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| Iraq |
| US, Iraq forces set for major Sadr City sweep |
| 2007-03-03 |
| BAGHDAD- US and Iraqi troops will soon launch a major sweep in the Shi'ite militia bastion of Sadr City, military officials said today. American-led forces have conducted targeted raids in the Mehdi Army militia stronghold of anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr aimed at death squad leaders, but have so far held off from a concerted push into the teeming slum. In the new campaign, US and Iraqi troops will set up joint checkpoints in Sadr City and conduct large-scale door-to-door operations on houses and buildings, a significant escalation in a plan regarded as the last chance to avert sectarian civil war. Washington calls the Mehdi Army the greatest threat to peace in Iraq. Sadr is a key political ally of Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and the raids could test Maliki's pledge to target all militants regardless of sectarian affiliation. Details of the plan emerged during a meeting of senior US and Iraqi military commanders on Thursday in Sadr City, which was also attended by the mayor of Sadr City. Sipping minted tea in a police station as four helicopter gunships hovered overheard, they agreed to set up a joint security station in Sadr City in a few days. It will be the first US forces have had a permanent presence in the slum since the 2003 invasion. "We have conducted special operations in Sadr City for some months but this will be the first time we will launch full-scale operations there and the first time we will have a permanent presence there," said Colonel Billy Don Farris, coalition forces commander for Sadr City and Adhamiya neighborhoods. "There will be no sanctuaries in Iraq. We are going to go to every building and every house and incrementally clear the area. We will target any group that attacks Iraqi and US troops," he told Reuters. US commanders have said past plans to stabilize Baghdad failed because the Shi'ite-led government shied away from cracking down on Shi'ite militiamen. These are blamed for many sectarian killings but regarded by many Shi'ites as their best defence against Sunni Arab insurgents such as al Qaeda. Elusive enemy Sadr, who led two uprisings against US forces in 2004, criticised the new security plan this week and said it would not work because US forces were involved. Sheikh Raheem al-Darruji, the mayor of Sadr City, said the Sadrists were willing to give the plan a chance but said if attacks against the Shi'ite community continued "the people of Sadr City would defend again their neighbourhoods". |
| Posted by:Sherry |
| #11 I hate it when you snaps they litter necks TW. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2007-03-03 23:43 |
| #10 So why are we , once again, telling everybody, including the bad guys what we are going to do? this gives them time to either reinforce or melt away. just friggin' do it, already. |
| Posted by: USN, ret. 2007-03-03 21:52 |
| #9 Bruce from MS -- well, May 06 was a few months ago. Apparently, you have missed, there is a new sheriff in town and changes are happening. (Check out the pics in the post above) Also, if you had read the article, you would have found, these guys WERE on a big base, they have now moved into a complex of six houses they found empty and are now paying rent to the Iraqis who returned with their arrival. Before setting up the outpost, Peterson's unit was stationed at a massive U.S. base near the Baghdad airport. Soldiers patrolled into Ghazaliyah and then returned to their base at Camp Liberty, about 2 miles away. As in other neighborhoods in Baghdad, conditions in Ghazaliyah worsened. If there was trouble, it took his troops time to get ready and drive here, says Peterson, from Chesterton, Ind. Now, his troops can join with Iraqi forces and respond to trouble immediately. And this is from a Feb 15th article, not one written in May 06. Visit the 'Burg a little more often, the daily updates are worth it to keep you current with the happenings. |
| Posted by: Sherry 2007-03-03 18:16 |
| #8 A Newsweek article from May, 2006, and you find that authoritative, Bruce dear? For the rest of the universe it is almost a year later. Do try to catch up. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2007-03-03 17:56 |
| #7 What is your point, Bruce? |
| Posted by: Dave D. 2007-03-03 17:37 |
| #6 Quoting Newsweak, huh, Bruce? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2007-03-03 17:26 |
| #5 think their plan changed? ( pay no attention 2 what they report? ) Stuck in the Hot Zone By Michael Hirsh Newsweek May 1, 2006 issue "If you want an image of what America's long-term plans for Iraq look like, it's right here at Balad. Tucked away in a rural no man's land 43 miles north of Baghdad, this 15-square-mile mini-city of thousands of trailers and vehicle depots is one of four "superbases" where the Pentagon plans to consolidate U.S. forces, taking them gradually from the front lines of the Iraq war. (Two other bases are slated for the British and Iraqi military.) The shift is part of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's plan to draw down U.S. ground forces in Iraq significantly by the end of 2006. Pentagon planners hope that this partial withdrawal will, in turn, help take the edge off rising opposition to the war at home—long enough to secure Iraq's nascent democracy." |
| Posted by: Bruce from MS 2007-03-03 17:23 |
| #4 Good. Put their foot on their necks until they give up. On second thought, until they are dead. |
| Posted by: regular joe 2007-03-03 17:08 |
| #3 'how we are moving to that 'occupation' stance.' Seems to me we are moving into a 'pacification' stance ... I wonder how much US taxpayers have already spent on military ba$es within Iraq? |
| Posted by: Bruce from MS 2007-03-03 16:58 |
| #2 This article is from Feb 15, but it's the best I've read about how we are moving to that 'occupation' stance. The most dangerous spot I could find BAGHDAD — Army Capt. Erik Peterson's newly established combat outpost is just blocks from a battle line separating Sunnis and Shiite militias, who fight in the streets almost every day. Gunfire crackles through the night, and snipers occasionally fire into the fortified compound, which houses U.S. and Iraqi soldiers. Yet Peterson says it's the perfect place to start restoring order. "I wanted the most dangerous spot I could find, so I planted my flag right here," Peterson says. Peterson and his men from Company C of the 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment spend 24 hours a day in this outpost in Ghazaliyah, one of Baghdad's most violent neighborhoods. Sandbags are stacked in the windows, and the buildings are ringed by concrete walls. It's surrounded by vacant lots, garbage-strewn streets and abandoned homes. Working side by side with Iraqi soldiers, the troops use the building as a base for traditional combat with insurgents and militias. They also go out on patrol and deal with everything from neighborhood squabbles to kerosene deliveries. "We've been the cops," says Peterson, 29. "We've been the local army. We've been the ambulance service." Outposts such as this are a centerpiece of the new U.S. and Iraqi plan to improve security in Baghdad. About 100 American and 120 Iraqi soldiers are crammed into the outpost's buildings, sleeping on cots. The outpost functions like a local police station, intended to quell violence and improve daily contact with ordinary Iraqis. more at link with some good pics |
| Posted by: Sherry 2007-03-03 16:27 |
| #1 The trick to this is that they are not seeking confrontation, but occupation, of every nook and cranny in Sadr City. Instead of Mahdi army on every street corner, there will be Iraqi army and police, many of whom, at least at first, will be Kurds. The secret is in realizing that the Mahdi army is mostly a vigilante organization. And as such, the main reason for its popular existence is maintaining law and order when the government does not. This means that when the government *does* show that it is maintaining L&O, the vigilante organization withers. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2007-03-03 16:13 |