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2007-06-19 Iraq
10,000 US Troops Launch Iraq Offensive (D-DAY IN BAQOUBA!)
EFL

BAGHDAD (AP) - About 10,000 U.S. soldiers launched an offensive against al-Qaida in Iraq northeast of Baghdad early Tuesday, killing at least 22 insurgents, the U.S. military said.
Nice bag for so early in the hunt. Sounds like the AQ rats have decided to stand and fight. Good.

The raids, dubbed "Operation Arrowhead Ripper," took place in Baqouba, the capital of Diyala province, and involved air assaults under the cover of darkness, the military said in a statement. The operation was still in its opening stages, it said. Good name.

On Monday, military officials said U.S. and Iraqi forces had launched attacks on Baghdad's northern and southern flanks to clear out Sunni insurgents, al-Qaida fighters and Shiite militiamen who had fled the capital and Anbar during a four-month-old security operation.

A top U.S. military official said American forces were taking advantage of the arrival of the final brigade of 30,000 additional U.S. troops to open concerted attacks.

"We are going into the areas that have been sanctuaries of al-Qaida and other extremists to take them on and weed them out, to help get the areas clear and to really take on al-Qaida," the senior official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak about the operation. "Those are areas in the belts around Baghdad, some parts in Anbar province and specifically Diyala province."

Al-Qaida has proven to be an extremely agile foe for U.S. and Iraqi forces, as shown by its ability to transfer major operations to Baqouba from Anbar province, the sprawling desert region in western Iraq. Note the favorable, even fawning, spin AP manages to put on AQ's forced retreat from Al Anbar. There is no guarantee that driving the organization out of current sanctuaries would prevent it from migrating to other regions to continue the fight. They are just about out of regions, you dolts. Does AP use maps anymore.

The death toll in sectarian violence Monday skyrocketed after a brief period of relative peace. At least 111 people were killed or found dead nationwide, with 33 bodies of torture victims showing up in Baghdad alone. No figures for comparison, just a lame "skyrocket" metaphor. Wonder why?

Well to the south, Iraqi officials reported as many as 36 people were killed in fierce overnight fighting that began as British and Iraqi forces conducted house-to-house searches in Amarah, a stronghold of the Shiite Mahdi Army militia. That would be a good region for AQ to resume operations in once they are snuffed out in Diyala. "Greetings, Shia brothers! Sheikh Osama commands us to help you drive out the infidels! Unite for vict---" BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!

The U.S. military issued a statement that said at least 20 people were killed in clashes with coalition forces. A spokeswoman for Britain's Ministry of Defense said British soldiers played a supporting role to Iraqi security forces during the raid and fighting in Amarah. She spoke on condition of anonymity, which is ministry policy.

The operations on Baghdad's flanks were opened by the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division, which has taken over dangerous al-Qaida-infested regions to the south. The division began its drive into the Salman Pak and Arab Jabour districts on the city's southeastern fringe over the weekend.

At the time, ground forces commander Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno said U.S. troops were heading into those areas in force for the first time in three years.

The military said in a statement Monday that fighter jets dropped "four precision-guided bombs" in support of 1,200 U.S. soldiers from the 3rd Infantry as they started moving on al-Qaida targets.

Military officials said Multi-National Division-North forces likewise were increasing pressure on al-Qaida sanctuaries northeast of the capital in the verdant orange and palm groves of Diyala, now one of the most fiercely contested regions in Iraq.

Posted by Atomic Conspiracy 2007-06-19 06:38|| || Front Page|| [5 views ]  Top
 File under: Iraqi Insurgency 

#1 Michael Yon will be covering this.
Posted by anonymous5089 2007-06-19 06:55||   2007-06-19 06:55|| Front Page Top

#2 Operation Arrowhead Ripper

I would prefer, Operation Ass Stomping or Operation Shredded Flesh.

...U.S. troops were heading into those areas in force for the first time in three years.

