U.S. Launches Operation Scimitar in Iraq

The Dispatch ^ | 7/9/05

[Straight Vermonter]

About 600 U.S. Marines and Iraqi soldiers launched a fourth counterinsurgency operation in less than a month in a volatile western province in Iraq, this time near Fallujah, the military said Saturday.

The counterinsurgency offensive, called Operation Scimitar, started Thursday with targeted raids in Zaidan, 19 miles southeast of Fallujah. Two days later, 22 suspected insurgents had been detained.

The military said it did not announce the offensive earlier because commanders did not want to tip off insurgents that a major operation had begun.

The offensive - named after a curved sword - includes 500 Marines from the 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, Regimental Combat Team-8, a highly trained infantry unit stationed in Okinawa, Japan, the military said.

About 100 Iraqi soldiers are supporting the operation, which is designed to disrupt insurgent activity in the Anbar province.

The latest counterinsurgency offensive in the province came on the heels of Operations Spear, Dagger and Sword. There are a number of insurgent strongholds in Anbar, which stretches from Baghdad to the Syrian border.

[Straight Vermonter]

Ping

[goldstategop]

Cool. Its not going to rock Zarqawi's world but the terrorists are never going to know when we'll hit em.

(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)

[Erik Latranyi]

Keep hitting them, hard and repeatedly. Make your enemy second-guess their own security. Keep the enemy off-balance and they will be impotent.

[Wiz]

Operation Scimitar ping

[Allegra]

Keep the hammer coming down on 'em.

It's working.

Incident numbers have been going down.

The media probably doesn't report it, but I hear it every day in our security briefings.

[Road Warrior ‘04]

The military said it did not announce the offensive earlier because commanders did not want to tip off insurgents that a major operation had begun.

Cool! It's hard enough to fight the terrorists, let alone the terrorist's snitches....the press! The press/MSM should be kept in the dark at all times and a lot of lives (ours) will be saved!

[Coop]

Great work by the coalition and Iraqi forces. May each capture lead to a dozen more captures or eradications.

[Coop]

Incident numbers have been going down. The media probably doesn't report it, but I hear it every day in our security briefings.

I actually did read this a couple of days ago. Can't remember if it was in a lamestream article or a CENTCOM/Defense Link article. Stay safe!

[Wiz]

Incident numbers have been going down. The media probably doesn't report it, but I hear it every day in our security briefings.

Correct. Months ago, there was once a trend that casualities of coalition force were goign down, but was later concluded by experts that attacks were just shifting toward Iraq security force, as indicated in the data which casualties of Iraqis were going up. However, regarding the data for July, both casualties of coalition force and Iraq security force are going down. This trend indicates that the terrorists have a reason for such decline. However, I am still cautious for the fact that weather might have had some kind of effect. Allegra, how has the weather been these days in Iraq? Are sand storms more frequent in July?

[corlorde]

U.S. Launches Operation sphincter, clearing out the colon!

[Allegra]

However, I am still cautious for the fact that weather might have had some kind of effect. Allegra, how has the weather been these days in Iraq? Are sand storms more frequent in July?

This July so far is noticeably cooler than last summer. Oh, it's hot as hell, but last year at this time was much hotter.

We are getting some sandstorms, but they're not as severe as the ones we get in the late spring. (That being said, there were some inbound flights canceled at Baghdad Airport today due to a sandstorm.)

But last summer, the scumbags were pounding away at us - mortars, rockets, IEDs, VBIEDs, etc. And last summer was hotter and dustier than this one is.

Personally, I think their resources are running low. It's nowhere near over and it'll probably ramp up again on occasion, but it seems to have been trending down for a while.

I've only heard one explosion out in town today.

[ASA Vet]

I'd like better names for these operations.

Here's a suggestion list.

Bantu
Bazna
Berkshire
Duroc
Hampshire
Hereford
Iberian
Kele
Mulefoot
Pietrain
Saddleback
Tamworth
Turopolje
Welsh

[Coop]

Okay, you're not in charge in marketing!

[ASA Vet]

It was somewhat of a thread killer.
Obscure humour often bombs.

I got your FReep mail. No sweat FRiend.

[Coop]

I personally think bombs are quite appropriate on Iraqi Freedom threads. ;-)

[Coop]

Evenin' bump

[Calpernia]

About 600 U.S. Marines and Iraqi soldiers launched a fourth counterinsurgency operation in less than a month in a volatile western province in Iraq, this time near Fallujah, the military said Saturday.

The counterinsurgency offensive, called Operation Scimitar, started Thursday with targeted raids in Zaidan, 19 miles southeast of Fallujah. Two days later, 22 suspected insurgents had been detained.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!