Another day, another "new operation" in Iraq with another phallic codename [View All]

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

U.S., Iraqi Forces Launch Operation Sword

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,160879,00.html

BAGHDAD, Iraq — More than 1,000 U.S. troops and Iraqi forces on Tuesday launched Operation Sword (search) in an effort to defeat terrorists and foreign fighters in western Iraq (search).

Operation Sword marks the third major offensive in the area in recent weeks as coalition and Iraqi forces attempt to quash an insurgency that's aiming to derail the democratic progress of the fledgling government.

The insurgency has killed more than 1,350 people — mostly civilians and Iraqi security forces — since Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari (search) formed his Shiite-dominated government on April 28.

Meanwhile, a homicide car bomb killed a Shiite legislator and three others near Baghdad (search) on Tuesday, an attack likely to further fuel ethnic tensions on the one-year anniversary of the transfer of sovereignty to Iraqi authorities.