US plots 'new liberation of Baghdad'

[cal04]

THE American military is planning a “second liberation of Baghdad” to be carried out with the Iraqi army when a new government is installed. Pacifying the lawless capital is regarded as essential to establishing the authority of the incoming government and preparing for a significant withdrawal of American troops. Strategic and tactical plans are being laid by US commanders in Iraq and at the US army base in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, under Lieutenant- General David Petraeus.

He is regarded as an innovative officer and was formerly responsible for training Iraqi troops. The battle for Baghdad is expected to entail a “carrot-and-stick” approach, offering the beleaguered population protection from sectarian violence in exchange for rooting out insurgent groups and Al-Qaeda. Sources close to the Pentagon said Iraqi forces would take the lead, supported by American air power, special operations, intelligence, embedded officers and back-up troops.

Helicopters suitable for urban warfare, such as the manoeuvrable AH-6 “Little Birds” used by the marines and special forces and armed with rocket launchers and machineguns, are likely to complement the ground attack. The sources said American and Iraqi troops would move from neighbourhood to neighbourhood, leaving behind Sweat teams — an acronym for “sewage, water, electricity and trash” — to improve living conditions by upgrading clinics, schools, rubbish collection, water and electricity supplies. Sunni insurgent strongholds are almost certain to be the first targets, although the Shi’ite militias such as the Mahdi army of Moqtada al-Sadr, the radical cleric, and the Iranian-backed Badr Brigade would need to be contained.

President George W Bush and Donald Rumsfeld, the defence secretary, are under intense pressure to prove to the American public that Iraq is not slipping into anarchy and civil war. An effective military campaign could provide the White House with a bounce in the polls before the mid-term congressional elections in November. With Bush’s approval ratings below 40%, the vote is shaping up to be a Republican rout.

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http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-2136297,00.html

[LiberalPartisan]

1. So - they're admitting we lost? About time. n/t

[longship]

2. Yes, they'll put the statue back up and then tear it down again

in front of a zillion embedded photogs. They'll pay millions to Baghdad citizens to show up for free filafel and beer so that the square around the statue will be full of people.

As soon as the photogs are gone they will arrest the Baghdadees and throw them all into Abu Grahib.

[daveskilt]

11. you do know that the statue photo thing was staged right?

they sealed off the square and brought in pre screened exiles flown in for the occassion and let them have at it.

[longship]

12. Of course! ;-)

Why do you think that I picked that scenerio?
It's just like ChimpCo to try the same lame stunt twice.

[TheBaldyMan]

21. they could put up a statue of Bush in his flight suit, they'd get

folks coming in from all round the country to pull that down. I'd be ready with a mouthful of spit and my flip-flop if it was me.

[AndyTiedye]

3. Are Our Troops Liberating Baghdad From Themselves?

:wtf:

[valerief]

4. Remission Accomplished! n/t

[sofa king]

19. Brilliant!

Dismissive Accomplice:

[soup]

45. Operation DoOver

I'm sure someone with more skills and better software could do this more justice.

[MadisonProgressive]

5. And it sounds as much a fantasy as the first plan!

[struggle4progress]

28. The Liberation of Baghdad - Transcript

Story # 7 Baghdad Liberated
... with the liberation of Baghdad, it is now only a matter of time until all of Iraq is free ...
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/obs/vid/20771.htm

I wonder if they'll do a remake? Something like, "... with the re-liberation of Baghdad, it is now only a matter of time until all of Iraq is refried ..."

[cliss]

37. Yes! I can see it now.... Baghdad....Part 2.

Some great movie titles:

"Baghdad Bob resurfaces, has more good news!"
"Baghdad Part 2, This time we get it right"
"How I lost my heart in Baghdad"
"Winning hearts & Minds, American-style"
"More Flowers & Candy"



"Baghdad: the Sequel"

But you know what they say about sequels.....

[fshrink]

6. A disaster in the making.

With lots of casualties. Urban guerilla is deadly and never ends. Petraeus' future appears promising in supermarket surveillance.

[bemildred]

7. Right.

Maybe we can get Kiefer Sutherland to star in this extravaganza.

[dipsydoodle]

8. Sounds like Blackhawk Down

part two to me. I was chatting with a guy from the SAS a short while after part one and asked naively what happened. All he said was "act like cowboys the indians come get you"

[KeepItReal]

18. AH-6 Little Birds (think Magnum P.I.'s buddy's helo...with guns) as CAS??

Edit: By "CAS" I mean Close Air Support

"Two special operations versions of the OH-6A are the "Little Bird" AH-6C armed variant, and the MH-6B transport/utility version, which can carry up to six personnel for quick insertion and extraction missions."

http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/oh-6.htm

These helicopters aren't armored at all and are very vulnerable. Their pilots are extremely brave. If we start losing them to stupid plans...

