[tomder55]

A major battle is taking place in Baquba ,a city in Baghdad's northern "suburbs" .

Multi-National Force - Iraq - Task Force Lightning strikes al-Qaeda {Operation Arrowhead Ripper }

The NY Slimes reported that 2000 troops are involved .They are wrong . There are no fewer than 10,000 US troops engaged plus a large contingent of Iraqi forces Military Strikes Insurgents’ Base East of Baghdad - New York Times

Al- Qaeda in Mesopotamia has occupied the city and has used it as a base of operations . The battle underway ;possibly the largest concentration of MNF-Iraq forces used since the 2nd Fallujah battle ,is meant to be decisive . The goal is not to chase al- Qaeda away but to trap and defeat them . They made Baqubah the capital of their califate . They have chosen the battle field ;that is where they will fall... surge-ically.

Meanwhile A missile attack killed at least 32 al-Qaeda and pro-Taliban militants in N.Warzistan Pakistan (the region ceded to al-Qaeda by Pakistan) .
Missiles kill 32 militants in Pakistan tribal region | International | Reuters

This immediately after a propaganda video of a Taliban graduation ceremony was released accompanied by the ususual fanfare by the MSM

Earlier this year we heard cassandra warnings of the spring offensive that the Taliban was going to launch against NATO and the Afghan government . So far all I see is NATO forces on the attack and the Taliban limping away again to their mountain retreats .

[ETWolverine]

Funny how we're not seeing very muh of this in the MSM, and what little there is, the NY Slimes gets wrong.

I like your "surge-ical" play on words. Very cute.

Elliot

[tomder55]

Yeah but they were salivating over some children casualties in Afghanistan. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/19/wo.../19afghan.html

[speechlesstx]

Sounds like we finally decided to open up a can of whoopa$$. Good.

[ETWolverine]

Have you seen Ralph Peters' article in today's NY Post?

WINNING ON OFFENSE
By RALPH PETERS


June 21, 2007 -- HALLELUJAH! For the first time since Baghdad fell, our military in Iraq has a comprehensive, integrated plan to defeat our enemies.
Until now, our efforts have always been piecemeal, stop-start affairs. Even our success in the Second Battle of Fallujah in 2004 went unexploited.

Things have changed. And terrorists, not just Iraqi civilians, are dying.

The 10,000-man operation reported in the Baquba area is only one part of a broader effort. In the words of a well-placed officer in Baghdad, "Operations like that are going on around Fallujah, Salman Pak, in Eastern Anbar, the belts around Baghdad, in Arab Jabour, outside of Taji and throughout the Diyala River Valley."

This widespread offensive against al Qaeda in Iraq and other terrorists is part of a carefully developed, phased plan. The first step as the troop surge proceeded was to establish livable conditions in key neighborhoods of the capital.

That step was vital, but insufficient in itself. Terrorists fled, but they didn't disappear. They just sought refuge elsewhere. And while neighborhood pacification involved aggressive tactical actions, it ultimately put our forces in a defensive posture.

And you can't win solely by playing defense, either in the NFL or in war.

Gen. David Petraeus understood that. He's done things methodically, operating from a coherent design - not just reacting as was our practice in the past, but imposing our will on the enemy. After regaining lost ground in Baghdad and exploiting Sunni Arab disillusionment with al Qaeda in Anbar Province, our military took the offensive. We pushed the enemy off "our" turf. Now we're going after "their" turf.

This balance between defensive and offensive operations, integrated across central Iraq, is the first time we've seen a classic approach to military operations in post-Saddam Iraq. Amazing, but true.

What hurdles lie ahead?

First, it remains an open question whether we've got enough boots on the ground. While Petraeus and his team are using our forces with remarkable efficiency, there ain't no more to send.

The second, enduring question is whether the Iraqis will finally knock off their squabbling and shoulder their share of the burden. Petraeus is giving us a lesson in skillful generalship, employing U.S. troops where he must, Iraqis where he can. But, in the end, we can't win this unless the Iraqis win it for themselves. Pious statements about "brave Iraqis" only get us so far: We're still only buying time - and no one can pretend that time isn't running out.

Which brings us to the home front, where the war just might be lost, no matter what progress we make on the ground.

