U.S. troops enter Shiite stronghold of Sadr City

AP ^ | March 4 2007

[jmc1969]

Hundreds of U.S. soldiers entered the Shiite stronghold of Sadr City on Sunday in the first major push into the area since an American-led security sweep began last month around Baghdad.

Soldiers conducted house-to-house searches, but met no resistance in a district firmly in the hands of the Madhi Army militia led by radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, said Lt. Col. David Oclander.

[ohioWfan]

:)

[CyberAnt]

8>)

[Vn_survivor_67-68]

"In the Pacific theater in order to get prisoners to interrogate they had to give out 2 wks leave to soldiers who brought in prisoners."

I'd like to know more about this.......do you have some references?

[Scott from the Left Coast]

but met no resistance in a district firmly in the hands of the Madhi Army militia

Guess it isn't quite firmly in the Madhi Army's hands after all.

[WoofDog123]

"Which means they'll lie low for the next 20 years. "

somehow I disagree with your assertion (response to my comment) that the US will be in Sadr city the next 20 years, much less 2 years.

The US will leave the area back to normal patrol at some point this year or next. At that point unless Maliki is going to essentially betray his powerful shiite supporters, we will see who is 'lying low' and who is 'defeated.'

[Marine_Uncle]

One question for you. Is MNF pulling a fast one over on us all?

[Marine_Uncle]

The shake and bake continues. And we got many more months to go.

[1COUNTER-MORTER-68]

If 50% do not show-up for the surge what are they??
That's a Fact not an opinion,,,They were counted,,,
Did not deploy,,,Sec. Def. Gates said that himself,,,
Gen.Patraeus is/was the one that told him,,,

I'm lookin' at the pic of the young man who is now on his second tour(posts # 40-43),,,#67 is on his helmet and his
Silver-Wings had just been pinned on his Chest(Just a Kid).
He was in the second wave in 2003 in the 2nd.Arm.Cav.Reg.
His unit shot their way into sadr city took it away from
the moozzis and held it,,,set-up shop,,,stayed,,,
He and most of "That Band of Brothers" had been in the Army less than a Year,,,He sent me the e-mail that said:
"IA same,same ARVN!"(Army of the Republic of Viet Nam)FWIW.

Jus' so we understand each other,,,
We cannot afford to pull out of iraq now or ever,,,
The US Military in iraq is like a bayonet in moozzi's gut!!
Time to Twist it...
Not pull it out,,,
Iraq cuts moozzi-land in half,,,all the way to turkey !!

[1COUNTER-MORTER-68]

??

[Vn_survivor_67-68]

yes.........all things considered, our Iraq theatre is central and critical to our 'counteroffensive to jihad' (some prefer "Iraq war" or WOT, but I see it as and call it what it is). "Democracy" in Iraq is so far distant and far down on the list of reasons for our presence there that it is not even a consideration except for the naive and altruistic and of course the anti-American-at-all-cost crowd. The same is so for Afghanistan.....it is another very worthy theatre, and for the exact same reasons. Political subversion prevents openly acknowledging the whole and real truth, as I see it, described above. This wide and overall counteroffensive, IMO, is to some small extent a redeeming factor for OTHER inequities re the border and otherwise our sovereignty committed by the current administration. After a point, "protectionism" ceases to be a dirty word and becomes a Constitutional issue......and we passed THAT particular point starting with the lame-duck days of Bush 41 when he committed the USA to the "fast track" which of course led us straight into NAFTA.....the rest is history, as that ant in the EDS basement said so many times.

[ohioWfan]

I am not doubting the figures. What I am questioning is the characterization of worthlessness.

Even under the best of circumstances it would be challenging to build an efficient Army in 3 years. And I think that you would agree that the circumstances have been far from ideal...

As for your bayonet analogy, I completely agree. Now is the time. Twist.

[1COUNTER-MORTER-68]

I think folks get too hung-up on names for this and that,,
Me too I guess,,,What worries me is the "Yea,We Win,Lets
Go Home" crowd,,,"W" said himself not to look for that to happen,,,I'll take his word for that...
I also have "kin" in Afghanistan in the 3rd.Brg.10th.Mt.
at FOB 1,,,for two months now(posted FR and fox)moozzi
has been tryin to over-run their OP 1 closer to the
Laos-I-Stan border,,,their shootin' He and Lum over that place nearly every night,,,(105mm),,,some things never change...

[1COUNTER-MORTER-68]

I am not doubting the figures. What I am questioning is the characterization of worthlessness.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If they ain't doin' their job unlike them guys on your page
if that makes any sense,,,"Those Guys Git Er' Dun" !!
They show-up for work everyday with their "workin' clothes On,,,"...That said,,,

The US Army Can/Has taken stone-age men and had them turned
into one of the best at killin' VC,,,The H`Mung/Yards
whatever you want to call them...In Six Months...

All 50%/and US Forces that "did" show-up were "let down"
By people who would not fight for their own country..IMHO.

[RightWhale]

"If it's in quotes it's possibly a quote or could be an imagined quote, otherwise it might be."

[lentulusgracchus]

2ndBrg.10th.Mt.~ 2/15 Arty is now "Task Force 2/15 Arty".. WTH is the Arty doing going on "Raids" ?? "Nobody" wants to talk about this,,,this is OJT ,BS !!

At least they got their buds back at base for FS, right?

If they catch hell going into a house, the whole neighborhood can kiss its ass goodbye.

[lentulusgracchus]

You can see it in the story above where Malki is also trying to hurt him politically as well, while he hides in Iran.

I hope he hangs him so low, the little SOB's making three tracks when he comes back.

[1COUNTER-MORTER-68]

They'll have a "fire-force" if they need the troops as well as gun-ships for fire-support,,,too worried about
hittin' women/kids/moozi stuff,,,ROE ain't gunna let them
shoot/correct Arty fire in town...

[JohnBovenmyer]

If we clear the insurgents bad guys AND then repair the services that had been kept broken while they were ru(i | n)ning the neighborhoods we should win some converts. I wish I were sure they would be enough of them.

[ohioWfan]

Can't argue with any of that.

btw, my soldier son is going back to Iraq, then a private, now a staff sergeant, then a teenager, now a very mature 23 year old, then, as now, proud of his mission and his country, and ready to serve again.

(And he loves the Iraqi people).

[1COUNTER-MORTER-68]

Prayers Up,,,

GOD Bless...