I don't understand the logic behind this. Terrorists are always strong where you are not. Constant sweeps of areas and attacking ANY area which has resistance is how you break a irregular force. Seems our new commander in Iraq understands this.
Posted by DarthVader">DarthVader  2007-06-19 07:45||   2007-06-19 07:45|| Front Page Top

#3 Pat Dollard is also on the story:

"Apocalypse now
The crime here is, this was all predicted on this website since mid-April, but not in the MSM. They gave us only body counts without context, instead of the narrative of the campaign that was leading to this final showdown with Al Qaeda in Diyala. See the links in the opening sentence of the post below to see how long I’ve been laying this out. Mid April. As exploding bridges and other horrific acts of violence ripped Baghdad and its environs, we knew that they were the violent, desperate acts of the cornered Al Qaeda beast. But the MSM and Congress wanted you to believe they were all signs of hopelesness instead of the darkly ironic signs of true hope that they really were. This is a dark, shameful age in America."
Posted by Atomic Conspiracy 2007-06-19 08:12||   2007-06-19 08:12|| Front Page Top

#4 Elsewhere at Rantburg:

Car Bombing of Baghdad Shia Mosque Kills 61

The AQ leadership has burned its boats. Shia troops supporting Arrowhead-Ripper will take no prisoners, and Shia police will take dire revenge on any the Americans turn over. This will force the trapped AQ beasts to fight to the last rat.
Posted by Atomic Conspiracy 2007-06-19 08:24||   2007-06-19 08:24|| Front Page Top

#5 Hope the islamists and Baathists are trapped or decided to stay and fight in Baqouba. It's not exactly a secret we were massing there. A week ago, a report had 2000 Kurds were deploying there.
Posted by ed 2007-06-19 08:50||   2007-06-19 08:50|| Front Page Top

#6 'There is no guarantee that driving the organization out of current sanctuaries would prevent it from migrating to other regions to continue the fight.' 'They are just about out of regions, you dolts. Does AP use maps anymore.'

Actually while not out of regions (theres still the whole tigris valley upthrough Tikrit, Kirkuk, and Mosul) they are almost out of regions near Baghdad. That would be why this op is so important. We've made real progress in cleaning up Baghdad, IIUC, but they can still get bombers in from the belts around Baghdad, esp Diyala. From Mosul they can blow things up in Mosul, but we can complete clear, hold and build in the capital.

Posted by Liberalhawk 2007-06-19 09:31||   2007-06-19 09:31|| Front Page Top

#7 Good luck, good hunting, and stay safe, boys.
Posted by Mike 2007-06-19 10:19||   2007-06-19 10:19|| Front Page Top

#8 Strategically, this may be one of the last major battle of the occupation, as there are literally no cities left to run to. The enemy made a strategic blunder in leaving Baghdad, as only there they had any chance for remaining functional, if diminished.

Now they face either annihilation or being forced into Iran for good. Baghdad is closed to them.
Posted by Anonymoose 2007-06-19 10:24||   2007-06-19 10:24|| Front Page Top

#9 "They are just about out of regions, you dolts. Does AP use maps anymore."

In a word: No.
This is the kind of reporting you get when you use AQ for your stringers.

Al
Posted by Frozen Al 2007-06-19 10:28||   2007-06-19 10:28|| Front Page Top

#10 Hope we're keeping an eye on the Iranian border for rats leaving the sinking ship.
Posted by Chuck Simmins">Chuck Simmins  2007-06-19 10:43|| http://northshorejournal.org]">[http://northshorejournal.org]  2007-06-19 10:43|| Front Page Top

#11 Arrowhead Ripper = AH Ripper = Ass Hole Ripper...

I get it!!!
Posted by GolfBravoUSMC 2007-06-19 11:02||   2007-06-19 11:02|| Front Page Top

#12 Actually while not out of regions (theres still the whole tigris valley upthrough Tikrit, Kirkuk, and Mosul)

Kirkuk and Nineveh Provinces (Mosul) are run by the Kurds, and while there are still terrorist attacks, there is nothing like the lawlessness that exists elsewhere in Iraq. I think it very unlikely AQ could gain a significant presence in these provinces.
Posted by phil_b 2007-06-19 12:06||   2007-06-19 12:06|| Front Page Top

#13 Alpha Whiskey Romeo
Posted by Rex Mundi 2007-06-19 12:10||   2007-06-19 12:10|| Front Page Top

#14 This operation, and the one to take and hold Baghdad that preceded it, seems in many ways part of an inverted "tighten the noose" strategy.