Political hucksterism and poll-pandering on Capitol Hill amount to stabbing our troops in the back. Period. The insistence that success or failure will be determined beyond doubt by September is pure political quackery.

The military operations and political maneuvering in Iraq are infernally complex. The earliest we might know anything will be around Thanksgiving - and all we'll know then is whether the Iraqis are getting on board in a serious way.

After four lost years, we need to have realistic expectations - unless we intend to throw the game for domestic political reasons. Gen. Petraeus is playing a bad hand with greater skill than we had any right to expect. He's making meaningful tactical progress. We don't yet know if that will translate into a strategic turnaround - but, for God's sake, let's give him a chance.

And let's not lose sight of our own national-security priority, which is defeating al Qaeda. Terror International is having a really bad time in Iraq these days: More and more Sunni Arabs are breaking with al Qaeda and its affiliates over their insufferable brutality. The Baquba-area operations involve former enemies now fighting on our side against the foreign terrorists. That's not just good news for Iraq. It's good news for America.

Much could still go wrong. We don't know if those Sunni Arabs will keep faith with us over the longer term - and now the Shias who control the government are bewailing our new local alliances. Sunni Arabs have realized at last that they've got to "cooperate to graduate." Now the Shia are the ones who insist on playing a zero-sum game.

And, of course, we never eliminated Muqtada al-Sadr. For which we're going to be even sorrier than we are now.

Still, there's reason for sober optimism at the moment: We've finally got a coherent approach to defeating our enemies, not just parrying them. It looks like our military leaders have gotten serious at last.

God help us, it almost looks like we want to win.

Ralph Peters' new book, "Wars of Blood and Faith," hits stores on July 25.

[tomder55]

Yesterday was day 30 of Operation Arrowhead Ripper .Michael Yon reports there is very little fighting left in Baquba . He reports on a very interesting pow-wow that took place with Iraqi Army officers and former insurgent leaders.

Colonel Townsend’s staff had prepared a slideshow that started with a draft of “7 Rules.” The final version of the 7 Rules were open to discussion and suggestions from those in attendance. The rules were followed by an Oath, also still in draft.

First Colonel Townsend reviewed the 7 Rules, presented here verbatim from the slides:

1) Protect your community from AQI, JAM and other terrorist militia.
2) Accept both peaceful Sunni, Shia and others.
3) Stay in your neighborhood/AO [area of operations] for your safety.
4) Take an oath of allegiance to the Constitution of Iraq.
5) Register with Iraqi Security Forces and Coalition Forces [biometrics for CF].
6) For your safety, wear a standard uniform and markings [an example was proposed].
7) Receive hiring preference for Iraqi Police and Army.

Then came the Oath, also presented here verbatim from the slides:

1) I will support and defend the Constitution of Iraq.
2) I will cooperate fully with the Iraqi government.
3) I will guard my neighborhood, community and city.
4) I will bear no arms outside my home without coordination of Iraqi Security Forces or Coalition Forces
5) I will bear no arms against the Government of Iraq, Iraqi Security Forces or Coalition Forces.
6) I will not support sectarian agendas.

After the proposal for the 7 Rules and the Oath were presented, the most interesting—fascinating, really—part of the meeting unfolded.

The Iraqi Army commanders and “Baqubah Guardians” then gave their input, and some of that input was as follows:

1) Protect your community from AQI, JAM and other terrorist militia.
Some attendees did not like that AQI and JAM were singled out, citing that this only validated those organizations, while not fully recognizing the problems from terrorist groups such as the Badr or IAI. Other attendees disagreed and thought the groups should be named, but finally it was decided to strike the names AQI and JAM.

2) Accept both peaceful Sunni, Shia and others.
After some intelligent discussion, the Iraqis wanted this changed to “Accept all peaceful Iraqi citizens without discrimination.”

3) Stay in your neighborhood/AO [area of operations] for your safety.
This needed clarification: Colonel Townsend was not saying they should not travel from their neighborhoods, but that they should not operate out of their neighborhoods, and the attendees agreed.

