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| Iraq |
| Coalition Forces Round Up 397 Suspects in Iraq |
| 2003-06-11 |
| Nearly 400 Iraqis suspected of criminal behavior are being detained by coalition forces in an operation designed to continue the clean-up and rebuilding of the country, Central Command said Wednesday. Operation Peninsula Strike began on Monday, when soldiers launched a number of raids in northeast Balad, Iraq, along the Tigris River to clear out Baath Party loyalists, paramilitary groups and other deviant elements. So far, Operation Peninsula Strike has resulted in the capture of 397 suspects and the seizure of numerous weapon systems and ammunition. Some of the top 55 most wanted Iraqis may be among the 397 captured, Fox News has learned. Something that Steven Den Beste commented on today. Have you noticed that after we announce that we have bagged one of these guys, they drop off the face of the earth? Somewhere, there is a whole lot of interogation going on. But the operation is not a search for a specific person; it is more of an ongoing effort to secure Iraq. The first stage is the transporting of soldiers and equipment into strike positions, intelligence gathering and coordination with local police, according to Centcom. Then, in an effort to eliminate or seize subversive elements, air assault teams, ground attack squads, raid teams, river patrol boats and local security will conduct raids. During the last 24 hours, coalition forces throughout Iraq conducted eight raids and a total of 2,595 patrols, Centcom reported. Arrests and detentions were made of 264 individuals for a myriad of criminal acts, including drug dealing, looting, curfew violations, weapons violations, theft and larceny. The voluntary weapons turn-in program that began on June 1, in which Iraqi citizens deliver weapons to collection points manned by coalition forces, has netted a total of 85 pistols, 72 semi-automatic rifles or shotguns, 363 automatic rifles, 40 machine guns, 120 anti-tank weapons, 10 anti-air weapons and 230 grenades and other explosive devices, Centcom reported. The voluntary program ends June 14. Good work, guys. Stay sharp. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #4 maybe so steve - but i dont think the problems in fallujah and tikrit are due to the US local commanders in question. What this suggests to me is that Iraq under the Baath was virtually an apartheid state a dictatorship of Sunni Muslim Arabs over Shiites and Kurds. Even many of those Sunni Arabs who didnt participate in the regime benefited from it. And almost all Sunni Muslim Arabs therefore have reason to fear change. Therefore there is almost no opposition to the occupation in the Kurdish zones, such opposition as there is in the Shiite zones is moderate, concerned with details of occupation and the jockeying for future power. The only place real hatred for us exists is in the Sunni heartland - and while even there there may be many who are friendly to us, there is enough residual baathism to start and maintain a vicious cycle of terrorist resistance and crackdown. Im not saying this to indicate that the situation in the Sunni heartland is hopeless - rather I think our patience might be greater if we understood better the parameters and motives of the resistance, rather than seeing it as pervading Iraq and being based on some general nationalist opposition to occupation. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2003-06-11 13:22:44 |
| #3 LH, I was going to bring that story here but it was rather long. The link is here. This story and the one a month ago about how well things were going in Kirkuk suggest strongly that in the end, what really matters is a local US commander with the smarts and authority to do the right things in each city and region. When we do it right, that part of Iraq starts to work. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2003-06-11 13:02:01 |
| #2 wapo this AM did a very good articale on situation in Karbala - not a single attack on US troops, power back to double pre-war levels, still some grumbling about corrupt police, clerics cooperating, some clerics grumbling, local mayor afraid of clerics, wants US troops to stay. Altogether a different picture from focus on Baghdad and Sunni regions. Also quite different from impression of a month ago, that Shiites were on verge of rebellion. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2003-06-11 12:35:47 |
| #1 {sarcasm on}Nice job, Fox, considering Central Command sends this out in a news release daily and the story quotes direcly from the news release.{sarcasm off} Operation Peninsula Strike COALITION AND IRAQI POLICE WORK TO MAKE IRAQ SECURE COALITION EFFORTS AID IRAQ’S RECOVERY (June 11, 2003) |
| Posted by: Chuck 2003-06-11 12:01:37 |