Good Morning, Iraq.

[Proletariat]

This is my Good News from Iraq thread. I was surprised in another thread how people from both sides were shocked or skeptical about the good news coming from the place, so here I will continue to dig up dirt that explains what is really going on.

Today's interesting link: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article...680525,00.html

A SYRIAN policeman was killed and two militants captured during fighting on a mountain overlooking Damascus yesterday in a second day of battles between Syrian security forces and rebels connected with the war in Iraq.

The gunbattle, which allegedly involved former bodyguards of Saddam Hussein, came amid indications that the Syrian Government is increasing its efforts to capture militants who use Syria as a staging ground for attacks in Iraq.

Sana, the official Syrian news agency, reported: “The clash took place on Mount Qassioun with a group of people wanted for terrorist crimes, some of whom were former bodyguards. The gunbattle claimed the life of Ahmad Hijazi, a security forces officer, Sana said, which added that two police officers and two other security force officers were wounded.

The agency said that the two people arrested were Sharif Aied Saif Smadi, a Jordanian, and the wife of his brother, Mohammed, who is on the run.

The incident came a day after fighting between Syrian troops and suspected Islamist militants returning from Iraq who were trying to cross into northern Lebanon, near Homs. Two soldiers and a militant were killed in the fighting, the first incident of its kind along the Lebanon-Syria frontier. Syrian troops arrested at least 34 militants staying at a nearby safe house, Sana said.

[Proletariat]

From a few days ago.

Chrenkoff, with more of the latest good news.

"You can't fix in six months what it took 35 years to destroy." These words, spoken by Ibrahim al-Jaafari, Iraq's first democratically elected Prime Minister in half a century, should be inscribed in 3-foot-tall characters as a preface to all the reporting from Iraq. Sadly, the underlying reality all too often seems to escape many reporters caught in the excitement of "now."

(Sorry to upset you, Galloway fan boys. Some people think Iraq is better off without Saddam.)

[Proletariat]

From the same thread:

Again, if all you follow are mainstream media sources, you'd swear that the terrorists in Iraq were running around with no repurcussions. Yet, as usual, when you dig around a little (aren't media outlets paid to do this?) you find that, no, actually, the right side is winning:

http://iraqthemodel.blogspot.com/20...ll-down-to.html

It's not only us who bleed, they're bleeding too end even more profusely and obviously the media has a purpose behind focusing on our losses while mentioning the terrorists losses in the inner pages or in many cases pretending that they don’t exist.

-1st regiment/2nd commandoes brigade arrested 43 suspects in Al-Doura district while the 2nd regiment/1st brigade arrested 2 terrorists in Shu'la district.

-The interior ministry announced the beginning of operation lightning-1 in Babil province which is going to be a joint effort between the Army and the local police forces. The 1st wave of raids resulted in arresting 43 suspects and confiscating 10 vehicles used in terror attacks against Iraqi civilians and security forces.

-A force from the Iraqi army backed by Polish troops raided terrorists hides in the areas of Jibla and Rashad in the same province and arrested 8 terrorists and confiscated their Ak-47's.

-Police forces in Kerbala arrested 20 terrorists and confiscated 6 suspicious vehicles and disarmed 2 vehicle-born bombs.

-In Zangora area near Ramadi, Iraqi and American troops arrested a terror cell leader named 'Jbair Grayen Al-Jiblawi who's one of Zarqawi's aides in Anbar province.

-In Tikrit, multinational forces arrested 3 roadside bombs-makers and in Kirkuk 10 suspects were arrested. The men are supposed to be responsible for some missile attacks in the city. Explosives' ingredients and blast capsules were found during the search of the arrest scene.

-In Abu Ghraib, Al-Muthana brigade arrested 19 terrorists and found amounts of weapons and detonation devices as well as vehicles that were prepared for performing terror attacks.

-In Tal-afar near Mosul, Iraqi and American troops killed 15 terrorists in clashes that took place yesterday.

-One of the most important successes was arresting one of Izzat Al-Douri's relatives along with 3 of his bodyguards.

-Iraqi TV announced Khalid Sulaiman Darwis (aka Abu Al-Ghadia Al-Soori) was killed during a raid as part of Operation Spear in Anbar province. The Syrian terrorist is one of the leaders of al-Qaeda in Iraq.

Sources: Iraqia TV, Al-Sabah, New Sabah and Al-Mada papers.



