Swim buddies

ROTFLMAO
Posted by: Dragon Fly   2003-12-18 7:33:44 AM  

#8  People like NMM would have no trouble at all- not even a little bit- finding a host of good reasons for this war, if only a Democrat were waging it. The reasons were numerous, and obvious.

Saddam's WMD were never "the" reason for the war: they were just one reason among many, and were emphasized for the purpose of bringing the U.N. on board.

For justification, one need look no further than the mass graves, the childrens' jails, the torture chambers and the shredders.

Anyone who cannot accept the imperative of ending that evil tyranny as sufficient reason for what we did, is not a decent human being.
Posted by: Dave D.   2003-12-18 7:19:33 AM  

#7  Repressive regimes tend to document everything.

Useful to keep people in line.
Posted by: rkb   2003-12-18 6:10:47 AM  

#6  Now now. Mike is having a bad week. First the economic news is great, the Dow is over 10,000, and Saddam is in our jail. He has to grasp at something.

I find it very amusing that lefties like Mike always go on about the WMD issue. Ignoring completely the mass graves, the plastic shredder, or Uday's "special relationship" with the local high school principles. As if the suffering for the Iraqi people is simply not worthy of being relieved. So much for the compassionate left.

Different people supported this war for different reasons. WMDs, Saddam's links to terrorism, his past actions, as well as the horror he visited on the Iraqi people all were cases for the war. The case against amounts to what? France would be mad at us?

Even if you don't like America and want to see it fall, surely you don't want the people of Iraq to be murdered, robbed and rape in perpetuity do you? Well, do you?
Posted by: Ben   2003-12-18 4:54:28 AM  

#5  "Maybe they'll find those WMD's in Saddam's shirt pocket".
Witty.
We know he had 'em, NMM...or did your precious U.N. pass 17 resolutions about his WMD violations for nothing?
Posted by: Jennie Taliaferro   2003-12-18 3:58:24 AM  

#4  You sound bitter NMM. Unhappy that we're doing so well this week? Don't fret maybe someone will get killed soon...that should brighten your day, eh?
Posted by: RMcLeod   2003-12-18 2:56:17 AM  

#3  Maybe they'll find those WMD's in Saddam's shirt pocket
Posted by: NotMikeMoore   2003-12-18 1:51:54 AM  

#2  Repressive regimes tend to document everything. Old habits are hard to break.
Posted by: Pappy   2003-12-18 1:05:21 AM  

#1   ...including minutes to a meeting of resistance attacks leaders that listed by name those who attended.

Cheez! Did these guys go to the Terrorism School for Stupid People? Minutes???? In writing? What else were they doing, roll call? Bunk checks? Swim buddies?
Posted by: Steve White   2003-12-18 12:09:55 AM  

00:00