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yehoshua

Nov 23 2004, 08:10 PM

With the offensive in Fallujah winding down and under control, Iraq has begun another offensive:

Mass Offensive Launched South of Baghdad

QUOTE

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Some 5,000 U.S. Marines, British troops and Iraqi commandos launched raids and arrested suspected insurgents Tuesday in a new offensive aimed at clearing a swath of insurgent hotbeds south of Baghdad, the U.S. military said.

...

The new offensive was the third large-scale military assault this month aimed at suppressing Iraq's persistent insurgency ahead of crucial elections set for Jan. 30.

The region of dusty, small towns south of the capital has become known as the "triangle of death" for the frequent attacks by car bombs, rockets, and small arms on U.S. and Iraqi forces there and for frequent ambushes on travellers.

The military said violence has surged in the area in recent weeks in an apparent attempt to divert attention away from the U.S. assault on Fallujah.

The joint operation kicked off with early morning raids in the town of Jabella, 50 miles south of Baghdad, netting 32 suspected insurgents, the U.S. military said in a statement. U.S. and Iraqi forces were conducting house-to-house searches and vehicle checkpoints.

Questions for Debate:

Will large coalition attacks on small insurgencies help prepare Iraq for a free election?
Will this lead to the capture of Zarqawi?
Are joint operations, meaning operations that include troops from the US, Britian, and Iraq, good for the war on terror and a free Iraq?

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Vampiel

Nov 23 2004, 08:40 PM

Will large coalition attacks on small insurgencies help prepare Iraq for a free election?

"Small insurgencies"? I dont share your optimism. They are a small percentage but still substantial. I believe it will, I always hear how killing terrorism breeds terrorism, so by following that logic to the end once all the terrorists are dead they will be invincible. Im sure it does but not on the scale people are portraying.

Will this lead to the capture of Zarqawi?

Unconfirmed report's coming in right not, but they sometimes end up being just that so ill hold off for now.

The military did catch a high ranking member elsewhere.
http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/breaking_3.html

QUOTE

BAGHDAD – The U.S. military has captured what officials termed a senior Sunni commander in Iraq, near the Syrian border.

The military said the Marine Corps detained the top commander in Al Anbar province in western Iraq. The commander, who was not identified, was one of six insurgents captured on Nov. 21 in the Anbar town of Haqlaniya.

"One of the six detainees is believed to be a high-ranking cell leader of anti-Iraqi forces operating in and around the Al Anbar province," the military said in a statement on Monday. The military did not provide additional details.

Are joint operations, meaning operations that include troops from the US, Britian, and Iraq, good for the war on terror and a free Iraq?

Of course. 145,000 security forces will be in place in January to guard the polls though it was estimated that 245,000 would be needed so I have a feeling the US will be picking up the slack.

DaffyGrl

Nov 24 2004, 03:30 PM

Will large coalition attacks on small insurgencies help prepare Iraq for a free election?
No

Will this lead to the capture of Zarqawi?
Doubtful.

Are joint operations, meaning operations that include troops from the US, Britian, and Iraq, good for the war on terror and a free Iraq?

There is nothing “good” about this whole stinking mess. A “free Iraq” is an oxymoron. Just as Israelis and Palestinians will never tolerate each other, neither will the Sunnis, Shi’ites and Kurds. I maintain as I have from the beginning that this war is not “winnable” if “winning” is installing a stable, democratic government. Not gonna happen. Centuries of history, religious differences and customs are not going to be so quickly quashed.

QUOTE(Yehoshua)

With the offensive in Fallujah winding down and under control, Iraq has begun another offensive:

It’s difficult to address the questions when they are prefaced by this misconception. Fallujah may be “winding down”, but it is far from under control. Once troops assume it is under control and concentrate on other areas, the insurgents will likely return and the whole vicious cycle will begin again.

QUOTE

In Fallujah, where U.S. Marines and soldiers are still battling pockets of resistance, insurgents waved a white flag of surrender before opening fire on U.S. troops and causing casualties, Marine spokesman 1st Lt. Lyle Gilbert said Saturday without elaborating.

U.S. troops in the northern city of Mosul found the bodies of nine Iraqi soldiers Saturday, all shot in the back of the head. The military first reported that seven of the victims were beheaded, but a second statement issued later Saturday said those reports were false. Source

And then there are the “Fallujah insurgents” captured in fighting in Baghdad. It just reinforces my belief that the insurgents are mobile, and move from town to town when things get too hot.

QUOTE

Insurgents ambushed a U.S. patrol, killing a soldier, gunned down four government employees and clashed with American troops in neighborhoods across Baghdad today. Nine Iraqis died in fighting west of the capital -- another sign the insurgency remains potent despite the fall of its stronghold, Fallujah. Houston Chronicle

Voter registration offices are being bombed, people who work in them are being threatened...The only thing offensive here is the fact that our government made the decision to invade Iraq in the first place. Now that's offensive.

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