That's ~170 captured or killed, many in operations by independent Iraqi army soldiers. The key is the bolded one, however, they're getting close to Izzat Al-Douri who was the Islamist in Saddam's regime. Be interesting to hear what he has to say once we hook him up to some fake electric chairs.

[Xiahou]

This could be a good thread- keep it coming.

[Proletariat]

I won't go back any further for now.

Also;

Knocking on wood...

It has been a bit quieter

Knocking on wood...

A major tribe in the insurgency is about to issue a fatwa declaring the political process valid

Knocking on wood..

[Proletariat]

Also, Fighting breaks out between Iraqi rebels and Al Qaeda.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main...4/ixworld.html

American troops on the Syrian border are enjoying a battle they have long waited to see - a clash between foreign al-Qa'eda fighters and Iraqi insurgents.


Tribal leaders in Husaybah are attacking followers of Abu Musab Zarqawi, the Jordanian-born terrorist who established the town as an entry point for al-Qa'eda jihadists being smuggled into the country.

[Proletariat]

This could be a good thread- keep it coming.

I hope to maintain this myself as often as possible, but anyone should feel free to chime in!

Glad you're interested.

But wait, there's more. The concept of de-escalation sounds like a good concept. Here you go:

http://www.military.com/Opinions/0,,Lind_062905,00.html

When the patrol (in Humvees) passes a busy street, Lieutenant Waters ... tells his men to get out and start walking. As the foot patrol makes its way through the streets, an old Shiite woman in a black hejab invites Waters into her house. At the threshold, Waters politely waits.

"I don't want to track the dirt from the street into your house," he tells her ...

Waters is trying to gain the trust of this tense district, where the US has previously been regarded with hatred and suspicion ...

What has enabled Lt. Waters and his unit of California National Guardsmen to get it right? Lt. Waters is a cop. Specifically, he is a sheriff from Sacramento. He is dealing with the people of Baghdad the same way he deals with the people back home, politely and with a genuine desire to help. His unit has not killed anyone because Lt. Waters knows cops succeed by de-escalating, not by escalating violence. Cops try very hard not to kill people. In fact, cops don't want to fight at all.

[Watchman]

*s-i-i-i-gh* You know, around here we have a saying about not selling a bear's fur before the beast has been felled...

Just out of curiosity, what are the conservative estimates you know about the number of insurgents operating down there ? The ones I've seen speak of many thousands; and as odds are they get new recruits all the time...

Rather more importantly, the ones that don't die in the skirmishes learn. The place is a live-fire training ground for the next generation of Islamist militants, and you're not going to be able to convince me the US will be able to kill or capture even a majority of them.

If the country gets back on its feet sometime in the near future, fine; at least something good came out of the whole bloody mess. If it doesn't, well, none of those "good news" are worth a damn...

[Taffy_is_a_Taff]

Proletariat: you are a star

[Proletariat]

...and you're not going to be able to convince me the US will be able to kill or capture even a majority of them.

The Iraqi's will and are beginning already to do it.

But go ahead, Watchman. Stick your fingers in your ears, shut your eyes and scream as loud as you can.

[PanzerJaeger]

The place is a live-fire training ground for the next generation of Islamist militants, and you're not going to be able to convince me the US will be able to kill or capture even a majority of them.

You seriously misjudge the US military then. Just because they are using a gloved fist with real Iraqi militants doesnt mean they couldnt eliminate many more of them.

Many of these homegrown Iraqi militants are fighting for a place in the new Iraq and other reasons and can, and have been, negotiated with. I think you'll find the survival rate for a foreign terrorist to be much lower as the iraqis themselves turn them in many times.

[Watchman]

...at which point the smart ones - ie. the really dangerous ones - bug out and plot trouble somewhere else. The grunts have "expendable" stamped on their foreheads from the start anyway and damn near like it, when it comes down to that. Your point ?

Just out of curiosity, how many bright Afghanistan vets besides Osama were needed at the "planning departement" to mastermind and organize 11.9., nevermind all those earlier, minor ops ? Not bloody many, by what I know. Certainly a minuscule number relative to all the guys sho went into the 'Stan to fight the holy war against the godless Soviets...

[Xiahou]

If the country gets back on its feet sometime in the near future, fine; at least something good came out of the whole bloody mess. If it doesn't, well, none of those "good news" are worth a damn...

I guess then, by that token, if it does work out.. well none of the "bad news" will be worth a damn?

