U.S. Troops Sweep Into Empty Insurgent Haven in Iraq

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/10/AR2005091001308.html

Rebels Apparently Fled City as Word Of Invasion Spread

By Jonathan Finer
Washington Post Foreign Service
Sunday, September 11, 2005; Page A28

TALL AFAR, Iraq, Sept. 10 -- The moment the Iraqi troops launched their attack just after 7 a.m. Saturday, the bullets began to fly. Gunfire echoed off centuries-old stone buildings in the insurgent-controlled neighborhood of Sarai: machine-gun bursts, booming tank rounds and an incessant crackle of AK-47s that lasted for most of an hour.

But the shooting spree was only going in one direction.

"So far, Iraqi army reporting no enemy contact," came the word over the radio, 45 minutes after the first shots were fired, to U.S. troops waiting to join the assault.

By the time the Americans entered Sarai -- in a rare supporting role to an Iraqi battalion comprising mostly the Kurdish pesh merga militiamen, who led the charge -- the labyrinthine warren of close-packed structures and streets too narrow for armored vehicles was eerily deserted.

[MASSAFRA]

1. It looks like the

Iraqi army is ready to take on an empty town.
Thats progress.

[bribri16]

2. The Kurds are using the US just to be able to kill innocent Iraqis. n/t

[Briar]

9. And the Shia

are at it too, driving out the Sunni Turkomen. This is turning into ethnic cleansing.

[Scurrilous]

3. If the town was empty...

...why were the peshmerga guys shooting for most of an hour?

Who trained these people? Ammo salesmen?

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

4. Who trained these people? Ammo salesmen?

In a manner of speaking, yes.

[NNN0LHI]

5. The United States is Still #1 in Arms Sales

http://www.commondreams.org/views02/0810-02.htm

For years, U.S. arms manufacturers have complained that excessively burdensome U.S. export controls and a lengthy licensing process damage their competitiveness on the global arms market. But a recent report by the Congressional Research Service shows that U.S. weapons makers are doing just fine.

According to the report, "Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations 1994-2001," released on August 8th, the United States has had the largest share of both new contracts and deliveries to the world for at least 8 years in a row. In calendar year 2001, U.S. arms manufacturers made new agreements worth $12.1 billion and delivered $9.7 billion worth of arms, capturing 45% of both markets.

The United States' closest competitor, Russia, came in a distant second with $5.8 billion in new contracts and $3.6 billion in arms deliveries. But Russia is not a real rival for U.S. arms makers. Its main clients are China and Iran, off limits to U.S. firms, and former Soviet bloc states in Asia and Africa that cannot afford expensive U.S. weapons systems. India, on the other hand, may be one place where Russian and American firms go to battle over a large market. In September 2001, the U.S. government dropped a ban on arms sales to both India and Pakistan, permitting transfers even during the height of the crisis between these nuclear-armed states. India is a longtime major Russian client.

When making a case to loosen export controls, U.S. weapons makers usually cite intense competition from Western European firms. But this claim is also belied by the CRS figures. New contracts signed by the top four European exporters combined (France, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Italy) only totaled $4.5 billion, and deliveries were only worth $5.1 billion.

[PATRICK]

6. Because they knew there was no one there

Seems the simple answer. As a corollary their knowing might imply that their own officers had warned the insurgents ahead of time.

[Massachusetts]

7. By the time the Americans entered Sarai

Whoops!

[dbt]

8. More Viet Vu in Iraq Nam!

That Charlie fellow used to employ the tactic of vanishing just ahead of an American attack. Looks like someone "learned the lesson of (the first) Viet Nam" after all.

Remember New Orleans.

[catmandu57]

10. Nailing jello to the wall

They've been talking this up all week, plenty of time to slip out and come back another day.

[Warren Stupidity]

12. Indeed.

First we have the reports that the 'insurgents' have declared Tal Afar an 'insurgent city'. Hmmm... how's that going to work. Then the predictable Big Response from our side, tanks/planes/artillery the works, super-sized and everything, complete with a trial run of Iraq Army with a side of US support. And of course equally predictable: the 'insurgents' are nowhere to be found.

Next on the menu?

[hippiechick]

11. Uhm ...

... "So far, Iraqi army reporting no enemy contact," came the word over the radio, 45 minutes after the first shots were fired, to U.S. troops waiting to join the assault..."

Perhaps the Iraqi 'Army' was reporting no enemy contact because they don't see their own countrymen as the enemy ??

Perhaps it's the 'coalition forces' (cough) who are the real enemy in their eyes ?

Just a thought ...

[gratuitous]

13. Well THAT sure worked

Gee, all them terrorists and insurgents are gone, gone forever, from Tal Afar. No need to concern ourselves with that town any longer. It's totally free and secure.

At least, until we're distracted by another shiny object in Fallujah or Tikrit or Basra or some other place in Iraq.