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| Iraq |
| Operation Cavalry Charge |
| 2008-03-26 |
| An article by Nibras Kazimi, Visiting Scholar at the Hudson Institute .... Today [March 25], the Iraqi Army launched its first major military operation to fully control Basra, the second largest city in Iraq, without any —- ANY —- Coalition assistance. One source tells me that during the preparation phase of this campaign the Americans offered to position some U.S. Special Forces and air-cover near the Basra battle theater to act as back-up if needed but their Iraqi counterparts planning this operation politely turned down the offer. This is Operation ‘Cavalry Charge’.... Its chief objective is to flush out the organized crime cartels that control the port of Basra and the oil pipelines of the province. One major criminal force in the Basrawi scene are groups that affiliate themselves with the Sadrist movement and its Mahdi Army. Many of these criminal rings are also associated with certain factions of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard that operate in Basra both for intelligence/sabotage purposes as well as enriching themselves. By knocking out these egregious manifestations of lawlessness, Operation Cavalry Charge will have the accrued benefit of mashing up the more subtle patterns of Iran’s malignant influence in Iraqi Shiism’s foremost economic prize, the oil fields and port of Basra. |
| Posted by:Mike Sylwester |
| #10 I made my comment about terrorism being a business before I read this. The IRG and organized crime link doesn't surprise me. Iran is a kleptocracy. |
| Posted by: Phil_B 2008-03-26 18:38 |
| #9 Its all about the power balance in Basra - and control of the oil export terminals. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2008-03-26 15:49 |
| #8 interesting article, and yet.... Im a tad skeptical of hakim having colder feet than Maliki. Why? cause Hakim is closer to the Bush admin and more concerned about the US election? Cause he thinks state power in the south will also weaken SCII? Cause he doesnt want Maliki stronger in the run up to iraqi elections? Cause hes just a nervous nellie? I mean I can come up with reasons, but still, its always been Hakim whos more an enemy of Sadr than Maliki. But then Kazimi seems to say this isnt really about Sadr. Hmmmmm. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2008-03-26 13:59 |
| #7 Quite a difference from most past Sylwester offerings. Nicely done, thanks. |
| Posted by: Pancho Elmeck8414 2008-03-26 13:14 |
| #6 Seriously, MS. You've been posting some very useful articles lately. Thank you! |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2008-03-26 12:57 |
| #5 If they did it with only US intelligence and air support it would be a resounding success. Not only to prove the US training methods work, but that the Iraqi army has taken them to heart and is working to secure its own future. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2008-03-26 09:29 |
| #4 If they do this wihtout US help it will be a thumb in the eye of all the critics of the surge. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2008-03-26 08:51 |
| #3 What TW said. Good luck, good hunting, and come home safe. |
| Posted by: Mike 2008-03-26 08:12 |
| #2 A very encouraging article. What a pleasure to be able to wish happy hunting to the troop of Operation Cavalry Charge! :-) |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2008-03-26 06:11 |
| #1 Those counseling caution and delay stressed that smashing Sadrist-related criminal cartels would spark a large-scale Sadrist reaction across Iraq at a time when the Bush administration wants to keep Iraq quiet The whole foundation of assumptions that goes into making this statement seems to be BS to me. |
| Posted by: gorb 2008-03-26 03:57 |