[Watchman]

Would you say ultimately beating the Nazis absolves Stalin from the guilt of his hideous mismanagement (and I'm not even referring to the actual purges and terror campaigns here...) ? I know I wouldn't. "The end justifies the means" was never my thing, especially if the "means" was incompetence, brutality and so on and so on. I'm largely in the opinion that if Iraq gets back to its feet the thanks go virtually entirely to the Iraqis themselves for having managed it despite the best efforts of the idiots in White House...

[Xiahou]

Personally, I would say that both good and bad news can serve a purpose and neither should dismissed because they don't fit into predetermined views of the few. I believe looking at another side of events is the point of this thread.

[Watchman]

*shrug* Call it "looking at another side of events" if you want. I know a red herring when I see one. Listing enemy body counts from an unspecified time period isn't the best way to demonstrate the country is getting better, you know.

[Taffy_is_a_Taff]

did I miss something?
Did the Mujahadeen learn how to fly passenger aircraft into skyscrapers when fighting the Russians?

[Watchman]

Yes, you did.

[Taffy_is_a_Taff]

that would explain it then.

precisely how much combat experience is necessary to plan a hijacking?

[Watchman]

Good for you , I guess.

[Taffy_is_a_Taff]

go on, explain how fighting the Soviet military gives someone the skills to plan the hijacking of an aircraft?

maybe some very basic management skills that could be aquired in other fields?

Wouldn't it be better to have experience of airline security than stingers in this case?

[Watchman]

*blank stare* How's it look like ?

[Proletariat]

I'm largely in the opinion that if Iraq gets back to its feet the thanks go virtually entirely to the Iraqis themselves for having managed it despite the best efforts of the idiots in White House...

And the 'I wish Saddam was still in power' chant still goes on strong.

Way to bring in Communism and Nazism into a thread about positive news from Iraq. I must have forgotten this key analogy despite it's stupendous relevancy.

[Taffy_is_a_Taff]

seriously you equate the planning of 9/11 with combat experience in Afghanistan.
How does that work?
It may provide the willingness to do such a deed; it does not however, in practical terms, cover immigration violations, teaching suicide attackers to fly airliners, getting said attackers onto planes or keeping the plot hidden.

[PanzerJaeger]

Reflexive anti-americans dont think things like that through Taff.

[Proletariat]

I'm sure Ali from the Free Iraqi blog would like to personally thank Watchman for his support.

And allow me, one very grateful Iraqi on this day, the 4th of July to congratulate all Americans on their independence day that I truly celebrate with them. It's not just out of gratitude but also because I believe it's more than an Independence Day for America, for by being free and independent, the American people gave so many other nations their independence, and thus I see it as an independence day for all the free around the world. Happy 4th of July America and thank you for all your help and sacrifices, not just for us Iraqis but all free people that you helped them get their freedom, and thank you for being the symbol of freedom that gives hope to all oppressed people around the world.

[Tribesman]

And the 'I wish Saddam was still in power' chant still goes on strong. Well Prole , you may not have your fingers in your ears , but I think they must be seriously defective if that is the chant you are hearing .

More good news .The Association of Barbers is telling its members to keep working .
Hooray ....when barber shops become targets you just know its getting better

[bmolsson]

Maybe Syrian guy's shoot only are freedom fighters that is trying to remove a totalitarian regime ???

[Proletariat]

http://fallbackbelmont.blogspot.com/...nd-london.html

They would have blown up 30 trains if they had the means. Certainly it was not the milk of human kindness that stayed their hand.

The inevitable question then is 'why could Bin Laden not find the means to attack 30 trains?' The answer it seems to me, must be Afghanistan, Iraq, the Horn of Africa and hundred other places where he is engaged without quarter by US forces.

...the practice of engaging an enemy on one front to weaken him on another has been tested from antiquity and is more natural than the alternative....There are many who accept without question the proposition that the US Armed forces are being 'bled dry' in Iraq; that it has become over extended...Yet the very same persons will vehemently reject the idea that Al Qaeda can also be spread thin...it is as if one set of natural laws operated for the Jihad and another for the blundering Americans. But mental honesty will compel us to accept that this can't be true...that if we thought about it really hard, everyone who lives peacefully in a Western city owes it to the men out on patrol tonight.

But don't listen to Wrechard, he's just a former special operations officer...

[Redleg]

http://fallbackbelmont.blogspot.com/...nd-london.html




But don't listen to Wrechard, he's just a former special operations officer...

Ah but you miss their point Prolerariat his views run counter to thier expectations - and he is an American therefor they will blindly ignore anything he has to say.