4) Take an oath of allegiance to the Constitution of Iraq.
Now it got interesting. One Iraqi said that even under the Saddam regime, bad as it was, the constitution still kept them together. He made no mention of the wars against the Kurds or Shia. But he went on to say that the current constitution tended to divide Iraq. No serious arguments were put forth on this today, but it was clear that fourth rule could lead to months or years of debate. After all, our own Constitution remains a work in progress, having been amended more than two dozen times. Each time that Americans bring this fact to forefront, it seems to assuage some of the “Constitutional-angst” among Iraqis, but that doesn’t change the fact that their government is about as solid as fog.

5) Register with Iraqi Security Forces and Coalition Forces [biometrics for CF].
The “biometrics” part of #5 was an issue partly because Coalition Forces do not share biometrics with the ISF, and so in fact we are asking Iraqis to submit to photographing, fingerprinting and retinal scans for our use. The Iraqis politely offered their consensus that this was not a good idea, and Colonel Townsend chuckled, saying even Americans wouldn’t go for that. [Can’t blame him for trying.]

6) For your safety, wear a standard uniform and markings [an example was proposed].
The uniform idea was fine with the Iraqis, especially so since we killed at least six of their militia members in the last 30 days. I saw our guys shoot four 1920s guys a few days ago on Sunday, killing two of them. The shooting was the fault of the 1920s guys: had they been wearing uniforms, they would be alive today. The Iraqis agreed that uniforms are a good idea.

7) Receive hiring preference for Iraqi Police and Army.
Point number seven received nods of approval.
On the Oath, the matter was more interesting:

1) I will support and defend the Constitution of Iraq.
Discussion around Point One of the Oath was similar to that around Point Four of the 7 Rules.

2) I will cooperate fully with the Iraqi government.
Point two received some pushback, but again, imagine asking all Americans to swear that “I will comply fully with the American Government.” It would be un-American to agree to that! And here in Iraq, if I were an Iraqi, I would never agree to “I will cooperate fully with the Government of Iraq.” What government? The one in Baghdad that refuses to send legal food shipments to Diyala Province? I saw this with my own eyes and videotaped officials in the “Iraqi government” refusing to help the Diyala Government, calling Diyala (verbatim) a “terrorist province.” Even though Diyala has been a province riddled by terrorists lately, that still doesn’t change the fact that people here went without food because of the government people in Baghdad they are now supposed to pledge allegiance to. No smart person was likely to sign that line.

The other points were subject to briefer discussion and easier agreement, although the easiest of all parts of the Oath was point Six—I will not support sectarian agendas. Every Iraqi in the room immediately was aboard on this one, and they even seemed enthusiastic about it.

I’ve saved an unmentioned point for last. The Iraqi flag appeared on some of the slides. But the graphic showed an Iraqi flag without the traditional words “God is Great.” This was clearly a potential flash point. In fact, one of the Iraqi interpreters nearly recused himself from the conversation. LT David Wallach, whose native tongue is Arabic, told me after the meeting that Saddam had put “God is Great” on the flags so that Iraqis would stop grinding the flags into the dirt with their feet. He said that Iraqis would never trample on anything that had those words written on it.

But other than the interpreter’s sudden jitters, I detected no overt emotion among the Iraqis. In fact, they were all calm, professional, and very polite. An Iraqi Colonel was generous enough to offer that he believed it to be just a mistake that “God is Great” was left off the flag that was used on the slides. But the Iraqis all agreed that nobody was going to sign anything that displayed an Iraqi flag without the phrase “God is Great.”

This might seem ominous to us. “Allah u Akbar!” are, after all, words that we have become accustomed to hearing when someone is doing something bad, like burning an American flag, or blowing up Americans. But these issues are more like the intense legal and media battles over the words “In God We Trust” on the money in our pockets, or the ongoing furor in some sectors over the phrase “One Nation, Under God, Indivisible . . . ” in the Pledge of Allegiance. (Not to mention the dust storms kicked up by the Pledge itself.)

Seeing “God is Great” written on the Iraqi flag might provoke some to protest “Why did we come here just to stand up a country who would write such things on their flag?” But I sat there in that meeting, which was completely civil and professional, and I thought about another flag, the one flying over South Carolina. Some people call that flag “heritage,” while others call it “hateful,” “painful” and “demeaning.” And today in that meeting, I thought about the descendants of slaves who are now top military commanders in the American Army, and in that moment I knew that Iraq could make it.

