Posted on 06/29/2003 7:05:34 AM PDT by veronica
U.S. forces launched a massive operation early Sunday to crush insurgents and capture senior figures from the ousted regime in a show of force designed to stem a wave of deadly attacks on U.S. troops.
The operation, dubbed "Desert Sidewinder," is taking place in a huge swath of central Iraq stretching from the Iranian border to the areas north of Baghdad, and is expected to last for several days, military officials said.
Americans arrested a man in Khalis, 45 miles north of Baghdad. He is suspected of recruiting young men to launch attacks on Americans, according to military officials.
In Dojima, an upscale town where Sunni Muslim residents recently cleaned the still-standing portrait of Saddam Hussein, police raided the homes of alleged Saddam loyalists they suspected of hiding caches of arms, including rocket-propelled grenades - the weapon of choice in many recent ambushes.
The operation, named after a rattlesnake, kicked off at about 2 a.m. Sunday, with officers simultaneously raiding as many sites as possible.
"We go in with such overwhelming combat power that they won't even think about shooting us," Lt. Col. Mark Young said earlier.
U.S. officials in Washington have said repeatedly that no centralized Iraqi resistance to American rule remains. But on the ground, U.S. military personnel face "an organized effort," Young said.
"Somewhere in Diala province, something happens every night," said Capt. John Wrann, referring to the province northeast of Baghdad where much of the operation was taking place. "It's got to be a coordinated thing."
In Dojima, police raided the homes of alleged Saddam loyalists they suspected of hiding caches of arms, including rocket-propelled grenades - the weapon of choice in many recent ambushes.
The operation, named after a rattlesnake, kicked off at about 2 a.m. Sunday, with officers simultaneously raiding as many sites as possible.
And?
Did they find anything?
If I was a reporter, I would think to include that information.
I like the sound of that. Godspeed!
It is somewhat ridiculous to pay former Iraqi soldiers, especially the Republican Guard troops. They should all be in POW camps until we get things under control and find Saddam. Here's a suggestion: Try to "recruit" them, when they come in and you can prove they were Republican Guard Troops, arrest them and put them in Detention Camps or POW Camps. We have to get all those soldiers who took off their uniforms and hid thier weapons under their gowns (or whatever they call them) OFF THE STREET!!
With an attitude like that you wouldn't get a job. :)
We need to knock that sucker down while we're in the area, too. A little psychological warfare.
Operation Sidewinder is spearheaded by members of the Army's 4th Infantry Division and includes ground, armor and air elements, according to officials familiar with the operation...Raids are focused on the area north of Baghdad, a region home to Saddam and Baath Party loyalists...
The area includes Saddam's hometown of Tikrit...
Officials told CNN more than 60 Iraqis have been taken into custody so far, along with a number of weapons and documents that may be of value to U.S. intelligence analysts probing the forces behind the attacks.
The operation also is targeting fighters from other Arab and Islamic nations whom U.S. officials believe have converged on Iraq to oppose the coalition effort. One senior official said Operation Sidewinder is to some extent a continuation of Operation Desert Scorpion that began two weeks ago and targeted the same elements....
Troops of the U.S. 101st Airborne Division carried out a series of separate raids on homes in Mosul Saturday and detained 15 people, the U.S. Central Command said Sunday. The statement said four AK-47 assault rifles, a 9 mm pistol, one hand grenade and one artillery round were recovered during the raids. Also confiscated were "various Baath Party documents and Republican Guard uniforms," the statement said.
''No coalition forces casualties were reported in the raids. Sidewinder is an ongoing operation,'' the statement said...But Central Command said it believed the main source of paramilitary activity in central Iraq was located along a stretch of the Tigris river from Baghdad to the town of Samarra, 100 km (60 miles) to the north...
I hold State Department, CIA, and FBI Clinton weasel SOBs like "Ms" Robin Raphel responsible for causing American deaths in Iraq, here in the USA, and everywhere else.
Here are the key excerpts from the WSJ article linked below that make the point:
"...The first step is to stop underestimating the nature of the threat. The CIA keeps telling U.S. officials that there is no "organized" resistance, as if it needs to find some headquarters in a basement to prove it."
"U.S. forces have at least gone back on offense against the Baathists, as in last week's attack on the convoy near Syria. U.S. regent L. Paul Bremer has also pursued a vigorous de-Baathification campaign.
This is a huge step forward from the early occupation, when State Department official Robin Raphel said it would be "fascistic" to purge too many Baathists.
In one episode reported by Mr. Tyler on May 8, Mr. Bayyati watched in horror as his former Baathist jailer walked past him to meet with Ms. Raphel."
"Disarming the Free Iraqi Forces after the war was a terrible mistake, another example of the State Department and CIA vendetta against Ahmed Chalabi."
There's also a message here for the U.S. political class: Saddam is counting on the media and politicians to continue their bureaucratic navel-gazing since the main fighting ended.
He wants them to re-parse every Pentagon word, and to interview every CIA analyst, to somehow show that liberating Iraq was a mistake. While the Beltway spins, he and his Baathists can plot their return.
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.