Military Operations Likely To Begin In Mosul

[leftchick]

http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2005/01/67642632-6ec0-4905-ae55-d8c187e16c8d.html

5 January 2005 -- Kasim Dawoud, the interim Iraqi minister of state for national security, says Iraqi forces, backed by U.S.-led troops, will soon begin military operations against insurgents in the northern city of Mosul.


"I'd like to announce that we will begin soon our military operations to crack down on insurgents in Mosul and our brothers in Mosul will see our operations to get rid of the criminals who spread instability in Mosul," Dawoud said.

Mosul emerged as a major trouble spot, with insurgents overpowering police and attacking police stations, during the U.S.-Iraqi offensive to retake the city of Al-Fallujah in November 2004.

Also today, a member of Iraq's main Sunni Muslim party was killed after being abducted from his pharmacy in Mosul.

The Iraqi Islamic Party said Omar Mahmud Abdallah, a cleric and scholar, was found dead today of a gunshot to the head. The party recently announced its withdrawal from upcoming national elections.

[htuttle]

1. Is there a good reason they announce these things ahead of time?

Tactically, I'd think they'd prefer the element of surprise, but perhaps US domestic political considerations outweigh mere military goals...

:shrug:

[bemildred]

5. This is to explain why nothing is being done.

Like, "we're going to do something soon ...".

Nine times out of ten, if you reverse the sense of these press
releases, you then have a good approximation of the truth.

And this sort of bullshit is considered better than silence,
or admitting that they have not the wherewithal to do much other
than to bomb it flat, and that would not look right with the
"election" coming up and all.

[LynnTheDem]

2. Time to 'Najaf and Fallujah' Mosul

Kill lotsa them terra-ists who DARE to fight the foreign invaders! Nasty ingrates!

:eyes:

[Botany]

3. We invaded, occupied, and killed .....

...... now some of the Iraqis are fighting back? Go figure. The Sunni's now have 200,000 fighters willing to die to kill our troops. Iraq has 24,000,000 people of which at least 18,000,000 want us dead and or gone.

Bush has us in a bottomless hell hole.

:kick:

[anarchy1999]

4. Just pretend it is happening here and it is China and Russia along

with Mexico and Venzuela along with Panama, Colombia and Chile that have invaded the US from the south.

WHAT WOULD YOU DO? Especially after they wiped out the town you were born in and killed your mom, dad and a couple of brothers along with their wives and kids?

Throw out flowers and say thank you?

[plasticsundance]

7. The reasons why ...

They do not use the element of surprise, because there is no strategic military value except to exact revenge and intimidate the Iraqi populace. The US military thinks that it will deter people from assisting and joining the resistance by showing this is what happens if one does. Anyone with an IQ slightly above the Idiot-King-* can figure out that ... well ... it is happening to the Iraqis anyways, so many Iraqis conclude that they might as well be a part of the resistance.

I saw someone wearing a T-shirt yesterday that had Iraq in the cross-hairs, and it said something in the order of no let up for Iraq. It was actually much more harsh in its language. These myopic Bush supporters are beginning to realize that the US bringing freedom to Iraq is bullshit, so being tired of eating their own bullshit, they now show their true colors ... and it ain't pretty.

Forgive me for mixing metaphors.

"What is a rebel? A man who says no.- Albert Camus, L'Homme revolte (The Rebel), 1951

[Crunchy Frog]

6. Oh great!

Where going to go and level yet another Iraqi city.:grr:

I wonder what sort of "catastrophic success" we'll have this time?

[leftchick]

8. until they are all gone...

:(

[dutchdoctor]

10. In order to save Mosul we'll have to destroy it n/t

[Just Me]

9. I wonder how many mass graves will be the product of a neoCON war.

:mad:

We just keep giving people more reasons to be anti-American.