Michael Yon : Online Magazine » Blog Archive » 7 Rules: 1 Oath

God bless Col Townsend and all who serve with him. He is doing the work of warrior and diplomat in the tradition of I guess General Douglas McArthur . While the Democrats organize slumber parties and the State Dept. plans grand bargain games that more resemble grand illusions , from the safety of Foggy Bottom (or in the case of Iraq the Green Zone )the Majors and Colonels in the field are showing the word how diplomacy should work... from a position of strength.

[Dark_crow]

A major battle is taking place in Baquba ,a city in Baghdad's northern "suburbs" .

Multi-National Force - Iraq - Task Force Lightning strikes al-Qaeda {Operation Arrowhead Ripper }

The NY Slimes reported that 2000 troops are involved .They are wrong . There are no fewer than 10,000 US troops engaged plus a large contingent of Iraqi forces Military Strikes Insurgents’ Base East of Baghdad - New York Times

al- Qaeda in Mesopotamia has occupied the city and has used it as a base of operations . The battle underway ;possibly the largest concentration of MNF-Iraq forces used since the 2nd Fallujah battle ,is meant to be decisive . The goal is not to chase al- Qaeda away but to trap and defeat them . They made Baqubah the capital of their califate . They have chosen the battle field ;that is where they will fall ....surge-ically.

Meanwhile A missile attack killed at least 32 al-Qaeda and pro-Taliban militants in N.Warzistan Pakistan (the region ceded to al-Qaeda by Pakistan) .
Missiles kill 32 militants in Pakistan tribal region | International | Reuters

This immediately after a propaganda video of a Taliban graduation ceremony was released accompanied by the ususual fanfare by the MSM

Earlier this year we heard cassandra warnings of the spring offensive that the Taliban was going to launch against NATO and the Afghan government . So far all I see is NATO forces on the attack and the Taliban limping away again to their mountain retreats .

Just as a side note and you may already know, centcom determines the type of loads carried on each mission. They don’t allow the most effective loads, or when you see figures like ““Missiles kill 32…” it could often read “Bombs kill 320…”

In spite of this, we are winning; it’s just costing more American lives.

[iamgrowler]

Just as a side note and you may already know, centcom determines the type of loads carried on each mission. They don’t allow the most effective loads, or when you see figures like ““Missiles kill 32…” it could often read “Bombs kill 320…”

In spite of this, we are winning; it’s just costing more American lives.

Given that the battle is being fought in an urban environment, could it be that we are finally grasping the fact that the excessive 'collateral' damage that was the rule in the past is largely responsible for our inability to win both the 'hearts and minds' of the civilian population?

How long has it been since you heard the phrase 'Shock and Awe' used by those charged with the prosecution of this war?

[CaptainRich]

Given that the battle is being fought in an urban environment, could it be that we are finally grasping the fact that the excessive 'collateral' damage that was the rule in the past is largely responsible for our inability to win both the 'hearts and minds' of the civilian population?

How long has it been since you heard the phrase 'Shock and Awe' used by those charged with the prosecution of this war?

Some good points. But remember, this is a very fluid environment. What worked in one neighborhood today may never work there again.

Precision, surgical strikes and assaults are fantastic!

I like the policy with Operation Arrowhead Ripper, "No one in, no one out!" It's about time firm efforts are being taken. In the words of Bear Bryant, "Don't give up at halftime. Concentrate on winning the second half, too!"

[Dark_crow]

Given that the battle is being fought in an urban environment, could it be that we are finally grasping the fact that the excessive 'collateral' damage that was the rule in the past is largely responsible for our inability to win both the 'hearts and minds' of the civilian population?

How long has it been since you heard the phrase 'Shock and Awe' used by those charged with the prosecution of this war?

The point of my side note is that field officers are not in the ‘loop’ in deciding the better ordinance on a particular mission; and who is in a better position than them to determine the most effective load.

Have you been to N.Warzistan Pakistan recently? There is no ‘urban environment’ in the literal sense of the word; and that is the context of my example, was it not?

However, there are ‘urban environments’ and then there are urban environments;’ that is, they are not all the same.

Do you suppose centcom determines the type of loads carried based on saving American lives; well they don’t, it’s based on the election needs of Congress, which is based on media reports… that’s a hell of a way to protect any country.