Posted on 03/28/2008 4:52:34 PM PDT by tobyhill
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Iraqi military push into the southern city of Basra is not going as well as American officials had hoped, despite President Bush's high praise for the operation, several U.S. officials said Friday.
A closely held U.S. military intelligence analysis of the fighting in Basra shows that Iraqi security forces control less than a quarter of the city, according to officials in both the United States and Iraq, and Basra's police units are deeply infiltrated by members of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's Mehdi Army.
"This is going to go on for a while," one U.S. military official said.
Iraqi forces launched their offensive in Basra this week. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki was personally overseeing operations in the southern city against what government officials called "rogue" or "outlaw" militia elements, most loyal to al-Sadr.
During a joint news conference Friday with Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, Bush called the operation "a defining moment in the history of a free Iraq," saying the government is fighting "It was just a matter of time before the government was going to have to deal with it," he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
“...aclosely held U.S. military intelligence analysis of the fighting in Basra...”
Not so “closely held” if the sophomores at CNN can get access to it.
A slower conflict actually works well for the Iraqis. Consider the coalition forces to be the besiegers. In this scenario, the militia is unsupported and entrenched.
A slow and sustained attack that keeps pushing the militia back into a smaller and smaller area, allows a concentration of opposition forces that can then be destroyed quickly by the application of air power.
Gee, and we've been at it for two whole days. Its a quagmire, I tell you.
"This is going to go on for a while," one U.S. military official said.
This may go on for eight whole days.
Never look to journalists for strategic analysis. How is this for analysis? Keep killing them until there aren't any more. Push the survivors across the bridge into Iran and close the gate.
“Never look to journalists for strategic analysis. How is this for analysis? Keep killing them until there aren’t any more. Push the survivors across the bridge into Iran and close the gate.”
Then wire the gate with lots of demo.
If the Iraqi troops control a quarter of Basra in 4 days then that must mean in 16 days a city of nearly 1.7 million people will be in full control of the Iraqi Troops.
CNN reporting doom and gloom about Iraq.. Hey, what do you know, the sun /did/ rise today. They are both as regular as clockwork!
I had NPR on the radio when I ran an errand. They were pulling the same thing.
I was so obvious that I almost laughed.
There cannot possibly be a problem in Basra.
The British who are much more genteel ruled there.
Moroever, they also withdrew their forces which is the only reason Iraqis are angry.
Hillary, Barack and democrats say withdrawal makes things better.
Things in Basra must be better than they are in Bagdad, because Bush surged when he should have withdrawn.
I think this Basra meme is boing to boomerang badly for the media over the next two weeks.
Regardless of the facts on the ground they are going to "tet" this.
Bank on it.
According to these same media goobers, the initial Iraq invasion was stalled three days in. This fight in Basra is just beginning. The Iraqi forces will win.
I don’t see much of a difference from then, to now.
How are you, GI Joe? It seems to me that most of you are poorly informed about the going of the war, to say nothing about a correct explanation of your presence over here. Nothing is more confused than to be ordered into a war to die or to be maimed for life without the faintest idea of what’s going on. (Hanoi Hannah, 16 June 1967)
The river could allow the Militias to re-up, but a sustained offensive that is Iraqi Army mostly is a good thing, they can work out things like Command and Control, which units will fight hard, which ones won’t.
Watch CeeBS news dust of Uncle Walter to give an editorial:
“Just like the 1968 Tet Offensive”
No matter that the IA are initiators, no matter that the militias are not the NVA or even Viet Cong...never mind all that...
Actually, to one degree or another, this has been going on for six years!
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