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More from Arrowhead-Ripper
By John
I know Lt Col P already highlighted Mike Yon's coverage of Arrowhead-Ripper (he's in the thick of it), but I want to get a bit more into the details.
Baquba burns...
Surrender or Die: Battle for Baquba -
The combat in Baqubah should soon reach a peak. Al Qaeda seems to have been effectively isolated. The initial attack on 19 June achieved enough surprise that al Qaeda was caught off guard and trapped. They have been beaten back mostly into pockets and are surrounded and will be dealt with. Part of this is actually due to the capability of Strykers. We were able to “attack from the march.” In other words, a huge force drove in from places like Baghdad and quickly locked down Baqubah.LTG Ray Odierno visited Baqubah on the 21st. Odierno clarified that this battle is to be final: we are not going to do this again. Odierno stressed to our commanders that they need to be thinking of an end-state that results in Iraqis taking charge, but that Iraqi commanders should not be given the reins until they are ready, so that the result is we set them up for success. Odierno’s timing was remarkable: even before he arrived, the commanders here were talking about end-state daily and, on a more sour note, our commanders have their hands full with the local Iraqi commanders who seem less competent (to be kind) than those I have seen elsewhere, such as in Mosul.
Our guys are winning. Al Qaeda is about to be strangled and pummeled to death in this town, but the local Iraqi leadership is severely wanting. This was most obviously noted in one area in particular, where there were some slight indicators of a possible humanitarian need. “Crisis” certainly is not the correct word, but there are displaced persons numbering at least in the hundreds. LTC Fred Johnson actually took me out there. (The access even to “bad” news is amazing with this Brigade.)
From what I've gathered, 4th SBCT is enveloping the city while 2nd SBCT clears the bugs. Mike is attached to the attacking 2nd Strykers, so he's in the sh*t right now.
Richard S. Lowry just pointed out to me over google chat that General Petraeus has been planning this for some time. Surging forces finally reached their full operational strength on 15 June, and on 16 June we went on the offensive. Take note that Senator Reid proclaimed the surge a failure before Arrowhead-Ripper's first bullets flew.
Bottom line: this is one of Al-Qaeda's last strongholds in Iraq and we are kicking their ass.
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Comments
From a civilian in flyover country, I say have no mercy on those who have none themselves. Go get em! This is the best news I've heard in a while.
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I hope that there is an endless supply of virgins available, because these Stryker guys are doing a great job of creating new "martyrs."
Once again the facts show that Harry Reid is an absolute idiot. I am totally unimpressed with the entire Democratic "leadership" but Reid seems to be an order of magnitude dumber than the rest. And, of course, none of them seem to realize, or care, that their endless antiwar speaches do nothing more than enbolden our enemies.
Marine6 Sends