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| Iraq | |
| You ain't seen nothing yet, US colonels boast | |
| 2007-02-05 | |
| A JOINT US-Iraqi campaign to stabilise Baghdad will begin soon and the offensive against militants will be on a scale never seen during four years of war, US officers said yesterday. Three American colonels who are senior advisers to the Iraqi army and police in Baghdad said yesterday a command centre overseeing the crackdown would be activated today. "The expectation is the plan will be implemented soon thereafter," said Colonel Doug Heckman, senior adviser to the 9th Iraqi Army division in Baghdad.
The plan will involve US and Iraqi forces sweeping the capital's neighbourhoods for militants and illegal weapons, and holding cleared areas. But some analysts fear that as in previous crackdowns, militants will simply melt away and wait them out, or strike in areas where they are not deployed. All three officers sought to talk up the ability of Iraq's forces to perform better than in previous crackdowns. Their comments came a day after a suicide truck bomb killed 135 people in a mainly Shiite area of Baghdad, the single biggest bombing since the US-led invasion in 2003. The joint offensive is seen as a last-ditch effort to halt all-out civil war between minority Sunni Arabs and politically dominant majority Shiites. US President George W. Bush is sending 21,500 reinforcements, mostly to be deployed in Baghdad. The Baghdad command centre that will begin operations today will be headed by an Iraqi general. However, US troops will not take orders from Iraqi officers. | |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #16 Ahhh shhhushhh.....let them do their thing! |
| Posted by: Angenter Crolugum3645 2007-02-05 22:12 |
| #15 That's a great idea, make the announcement, and watch who scuttles around, watch where they go. Then nail the movers. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2007-02-05 17:03 |
| #14 Maybe they're waiting to see 'what moves'. Hope that's it and not some 'foot-in-mouth' thing. "Check those Burquas, men". |
| Posted by: Mullah Richard 2007-02-05 16:39 |
| #13 My kingdom for enthusiasm. Bout freakin time people got on the victory train |
| Posted by: Captain America 2007-02-05 15:53 |
| #12 Yes ... the Colonels should start at Sulzberger's NY Slimes. |
| Posted by: doc 2007-02-05 15:37 |
| #11 Unless the crackdown already started. Lots of interesting news coming out of that part of the world, it seems. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2007-02-05 15:27 |
| #10 Well, I wish these Colonels would have left their comments unsaid until after this crackdown has started. |
| Posted by: Danking70 2007-02-05 14:59 |
| #9 As I said (a little late) yesterday: It could be disinformation, with the main blow to fall elsewhere. At least I hope it is, but in the past such tactical leaks have turned out to be all too accurate, giving terror cells plenty of time to flee the coming wrath and dig in their cannon-fodder and human shields for a media-friendly fight to the death. Damn good thing these terrorists don't read Al Reuters. Oh wait a minute. It's really a Good Thing it wasn't like this in 1944: "Allied amphibious forces will land on the coast of Europe within as little as 48 hours, according to three US officers who briefed reporters today. Preparations have reached a fever pitch as General Eisenhower's headquarters mulls the latest weather forecast. The landings will be accompanied by a mass parachute drop and will probably be along the coast of Normandy rather than at the Pas de Calais as long rumored." "Wake the Fuhrer! Wake the Fuhrer!" |
| Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy 2007-02-05 14:48 |
| #8 Why in the hell is he telling the Muslim terrorist ahead of time? |
| Posted by: Icerigger 2007-02-05 14:42 |
| #7 I'm just an armchair general but I'd think the first thing they'd do is set up check points around Baghdad to check for those "melting militants". |
| Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 2007-02-05 14:38 |
| #6 Too little, too late! And why do these idiots feel the need to broadcast our intentions weeks before they do anything? Jesus, talk about stupid. If you ever want a prime example of the "Peter Principle" in operation, our government represents the epitome. |
| Posted by: Omolurt Elmeaper6990 2007-02-05 13:32 |
| #5 "US President George W. Bush is sending 21,500 reinforcements..." I'm apparently not up to speed on the newest. Are the 21,000 a done deal or is this article just ahead of events as the government approves them? |
| Posted by: Jules 2007-02-05 12:20 |
| #4 The NYTimes already has started their, "American is losing" campaign. From Lucianne.com, an article from the NEW YORK POST A BAN ON 'VICTORY' February 4, 2007 -- Question: When is a U.S. military victory not a victory? Answer: When it's reported by The New York Times. Read the account from Baghdad in the Jan. 30 Times about a battle the previous weekend in the city of Najaf - one of the biggest engagements of the war - and you'd think that U.S. and Iraqi forces had suffered a terrible defeat at the hands of what was described as "an obscure renegade militia." "Iraqi forces were surprised and nearly overwhelmed by the ferocity" of the fighters arrayed against them, read the piece by correspondent Marc Santora, who added, "They needed far more help from American forces than previously disclosed." Not until the article's sixth paragraph - 200 words into the 1,100-word piece - did this sentence appear: "The Iraqis and Americans eventually prevailed in the battle." Continue reading about a NYT reported repremaned for this part: The paper's chief military correspondent, Michael Gordon, went on PBS' "Charlie Rose Show" recently, and expressed qualified support for President Bush's troop surge - noting that "we've never really tried to win" in Iraq. |
| Posted by: Sherry 2007-02-05 11:44 |
| #3 "It's going to be an operation unlike anything this city has seen. It's a multiple order magnitude of difference, not just a 30 per cent, I mean a couple of hundred per cent," he said, I'd not be telegraphing my name or intentions too broadly. COL Heckman might not live to see narrative on his bronze star. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2007-02-05 11:35 |
| #2 Now if they were leading a sweep of New York to clean out the nests of terrorists and seditionists.... |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2007-02-05 11:27 |
| #1 You ain't seen nothing yet, US colonels boast watch out Cols, the MSM has geared up a multiple order magnitude of pre-written hit pieces and |
| Posted by: RD 2007-02-05 11:19 |