[dipsydoodle]

23. Thanks for the explanation

especially the acronym. Hadn't realised they were not armoured. Put that way - yes the crews are brave. I think the SAS guy meant the ground troops.

Hopefully the subject of the thread won't be carried out.

[TheCowsCameHome]

9. You couldn't make stuff as crazy as this - What is wrong with this WH?

Unreal. Second liberation, my ass.

[LynnTheDem]

10. What's wrong with this WH? They're MFing crazy.

There's a reasonj they were known during Reagan's years (even by Reagan) as "the crazies".

[Tempest]

13. But Bush said all major combat was completed

One more thing he was wrong about.

[Mr_Spock]

14. This is all or nothing for the Republican party

...expect it to be declared a success the minute after it is launched. All the RW talking heads will be out it force.

It will be a memorable moment in the current political climate - this warning is all that we'll get before the barrage takes place.

I'd say it's gonna be an ugly time...

[Theduckno2]

15. That's it Junior, just take baby steps. I am grinding my teeth.

3+ years of conflict and we are ready to break out of the "Green Zone".

If DUers haven't read Riverbend, now may be a good time(her last post April 2nd).

http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com/

Her blog gives us a reminder of those who will be on the receiving end of this "Second liberation of Baghdad", with all its rocket launchers, machine guns and "Little Birds".

I wish that Iraqis would see meaningful improvement in their living conditions as a result of this military action, BUT after Abu Graib, Fallujah and Haditha, I fear this operation may be short on 'carrot' and long on 'stick'.

One small silver lining? Rummy has been pushing for a rapid strike force military and a door-to-door campaign in Baghdad must be a real crimp in his plans.

I agree with those who think that many of the RW talking heads will be tripping over themselves to claim victory, but will remain hopeful that some will report the truth. I hope the tide is turning.

[saigon68]

20. Another, "Biological Anthrax Trailer Announcement"

More propaganda. I'm sure there are a few 12.7 mm and Zpu weapons being brought in this very minute, to deal with this.

Good thing there are no seniors who need prescriptions in amerika

and no one to feed in amerika because if there were people to feed

how would the sheep ever afford this cluster-fuck


</sarcasm>

Petraeus, thousands more will die for Halliburton

[Dhalgren]

16. If this latest insanity goes forward there will be massive -

MASSIVE - civilian casualties. This will be simple murder on a large scale. Huge swaths of Baghdad will be destroyed and all for the US Dictator's political benefit. This is sickening! Unless this is another faux operation, like the one in March where they went out into the desert and made a bunch of innocent villagers run for their lives, but did very little else. Maybe they will pretend to fight and stuff so they can catapult the propaganda. I pray it is a sham, but I fear that it isn't...

[KeepItReal]

17. Isn't "Second Liberation" an OXYMORON?

...This sounds like a Rove/Rumsfeld special.

[hatrack]

43. No, no - it's a Double Secret Probation Liberation . . .

Led by Colonel Niedermeyer and Kevin Bacon . . .

[rfkrfk]

22. the hidden message is... this is your last chance to change sides

IF, a new gov't forms...

the gov't will be in a mood to make deals,
with the message... join the winning side,
or we make a deal with your rival.
also, the police are rather upset.

[cassiepriam]

24. Translation: Kill any Iraqi who is still alive. nt

[matcom]

25. so, Baghdad=Kabul=Victory

We took over Kabul and declared victory. Forget that the rest of that country is STILL under Taliban control. We elected a mayor of Kabul and called it good.

Now, we will pull everyone back into Baghdad, elect a "Baghdad Government" that has no control outside of that city's borders and declare victory.

gotcha.

[bvar22]

26. YEAH, that's gonna work!

THEN the flowers and candy will come out!
The World and the Iraqis are gonna LOVE us!

[Notoverit]

27. The Daily Show will have new W vs W debates now (1st liberator vs second)

Will we be able to spread THAT much liberty and freedom?

[Warren Stupidity]

29. Why would they announce it in advance?

Unless of course they want the actual militias to be safely underground when the BIG REASSAULT ON BAGHDAD goes live on network tv.

But I digress. The stated plan is to use the militia-ridden Iraqi army to rid Baghdad of themselves. Have I got that right? Is that the plan of record? OK. So here is how it works. Line up the Iraqi units. Bring them to attention. Hand them each a pistol and have them shoot themselves on command.

