Article

2007-03-03 Iraq

US, Iraq forces set for major Sadr City sweep

Archived material is restricted to Rantburg regulars and members. If you need access email fred.pruitt=at=gmail.com with your nick to be added to the members list. There is no charge to join Rantburg as a member.

Posted by Sherry 2007-03-03 15:32|| || Front Page|| [5 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#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|| 2007-03-03 16:13|| Front Page Top

#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">Sherry 2007-03-03 16:27|| 2007-03-03 16:27|| Front Page Top

#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">Bruce from MS 2007-03-03 16:58|| 2007-03-03 16:58|| Front Page Top

#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|| 2007-03-03 17:08|| Front Page Top

#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 homelong enough to secure Iraq's nascent democracy."

Posted by Bruce from MS">Bruce from MS 2007-03-03 17:23|| 2007-03-03 17:23|| Front Page Top

#6 Quoting Newsweak, huh, Bruce?

Posted by Frank G">Frank G 2007-03-03 17:26|| 2007-03-03 17:26|| Front Page Top

#7 What is your point, Bruce?

Posted by Dave D.">Dave D. 2007-03-03 17:37|| 2007-03-03 17:37|| Front Page Top

#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|| 2007-03-03 17:56|| Front Page Top

#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">Sherry 2007-03-03 18:16|| 2007-03-03 18:16|| Front Page Top

#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|| 2007-03-03 21:52|| Front Page Top

#11 I hate it when you snaps they litter necks TW.

Posted by Shipman 2007-03-03 23:43|| 2007-03-03 23:43|| Front Page Top

23:59 Eric Jablow
23:55 RD
23:53 Shipman
23:43 Shipman
23:38 Shipman
23:37 Jehadi
23:17 Chiper Threreger8956
23:16 DMFD
23:11 Chiper Threreger8956
22:53 Anonymoose
22:52 tu3031
22:49 Nimble Spemble
22:41 Nimble Spemble
22:38 USN, ret.
22:36 whatadeal
22:35 Zhang Fei
22:34 Nimble Spemble
22:32 Zhang Fei
22:31 USN, ret.
22:29 Nimble Spemble
22:28 Frank G
22:26 whatadeal
22:23 whatadeal
22:15 trailing wife