More shitshow in Iraq.

[Rooster]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...?nav=rss_world

At the same time, Iraq's Cabinet ratcheted up the pressure on anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr by approving draft legislation barring political parties with militias from participating in upcoming provincial elections.

[rideit]

The Surge is a success!

"By SLOBODAN LEKIC, Associated Press Writer
35 minutes ago



BAGHDAD - Iraq's government moved Sunday to restore discipline within the ranks of the security forces, sacking more than 1,300 soldiers and policemen who deserted during recent fighting against Shiite militias in Basra.

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At the same time, Iraq's Cabinet ratcheted up the pressure on anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr by approving draft legislation barring political parties with militias from participating in upcoming provincial elections.

Al-Sadr, who heads the country's biggest militia, the Mahdi Army, has been under intense pressure from Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, also a Shiite, to disband the Mahdi Army or face political isolation.

Al-Sadr's followers are eager to take part in the local elections because they believe they can take power away from rival Shiite parties in the vast, oil-rich Shiite heartland of southern Iraq.

And in a new move to stem the flow of money to armed groups, the government ordered a crackdown on militiamen controlling state-run and private gas stations, refineries and oil distribution centers.

It is believed that gas stations and distribution centers, especially in eastern Baghdad and some southern provinces, are covertly controlled by Shiite militiamen dominated by the Mahdi Army.

The failure of government forces to capture Basra despite superiority in numbers and firepower was an embarrassment to al-Maliki, who ordered the offensive and personally supervised it during the first week.

It also raised questions whether Iraq's mostly Shiite army and police can confront Shiite militias, including Iranian-backed "special groups," which the U.S. command now considers the greatest threat to Iraqi democracy with the diminishing influence of al-Qaida in Iraq.

National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said Iran is very active in southern Iraq.

"So we have illegal militia in the southern part of the country that really are acting as criminal elements that are pressing the people down there and, in good measure, as we've seen, alienating the Iraqis from Iran," Hadley told "Fox News Sunday."

The Basra offensive — which opened on March 25 — quickly stalled amid strong resistance from the outnumbered militiamen, despite artillery and air support provided by U.S. and British forces.

During the attack more than 1,000 security troops — including a full infantry battalion — refused to fight or joined the militias, handing them weapons and vehicles.

U.S. officials have praised al-Maliki for the determination he showed in confronting the militias, but they have also said the Basra operation was hastily arranged and badly executed. Critics said it highlighted the Iraqi army's poor leadership and the low morale among its rank and file.

Washington maintains that as the Iraqi forces increase their capabilities, they will replace U.S. troops providing security in much of the country. But last week, Defense Secretary Robert Gates acknowledged that future U.S. troop withdrawals will go more slowly than had originally been hoped for.

Speaking to reporters in Basra, Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf said the government had fired 421 policemen who have not returned to duty since fighting ended. They included 37 senior police officers ranging in rank from lieutenant colonel to brigadier general.

Khalaf said that 500 soldiers who have been absent without leave since the campaign ended on March 30 had also been dismissed and would be tried by military courts.

"Some of them were sympathetic with these lawbreakers, some refused to (go into) battle for political or national or sectarian or religious reasons," Khalaf said.

The majority of Iraqi soldiers and police are Shiites. Many of the government troops were said to have been reluctant to confront fellow Shiites in battle.

In Kut, a city 100 miles southeast of Baghdad that was also affected by the fighting, a further 400 policemen were also dismissed, said a senior police commander who asked not to be named because he is not authorized to speak to the media.

Although clashes in Basra largely petered out after al-Sadr's order on March 30 for his militiamen to stand down under a deal brokered in Iran, fighting in Baghdad has continued.

There have been daily gunbattles in Baghdad's main Shiite militia stronghold of Sadr City between militants and Iraqi and U.S. forces, which have used helicopters and unmanned drones to pound the insurgents from the air.

Fresh clashes were reported Sunday, and a salvo of rockets or mortar rounds struck the U.S.-protected Green Zone, which houses the U.S. and British embassies and much of Iraq's government in Baghdad. U.S. officials said no casualties were reported.

In Basra, security operations continued as government forces searched for illegal weapons.

Lt. Gen. Mohan al-Fireji, who commands government forces in the city, said the two-day operation had netted arms, roadside bombs and drugs.

Khalaf also said 28 criminals from Basra who were tried and been found guilty of multiple murders and abductions were executed in Baghdad on Sunday. They had been arrested before the upsurge in fighting in March and moved to the capital."

