Yonivore
06-18-2007, 06:41 PM
Glenn Reynolds (http://instapundit.com/archives2/006341.php) writes:
MICHAEL YON EMAILS: "This is a very serious offensive kicking off in Iraq. The NYT realizes it's serious, but nobody that I am seeing realizes just how big this is. Relatively massive."
What did the New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/17/world/middleeast/17iraq.html?ex=1339732800&en=ba8cfa3b24da338a&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss) say?
With the influx of tens of thousands of additional combat troops into Iraq now complete, American forces have begun a wide offensive against Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia on the outskirts of Baghdad, the top American commander in Iraq said Saturday. The commander, Gen. David H. Petraeus, in a news conference in Baghdad along with Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, said the operation was intended to take the fight to Al Qaeda’s hide-outs in order to cut down the group’s devastating campaign of car bombings.
Actually, it is quite noticeable, although Michael Yon is probably right in saying we don't know the half of it. You really yshould go to MNF-Iraq's press release page (http://www.mnf-iraq.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=category§ionid=1&id=4&Itemid=128) and look at the action over the past two days. Heavy action.
Most of the coverage of the Surge has focused on the additional numbers of troops. But it was apparent to anyone that the augmentation was relatively small. The real news was in the redeployment of US troops out of the mega-bases into Joint Security Stations, where partnered with Iraqi forces, US troops were far closer to the fight. The principal benefit of this has been to increase the amount of intelligence available to US forces and shorten the decision and action loops. This had the disadvantage of moving Americans to less protected positions. However, the powers-that-be probably calculated the gains would be greater than the losses.
This enhanced intelligence capability and reaction capacity is at the heart of the current offensive.
Then this:
U.S. troops form uneasy alliances in Iraq (http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-diyala18jun18,1,4631592,full.story?ctrack=1&cset=true)
U.S. soldiers on patrol here recently watched a man walk into the street with a bomb and begin to dig. They killed him before he finished. Out stepped another man to finish the job, so they shot him too — then another, and another and another.
In all, five people tried to place the makeshift bundle of munitions in the same hole within an hour.
"You see what we're up against," said Adam Jacobs, a 26-year-old Army captain, after recounting the astonishing story.
We're going after them and, they're stupid.
MICHAEL YON EMAILS: "This is a very serious offensive kicking off in Iraq. The NYT realizes it's serious, but nobody that I am seeing realizes just how big this is. Relatively massive."
What did the New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/17/world/middleeast/17iraq.html?ex=1339732800&en=ba8cfa3b24da338a&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss) say?
With the influx of tens of thousands of additional combat troops into Iraq now complete, American forces have begun a wide offensive against Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia on the outskirts of Baghdad, the top American commander in Iraq said Saturday. The commander, Gen. David H. Petraeus, in a news conference in Baghdad along with Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, said the operation was intended to take the fight to Al Qaeda’s hide-outs in order to cut down the group’s devastating campaign of car bombings.
Actually, it is quite noticeable, although Michael Yon is probably right in saying we don't know the half of it. You really yshould go to MNF-Iraq's press release page (http://www.mnf-iraq.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=category§ionid=1&id=4&Itemid=128) and look at the action over the past two days. Heavy action.
Most of the coverage of the Surge has focused on the additional numbers of troops. But it was apparent to anyone that the augmentation was relatively small. The real news was in the redeployment of US troops out of the mega-bases into Joint Security Stations, where partnered with Iraqi forces, US troops were far closer to the fight. The principal benefit of this has been to increase the amount of intelligence available to US forces and shorten the decision and action loops. This had the disadvantage of moving Americans to less protected positions. However, the powers-that-be probably calculated the gains would be greater than the losses.
This enhanced intelligence capability and reaction capacity is at the heart of the current offensive.
Then this:
U.S. troops form uneasy alliances in Iraq (http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-diyala18jun18,1,4631592,full.story?ctrack=1&cset=true)
U.S. soldiers on patrol here recently watched a man walk into the street with a bomb and begin to dig. They killed him before he finished. Out stepped another man to finish the job, so they shot him too — then another, and another and another.
In all, five people tried to place the makeshift bundle of munitions in the same hole within an hour.
"You see what we're up against," said Adam Jacobs, a 26-year-old Army captain, after recounting the astonishing story.
We're going after them and, they're stupid.