Posted on 12/01/2005 2:20:57 AM PST by chemical_boy
Insurgents have attacked US bases and government offices in Ramadi, in western Iraq, and then dispersed throughout the city, residents say.
Scores of heavily-armed insurgents fired mortars and rockets at the buildings and then occupied several main streets.
The attack came as local leaders and US military officials were meeting at the al-Anbar provincial governor's office.
Ramadi has been a rebel stronghold for many months.
Residents in Ramadi told the Reuters news agency that hundreds of heavily armed men in masks were patrolling the main streets of the city and had set up checkpoints.
Citizens said leaflets distributed by the men declared that al-Qaeda in Iraq, the group run by Abu Musab Zarqawi, was now in control of the city.
I saw Walter at a USMA football game about 20 years ago and he was drunker than me.
Actually, our forces wipe out mosques (used by terrorists) all the time.
Rebels Briefly Control Central Ramadi in Presence of Marines
BAGHDAD, Dec. 1 -- The city of Ramadi and U.S. forces there came under attack from about 250 armed rebels Thursday who then briefly took over the center of the city despite the presence of thousands of U.S. and Iraqi troops and Marines.
The apparent target of the attack was a meeting between Marine officers and tribal leaders who support resistance to the U.S. presence, part of a groundbreaking series of contacts that got underway earlier this week.
The armed men reportedly set up roadblocks at roads leading in and out of the city and conducted their own patrols. They fired mortars at the building where the meeting was taking place as well as at U.S. bases in the area.
Authorities said U.S. troops entered the town in force about 11:00 a.m. and many of the armed men slipped away.
Al Qaeda in Iraq, which distributed leaflets saying it was taking over the city, said that about six of its men had been killed. There were no immediate reports on other casualties.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/01/AR2005120100271.html
Does anybody have a good web link about Cronkite's and the liberal media manipulation of Tet.
Or any brief explanation of exactly what happened would be appreciated.
So did the armed, masked terrorists appear before our troops were in the city or after they were there? This article implies both scenarios, unless I'm reading it incorrectly.
My thoughts exactly.
It seems to me that the complaint is that our forces didn't know where they were (in the past), and they couldn't just shoot everyone.
Now that they know where they are, its time to use a few "Daisy Cutters".
From what I can tell in post # 22 above, our forces entered the city at 11:00 am and the terrorists slinked away, but we did manage to kill 6 (according to Al Qaeda, which means it was probably more) before they all got away.
I mean #23 above!
Setting up roadblocks? They cannot setup any open fortified positions without being greased by us.
Who wrote this story? Teresa Heinz's drunken douche bag?
I thoroughly agree and believe it's time for Main Stream America to push back.
Exactly. My thoughts exactly.
Sounds like the military equivalent of a bunch of teens mooning a police cruiser.
Check this out -
Ramadi is the last major city west of Baghdad and Fallujah. The only other towns in Al Anbar are smaller ones like Al Qaim, Rutbah, and Hit. Of those, only Al Qaim is still a hotbed of resistance.
Ramadi will the be the last stand of AQIZ and Abu Musab al Zarqawi. They've got no where else to fall back to. It may sound scary that they're taking over streets in Ramadi. It's not. It's a desperate show of force amidst a slow retreat out west. It's especially dangerous for them, because Ramadi is one of the few sanctuaries they had left. If they lose that, then they'll have to fall back to the Syrian border.
So why try something this risky?
With the elections coming up, AQIZ desperately needs publicity and credibility. It may be the start of a mini-Tet offensive, one where they know they're wasting the rest of their strength, but are betting on the media to magnify and inflate their actions.
The first thing I thought when I read the article is 'They can't be this stupid'. The only reason for even trying is because they're in a very bad way, and are willing to waste what little strength they have left on a symbolic attack. If they lose what safety Ramadi once held, then they're finished. They may as well head to the Syrian border, and not stop when they get there.
But that contradicts the article's text and title. I think it was just very poorly written.
Definitely a sharp cry for publicity. I'm sure glad that none of those mortars (apparently) found their intended target.
250 armed rebels could take over Times Square long enough to pass out flyers and shoot a few mortars, even though the New York police department is larger than the entire military of some countries. Ramadi's only got 400,000 people, anyway.
Think about it. If you've got 250 armed guys ready to pop out of vans you can assert temporary control of damn near anywhere. It sounds like they disperesed as soon as we showed up.
Also -
Just because we didn't want to fight them in the middle of the city doesn't mean that we just let them go. We can follow them home, and I'm sure we did.
Exact same thought I had when I read this. Talk show this morning, tongue-in-cheeck, announced, "Terrorists in Ramadi distributed leaflets, fired a few shots, and retreated into a wedding ceremony."
I occupied the street in front of my place for about 15 seconds last night. It was all mine, and I controlled it. Then I relinquished control when I got to the other side.
". . . retreated into a wedding ceremony . . . "
Here comes the bride!
Correct me if I’m wrong, but Ramadi is no sanctuary. We sanctioned the government and police. We maintain a presence and patrol the worst neighborhoods in force regularly. But it’s still a very dangerous, unfriendly and lawless city with a large underground insurgency that can get away with this. They can take control of a few streets for a few minutes or a few hours if lucky, once, but that’s it.
They then put out an exaggerated press releases to terrorist friendly media like Reuters, and even Freepers are calling it “Fallujah 2” and a terrorist safe haven. That's nuts.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.