« Previous · Home · Next »
Ramblings From Richard
By Richard S. Lowry
I just got a telephone call from a reporter at a local talk radio station. He asked me if I wanted to comment on the AP story that there has been a dramatic increase in American casualties in the last few days in Iraq. I said that maybe it had something to do with the fact that General Petraeus had recently launched the largest military operation since the invasion of Iraq in 2003. His response was that he knew that there were some ‘raids’ in progress. I corrected him immediately. Then I went into a twenty-minute dissertation about all the good news that the MSM is ignoring.
The final surge Brigade was in place on June 15th and General Petraeus launched Operation Phantom Thunder with an F-16 airstrike on buildings filled with insurgents on the next day, June 16th. Phantom Thunder is comprised of several Brigade-sized operations. Operation Marne Torch kicked off on the 16th in the belts southeast of Baghdad, extending as far south as Salman Pak.
Operation Arrowhead Ripper is aimed at eliminating terrorists operating in, and around Baquoba in Diyala Province. The city has been surrounded with orders to the encircling force – nobody in, nobody out. A Stryker Brigade Combat Team is attacking house to house within the city. I was told last Monday by a senior Public Affairs Officer in Baghdad that the goal was not to clear Al-Qaeda from the city, but to kill them. There will be no running away to fight another day.
On Tuesday, seven al-Qaeda cowards attempted to flee the onslaught in an ambulance but alert Soldiers from 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, from Fort Lewis, Washington, stopped it. The Soldiers checked the ambulance and found a driver and six men, who appeared to be in their 20s and 30s. Yesterday, an Apache helicopter caught more than a dozen enemy trying to flee the area. They were quickly dispatched from above.
All the while the 3rd ID is on the offensive in the southeast in Operation Marne Torch. They are interdicting river borne smugglers on the Tigris River. Seventeen barges have been sunk. Insurgents have been captured and killed and weapons and explosives have been confiscated or destroyed. Just the other day, Operation Commando Eagle kicked off on the west side of the Tigris, south of Baghdad. This Brigade-sized operation is focusing on the countryside where the two missing soldiers were last seen.
That’s not all folks. Iraqi Army units fought rogue elements of the Mahdi Army in Nasiriyah early this week. There are other operations in the north, around Mosul and the Iraqi Army has taken up blocking positions on the west bank of the Tigris River, north of Baghdad, to insure that the insurgents in Diyala don’t spill over into Salhadin Province. The Marines are on the offence too. They are sweeping through the territory north of Fallujah in an unnamed operation.
All the while, Operation Fardh-al-Qanoon is alive and well in Baghdad. The Multi-National Force is holding more than 70% of the city with a “cop on every corner” 24-7. Several Special Ops have been conducted in Sadr City to round up more of Muqtada al-Sadr’s thugs.
This is a nationwide campaign that has been in the works for many months. This campaign is meant to seriously restrict al-Qaeda’s ability to bring their violence into Baghdad. It is also a major attempt to bring stability to the outlying areas and to push the enemy out of areas that have been uncontested for years. Also, while dealing a crushing blow to AQI, Coalition forces are sending a potent message to Muqtada al-Sadr, the Iranians, and any other insurgent organization, that MNF-I has enough manpower and resources to go after the enemy AND maintain security in Baghdad. Rear Admiral Greg Smith told me, “They know we are coming, they just don’t know when we are getting to their neighborhood.”
Now, the world should know why David Petraeus asked for five more infantry brigades and an additional Combat Aviation Brigade, it wasn’t just to play cop in the streets of Baghdad. He told me last night, “We're endeavoring to take it to them.”
Richard S. Lowry is the award winning author of the best selling book, “Marines in the Garden of Eden,” Berkley, New York, 2006. He is an internationally recognized military historian and author. Richard served in the U.S. Navy Submarine Service from 1967-1975 and spent the time from 1975 to 2002 designing sophisticated integrated circuits for everything from aircraft avionics to home computers. Richard turned to serious writing after 9/11 and published “The Gulf War Chronicles,” iUniverse, New York, in 2002. He is currently working on his next book project. “The Surge” will tell of General Petraeus’ attempt to win the peace in Iraq. For more information on Richard and his work, visit http://www.marinesinthegardenofeden.com
TrackBack
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://op-for.com/mt/mt-tb.cgi/1044
Comments
About damned time, if you ask me.
Squash 'em like roaches.
mullah cimoc say each ameriki having two gonad so jealous of mujahid fighters in Baquoba.
usa army say of them mujahid: a 'hardline group of fighters who have no intention of leaving.'
These hardline man all having the two gonad.
Ameriki having the two gonad him understand. But so many ameriki now the feminzied like woman not having even one gonad.
USA media make all ameriki man accepting the woman to rule over him. The war reportr him the woman. the power person in tv show him the woman. this to make ameriki man the obedient.
Now ameirki society becoming so the sick. Is the punish for cruel and torture in iraq?
Google: mighty wurlitzer +cia learn how ameriki media so control now. all for serve masters in tel aviv.
also: ameriki woman now so slut with LBT (low back tattoo) and the so skinny and cannot having the child, just loving dog and cat.
Richard, the unnamed Marine operation north of Fallujah is part of FAQ. FAQ started back in April, I believe and this is the second portion of it.
Oh, and ban mullah cimoc. He is nothing but a crazy left wing American posing as something he isn't.
david you and everyone else are the most courages group I have heard of in my life time well i best go i give you all my love and be as safe that is possible oky bye
You wrote: "Iraqi Army units fought rouge elements of the Mahdi Army in Nasiriyah early this week"
Don't they push walls over on men wearing make-up?
Trackbacked by The Thunder Run - Web Reconnaissance for 06/25/2007
A short recon of what’s out there that might draw your attention, updated throughout the day...so check back often.
Ignore previous comment Link Corrected:
Trackbacked by The Thunder Run - Web Reconnaissance for 06/26/2007
A short recon of what’s out there that might draw your attention, updated throughout the day...so check back often.
Post a comment
Potential comment conditions listed here. Oh, and you may use basic HTML for formatting.
Ramblings from Richard.
That was a great post. No where in the MSM can I find a simple and detailed summary of current operations. I intuitively knew that our forces were not sitting around, but reading of the various operations was reassuring.
God bless and protect our brave men and women in harm's way. I wish them good hunting and good success.
I am so proud of our all-volunteer military, words cannot convey the emotion. To our citizen-soldiers around the world defending my freedom and bringing the hope of free and open government to millions of people, I say job well done. Keep up the good work. You have my complete confidence and unyielding support. Your mission is vitally important to America and the free world.
God Bless you.
Doug Santo
Pasadena, CA