[Jer]

Who gives a fuck? I heard Blurred skied some shweeet LCC powder yesterday.

[Craven Morehead]

We bought the place.
Let's unload it on the Chinese.

[timvwcom]

rideit, was that whole article written in 1 sentence paragraphs? Or did the cut and paste do that somehow? So hard to read I didn't even try...

[Nathan Explosion]

rideit, was that whole article written in 1 sentence paragraphs? Or did the cut and paste do that somehow? So hard to read I didn't even try...

That's how the AP writes. Leaves less room for facts and credibility.

[Rubicon]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...?nav=rss_world

Sounds like good news to me. The Iraqis are cleaning house, something they should have been doing for a long time.

In other news, incidents of violence are down ~60% from June and US casualties are down sharply from the same time period last year.

But I guess that doesn't serve the party line so, who cares, right?

[13]

Sounds like good news to me. The Iraqis are cleaning house, something they should have been doing for a long time.

In other news, incidents of violence are down ~60% from June and US casualties are down sharply from the same time period last year.

But I guess that doesn't serve the party line so, who cares, right?

damn, i am behind in my news. where was this reported?

[timvwcom]

...In other news, incidents of violence are down ~60% from June and US casualties are down sharply from the same time period last year.

But I guess that doesn't serve the party line so, who cares, right?

To be more clear, the violence is on the increase again... nearly doubling since the start of the year!!! (but yes, not back to the levels at the beginning of the surge)

Overall, Iraqi deaths rose from a low of 568 in December and 541 in January to roughly 721 in February to more than 1,082 in March, according to statistics compiled by Iraq's ministries of health, interior, and defense and confirmed by Smith. The vast majority were civilians.
more stories like this

"There was somewhere on the order of a 25 or 30 percent increase in the number of civilian casualties when you consider March compared to February," Smith said, although "the numbers are still nowhere near what they had been last summer."

[Rubicon]

damn, i am behind in my news. where was this reported?

Not in the mainstream media. Good news doesn't seem to be newsworthy these days. You have to do a little digging to find it.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/milita...aq_sigacts.htm






For the US casualties:

http://www.globalsecurity.org/milita...ies-months.htm

[Rooster]

But I guess that doesn't serve the party line so, who cares, right?

Shit man, I report you decide. I got no bias. We're still on for shooting guns off at Cheney's place I hope. I got some good single malt lined up.

[timvwcom]

Rubicon... Funny how those graphs end months ago and just before the latest increase in violence! Do you have graphs to show civilian deaths for the last 4 months? (often vastly under reported);

-December: 568
-January: 541
-February: 721
-March: 1,082

Note that I don't doubt we are still way down from last summer... but we can only do it with our troops stuck in Iraq and being killed steadily. Do you like that?

[Rubicon]

Shit man, I report you decide. I got no bias. We're still on for shooting guns off at Cheney's place I hope. I got some good single malt lined up.

Aw, hell yeah. I've got some Lagavulan I've been hanging on to for the right occasion. Next time he is in DC it's on.



I'm half expecting the SS to be knocking on my door in about 15min.

[Rubicon]

Rubicon... Funny how those graphs end months ago and just before the latest increase in violence! Do you have graphs to show civilian deaths for the last 4 months? (often vastly under reported);

-December: 568
-January: 541
-February: 721
-March: 1,082

The first chart goes to Feb 08. The second one wasn't really related to my first post. I just included it to show the general trend.

Note that I don't doubt we are still way down from last summer... but we can only do it with our troops stuck in Iraq and being killed steadily. Do you like that?

I'm going to ignore that last statement and just write it off to you being drunk or something similar.

As far as whether or not we can succeed on the macro level, long term, in Iraq, the people who are over there dieing for it tend to think we can. I'll defer to their judgment.

[Cyber Cop]

As far as whether or not we can succeed on the macro level, long term, in Iraq, the people who are over there dieing for it tend to think we can. I'll defer to their judgment.

So you are deferring judgment to the 19 year old criminal drop out that the government picked up off the street in So Cal because qualified recruits are scarce to nil? Bright.

[Nathan Explosion]

So you are deferring judgment to the 19 year old criminal drop out that the government picked up off the street in So Cal because qualified recruits are scarce to nil? Bright.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you a typical Democrat. Isolationist and bigoted.

Congratulations, you're a fucking moron.

Let me guess, you fear other races as well?

[Rubicon]

So you are deferring judgment to the 19 year old criminal drop out that the government picked up off the street in So Cal because qualified recruits are scarce to nil? Bright.