[Solly Mack]

30. If you start with the premise (I call it a fact) that the very invasion of

Iraq was a war crime, then how, by any stretch of the imagination, do you "correct", "make right","improve", or "turn-around" a war crime that you're constantly propping up and making excuses for? The only way to make a war crime "better" is to stop engaging in the war crime. And even then it's not "better", it's just over and real recovery can then begin...

Nothing about invading Iraq was legitimate. It was all a lie.

So now politicians and pencil-pushing military blowhards speak in terms of "how to make it right" - "how to improve" - "how to prove to Americans"....why bother perpetuating the lie? Why blow smoke up my ass about a war crime?

Just stop already.

The invasion of Iraq was a war of aggression committed by the United States. It was a war crime. It remains a war crime.


Stop pretending it can be made right. Stop playing the "if only we had done this -{fill in the blank with any bullshit excuse being used}- Iraq would have gone better" game. Because it is a game. Let's point to everything that went wrong - but let's not point to the real problem. The real problem being AMERICA COMMITTED A WAR CRIME WHEN IT INVADED IRAQ.

Sure, militarily speaking, there wasn't enough troops for the invasion/occupation - but that's not the real problem.

Sure, Rumsfeld is an inept SEC.of DEF. - but even that's not the real problem (though Rumsfeld is most certainly part and parcel to the real problem)


America can't correct the problems America created in Iraq.

Because America refuses to acknowledge the one thing that could help in making it better - America refuses to acknowledge it committed a war crime. America refuses to acknowledge it was wrong.

Instead America wants to partake in the myth perpetuating "if only" game , and allow the real problem - America was wrong to invade Iraq - to be lost among all the excuses for Iraq going badly.

The invasion/occupation of Iraq never could go right because it was a crime to invade Iraq. It was always wrong - and still is

The invasion/occupation of Iraq never will go right as long as the war crime nation of America remains in Iraq.

America is the problem.

Not the Iraqis. Not the lack of troops. Not the lack of tactics. Not a different tactic. No new military strategy is going to help.

America. is. the. problem.

The military can't "fix" Iraq. The U.S. military has no business being in Iraq.

The U.S. government lied to get into Iraq ...and they are still lying.

[ckramer]

31. US plots ‘new liberation of Baghdad’

Sources close to the Pentagon said Iraqi forces would take the lead, supported by American air power, special operations, intelligence, embedded officers and back-up troops.

Helicopters suitable for urban warfare, such as the manoeuvrable AH-6 “Little Birds” used by the marines and special forces and armed with rocket launchers and machineguns, are likely to complement the ground attack.

The sources said American and Iraqi troops would move from neighbourhood to neighbourhood, leaving behind Sweat teams — an acronym for “sewage, water, electricity and trash” — to improve living conditions by upgrading clinics, schools, rubbish collection, water and electricity supplies.

Sunni insurgent strongholds are almost certain to be the first targets, although the Shi’ite militias such as the Mahdi army of Moqtada al-Sadr, the radical cleric, and the Iranian-backed Badr Brigade would need to be contained.

link

[More Than A Feeling]

32. As Yogi Berra would say: "It's deja vu all over again!" n/t

[tridim]

33. So basically Iraq is now about killing all the Sunni's

I believe that's called ethnic cleansing, or genocide. Can someone remind me why we're still there?

[xchrom]

34. and they won't scatter again?

that is precisely the thing we can't combat even if we're there a thousand years.

[rocktivity]

35. Which will liberate it from the US, I hope

rocknation

[Zorra]

36. Another hole to throw our money into. Corrupt republicans must be

skimming cash or profiting somehow from the hundreds of billions of dollars spent on the neocon's folly in Iraq is sucking from the labor of American taxpayer.

These egotistical, bumbling fools will just keep throwing our money into this pit until our country is completely devastated financially, just to prove they were right.
:mad:

[cassiepriam]

39. Yes someone is getting very rich in this war.

And yes they will kill every man, woman and child in Iraq to "win" this war.

[cassiepriam]

38. Translation: Anyone still alive in Baghdad will be killed.

How can we continue to massacre an innocent people, and ruin a entire country?

[LibertyorDeath]

40. Bloodbath

nt

[HuffleClaw]

41. sounds like a large scale rape and pillage to me

i sure hope this is just speculation. it would be a horror if they actually tried this.

[Rex]

42. Mission accomplished, again!

All major military operations have concluded, again.

[Ouabache]

44. Will the floozy Bush twins be able to go teach school there then?

Only then will it be truly liberated and safe, when they can go there to open a charter school. As the daughters of the great Liberator*, I am sure they will be welcomed with open arms, flowers and candy.