Posted on 06/11/2005 8:45:54 PM PDT by CHARLITE
An ongoing sweep of the Iraqi capital has reduced car bombings but increased other kinds of attacks, a senior US military source said Friday.
"Car bombs are down, roadside bombs are down and we've captured around 1,000 suspects. But we can't declare victory," the source said of Baghdad's Operation Lightning.
Conversely, he said, there are more drive-by shootings. "We think that's another way, though much less effective, to keep up violence," the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told a small group of journalists.
The idea for Operation Lightning was put forward by the interior and defence ministries, he said, and announced amid fanfare in late May, reportedly involving 40,000 Iraqi security forces backed by US troops. But the interior ministry later said there were no extra troops or police in the capital, simply that they were being deployed "in a more targeted way."
"The enemy is pretty frustrated and looking for the opportunity to have large-scale coordinated attacks. That could happen within the week, but it won't last weeks or even days," he said, because "they don't have public support."
"The insurgency is weaker than it was last year, weaker than a few months ago, but it's not about to wither up and die. By the nature of insurgency, it takes a long time." Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari said Thursday the operation would be expanded to other cities and justified it by saying the country was living in "exceptional circumstances."
"All countries facing the same exceptional circumstances as Iraq will resort to similar measures," Jaafari told reporters. His spokesman, Leith Kubba, warned earlier this week that Iraqis had to bear the cost of the operation to root out insurgents from the capital, involving stepped-up checkpoints, raids, searches and arrests. "It's not an easy thing and there is a price to be paid," said Kubba.
"Fighting these criminal networks ... and eradicating them will not happen with a knockout blow, but rather it will be a slow death and it will happen with continuous efforts to isolate them."
Almost 700 people died in a frenzy of car bombings and other attacks in May, one of the bloodiest months since the US-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003. Kubba said 887 suspects had been arrested in the operation since May 22. "The efficiency and frequency of attacks has gone down, meaning the number killed, and a number (of attacks) happened with no casualties and no damage," said the US source.
He said insurgency operations were concentrated in the Baghdad districts of Amiriyah, Ghazaliyah and Al-Dura as well as Abu Ghraib to the west and Mahmudiyah to the south, in the so-called triangle of death. The source also offered a rare insight into how insurgents operate on the ground.
"Most of the people making car bombs are (deposed leader Saddam Hussein's) people. They've been trained to do it, and they provide the bulk of command and control expertise, but there is no central command operation."
"Car bombs are constructed a few kilometres (miles) from where they're used, then you put someone in and point them in the right direction." Otherwise, he said, insurgents had to resort to the less reliable tactic of driving a car to a location, parking it and detonating remotely.
While there is no insurgent central command, the group of Al-Qaeda frontman in Iraq Abu Musab al-Zarqawi "is giving general guidelines," and many suicide bombers were being duped into the task, he said. Around 50 non-Iraqi Arab fighters have been captured in the sweep, many of them signed up "for general jihad (holy war)" but then sent off to Iraq to do suicide attacks.
"Two were captured before their suicide bombs went off, and they claim they thought they were going to go fight on the ground. Then they say 'I came to the wrong jihad.'"
"In five or 10 cases police said (suicide drivers') hands were tied to the steering wheel, but there's little evidence of that after they go off.
As to when Iraqi forces would be able to take over security in the capital entirely, the source said there was no fixed date. "Iraqi forces can take over by next year, but that doesn't mean we can leave."
"It's event driven. Within one year the (Iraqi military) will be responsible for most of the terrain, and we'll be in support."
"In five or 10 cases police said (suicide drivers') hands were tied to the steering wheel.."
But Frank Rich claims the insurgents--I mean terrorists--are winning...
Can't we find a jihad hideout and send in a car bomb or two just for kicks?
ROTFLMBO!!!!! Now that is funny!
Wouldn't have lasted this long if they didn't have support from the U.S. old media.
Then they say "I came to the wrong jihad" Famous last words...
Just which jihad was the guy looking for, anyway?
Note to Muslims: Any jihad against the United States and her allies is the *wrong* jihad. Feel free to jihad against our enemies, we could care less.
Wonderful!...BOING-BOING! Thanks!
Char :)
Where are all the human shields who are willing to protect the innocent Iraqi civilians from the violence of the Ba'athist and Islamist terrorists?
Protesting the war on DU from the comfort of their homes in the USA, naturally.
Thanks for the ping!
That's tagline material.
I just love it!
Char!
LoL - the one where you don't get blown up, silly.
Me too! Congrats on your new tagline bad. It looks good on you!
Now that's a good one!!!
"Car bombs are down, roadside bombs are down
Doesn't seem so to be honest.Didnt't we have the bloodiest few months in a long time..Don't flame me, I'm JUST asking.
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