"The average age of a casualty in Iraq is nearly 27."

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0417-02.htm


...and the generals tend to agree.

[Cyber Cop]

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you a typical Democrat. Isolationist and bigoted.

Congratulations, you're a fucking moron.

Let me guess, you fear other races as well?

I fear you whitey.

[Nathan Explosion]

I fear you whitey.

Congratulations. And how does the silver spoon taste? Clearly it's been there a while.

God forbid you should have to join the military so you can go to college.

[Rubicon]

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you a typical Democrat. Isolationist and bigoted.

Don't forget misinformed.

[timvwcom]

The first chart goes to Feb 08. The second one wasn't really related to my first post. I just included it to show the general trend.

Rubicon, the first chart only lists "attacks"... Using this counting system our 9/11 was just one attack, or max 4 if you count each plane. Should they each count the same as say the Olympic Park bombing where only 1 person died? I'd argue any system that relies ONLY on the number of attacks and ignores actual deaths is not the best judge of the term "shitshow"???

I'm going to ignore that last statement and just write it off to you being drunk or something similar.

As far as whether or not we can succeed on the macro level, long term, in Iraq, the people who are over there dieing for it tend to think we can. I'll defer to their judgment.

You're a couple years behind on the news... read in the last month that a larger share of soldiers are donating to the Democrats now... One recent reporter found something like 11 of 12 soldiers she interviewed were for the Dems specifically because they wanted to get the hell out of Iraq.

[Rubicon]

Rubicon, the first chart only lists "attacks"... Using this counting system our 9/11 was just one attack, or max 4 if you count each plane. Should they each count the same as say the Olympic Park bombing where only 1 person died? I'd argue any system that relies ONLY on the number of attacks and ignores actual deaths is not the best judge of the term "shitshow"???

I think the chart says all that needs to be said on this matter.

As far as the violence increasing this last month, the trend is what is informative/important and one bar does not a trend make. If it continues to increase over the next six months than that will be noteworthy.

You're a couple years behind on the news... read in the last month that a larger share of soldiers are donating to the Democrats now... One recent reporter found something like 11 of 12 soldiers she interviewed were for the Dems specifically because they wanted to get the hell out of Iraq.

You are thinking of the ABC article by Martha Raddatz. There were 3000 troops there and she found how many who supported Obama?

I would put this under the category of "manufactured news".

[timvwcom]

I'm going to ignore that last statement and just write it off to you being drunk or something similar.

As far as whether or not we can succeed on the macro level, long term, in Iraq, the people who are over there dieing for it tend to think we can. I'll defer to their judgment.

Well you know me... I won't just rely on my memory and let you wonder if I've recalled correctly or not.

Obama, Paul net most military workers' campaign donations

Democrat Barack Obama and Republican Ron Paul have little in common politically, except their opposition to the Iraq war.

Both top a new list of presidential candidates receiving campaign contributions from people who work for the four branches of the military and National Guard, according to a study released Thursday by the non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics.

Obama, an Illinois senator, brought in more donations from this group than any White House contender from either party. The Democrat announced Wednesday his plan to withdraw all U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of 2008.

Paul, a Texas congressman and the only GOP presidential hopeful who supports an immediate troop withdrawal, comes in second.

"Paul and Obama are talking straight to soldiers, and what they are saying is resonating," said Larnell Exum, a retired Army lieutenant colonel, who gave $500 to Obama. Exum, who works for the Army as a congressional liaison, is a Democrat but voted for George Bush in 1992.

Balls in your court...

[timvwcom]

I think the chart says all that needs to be said on this matter.

As far as the violence increasing this last month, the trend is what is informative/important and one bar does not a trend make. If it continues to increase over the next six months than that will be noteworthy.

Trend is now two months in increased deaths, but the more important news is that it's now doubled in those two months... I can't say if it'll continue either, but do think trying to just dismiss an increase of 500 deaths in a month makes me wonder what you do care about?

[Rubicon]

Well you know me... I won't just rely on my memory and let you wonder if I've recalled correctly or not.

Obama, Paul net most military workers' campaign donations



Balls in your court...

If, and that is a big if, things are changing then my beliefs will change with them. I don't have hard and fast positions that I will defend at all cost. My beliefs reflect my values given the best information I can get my hands on.

That being said, campaign donations, seven months out, don't tell you much of anything unless you are grasping at straws, which is what I think you are doing.

Lets wait until all the donations are tallied(after the election), then they might tell us something useful.