Perhaps this is all part of Petraeus' counter-insurgency playbook. Unlike a more conventional approach of circling the enemy and then tightening that circle till there is nothing left, which hasn't really worked on a macro level in Iraq because we are not fighting a conventional enemy there, this seems to indicate that we have turned that strategy inside out.

In other words, secure and hold the center of gravity, in this case Baghdad, and then move out in pursuit of the enemy while not letting them back in. This forces the enemy to find sanctuaries outside of their sphere of influence, making it more difficult for them to operate while reducing that sphere until there is nothing left.

Sounds like we've got the bastards on the run. Let's hope they run (or die in the process) all the way to Iran, Syria, etc. This will finally give the Iraqis a decent chance at some sense of normalcy, relatively speaking of course. That is something one must assume that most Iraqis are desperate for.


Lame disclaimer: Perhaps this is obvious to most here but it just occurred to me. Yeah, I'm a little slow right now but I am learning!
Posted by eltoroverde 2007-06-19 13:33||   2007-06-19 13:33|| Front Page Top

#15 AH Ripper - awesome name! :)

I just hope our guys don't stop chasing them when they do get to the Iranian and Syrian borders. After all, it is *so* difficult to identify lines in the sand and payback is well overdue!

Good Hunting!
Posted by Tony (UK) 2007-06-19 14:12||   2007-06-19 14:12|| Front Page Top

#16 Phil,

Kirkuk is ethnically mixed, and AQ likes such places (like Diyala and the triangle south of Baghdad) cause they can play on Sunni Arab rivalries with others. I doubt that the Kurds are capable of keeping AQ out of the non-Kurdish side of Kirkuk, much less out of Mosul. But again, I think Petraeus is willing to live with that if he can push them out of the center.
Posted by Liberalhawk 2007-06-19 14:27||   2007-06-19 14:27|| Front Page Top

#17 Phil,

Kirkuk is ethnically mixed, and AQ likes such places (like Diyala and the triangle south of Baghdad) cause they can play on Sunni Arab rivalries with others. I doubt that the Kurds are capable of keeping AQ out of the non-Kurdish side of Kirkuk, much less out of Mosul. But again, I think Petraeus is willing to live with that if he can push them out of the center.
Posted by Liberalhawk 2007-06-19 14:27||   2007-06-19 14:27|| Front Page Top

#18 I thought it was a good point, eltoroverde dear. You've got to be careful, though; some say that kind of thinking becomes addictive. ;-)
Posted by trailing wife 2007-06-19 16:02||   2007-06-19 16:02|| Front Page Top

#19 Sounds like they are ripping ass. Good luck guys. Be safe.
Posted by JohnQC 2007-06-19 19:19||   2007-06-19 19:19|| Front Page Top

#20 Arrowhead Ripper = AH Ripper = Ass Hole Ripper...

GolfBravoUSMC has my vote for it being shorthand nomenclature.
Posted by Zenster">Zenster  2007-06-19 20:14||   2007-06-19 20:14|| Front Page Top

#21 #14: "Sounds like we've got the bastards on the run. Let's hope they run (or die in the process) all the way to Iran, Syria, etc."

There - fixed that for ya', etv.
Posted by Barbara Skolaut">Barbara Skolaut  2007-06-19 20:40|| http://ariellestjohndesigns.com/]">[http://ariellestjohndesigns.com/]  2007-06-19 20:40|| Front Page Top

#22 Always ready to rectify even the slightest oversight or prepare a whole trainload of popcorn.

Our Barbara, what would we do without her? Lubs ya, babe!
Posted by Zenster">Zenster  2007-06-19 21:20||   2007-06-19 21:20|| Front Page Top

21:32 Frank G
21:31 trailing wife
20:24 European Conservative
19:50 trailing wife
19:48 Frank G
19:39 trailing wife
18:40 3dc
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18:33 3dc
18:23 DooDahMan
18:21 DooDahMan
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17:57 Huputle+Cherelet4131
17:53 SteveS
17:52 SteveS
17:49 lord garth
17:26 trailing wife
17:21 M. Murcek
17:17 lord garth
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