Iraqi Troops Start Rolling Out in Ramadi

[maddezmom]

RAMADI, Iraq - The troops didn't go far, the mission didn't last long and the neighborhood wasn't the most dangerous in town. But when Iraqi army troops moved out on a recent patrol in central Ramadi, they took a crucial step forward, rolling out in their own armored Humvees for the first time.

Until now, this unit has mostly patrolled their small, relatively quiet slice of downtown on foot, leaving the worst parts of the turbulent city center to better-equipped U.S. troops.

American commanders want Iraqi units to operate independently in the more dangerous downtown areas of Ramadi, about 75 miles west of Baghdad. But they lack equipment — especially proper transport. Though they have their own trucks, they rely heavily on U.S. forces to move around.

In recent weeks, that's begun to change.

The Iraqi Defense Ministry has begun distributing armored Humvees to Iraqi units that look nearly identical to their tan-colored U.S. counterparts. The Iraqi vehicles are equipped with bulletproof glass and radios, painted outside with the Iraqi flag and chocolate chip camouflage markings.

more:http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060410/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_rolling_on;_


previous article about insurgents in Ramadi:


Ramadi Insurgents Develop Clever Tactics
By TODD PITMAN, Associated Press Writer
12:34 PM PDT, April 9, 2006


RAMADI, Iraq -- On an eerie, battle-scarred street in this blown-out urban war zone, a mannequin with painted black hair stares silently at U.S. Marines hunkered down in sandbagged observation posts atop buildings a few blocks away.

It's the latest insurgent ruse in an evolving war pitting the world's most powerful military against guerrilla fighters using their most effective weapon: ingenuity.

Insurgents in Ramadi recently have flown kites over U.S. troops to align mortar-fire, released pigeons to give away U.S. troop movements and staged attacks at fake funeral processions complete with rocket-stuffed coffins, U.S. forces deployed here say.

"They're crafty, I'll give 'em that," said Marine Cpl. John Strobridge, 20, of Orlando, Fla., as his Humvee passed the mannequin along one of the most bomb-infested roads in town, a street Americans call Route Michigan.

more:http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-iraq-guerrilla-ingenuity,1,721347.story?coll=sns-ap-world-headlines

[pinniped]

1. Did they play Entry of the Gladiators?

?

[rocktivity]

4. No, the March of the S.O.D

"SPEAK ENGLISH OR DIE!"

:headbang:
rocknation

[FloridaPat]

2. Since the invasion, Halliburton has made a ton of cash, Root/Brown,

the company with the contract soldiers. Lots of other military companies have made fortunes. In the meantime, our military has gone through a ton of Humvees, but GM is close to bankruptcy. Now that must be one badly run company to go that far in the red with all the Humvees needed for this fiasco.

[NYC]

3. I hadn't thought of that.

Does the military buy all their Humvees from GM?

[FloridaPat]

5. Yes, it's a GM vehicle. I was suprised when I found that out.

[Rex]

6. Once we leave, Iraq will collapse in upon itself.

The more we play 'build a Democracy in less than 100 days', the worse it will be for the people of Iraq after we leave.

[warsager]

7. the longer we stay, Iraq will continue to collapse upon us

and the innocent people that continue to die day after day.

IMHO "the worse it will be for the people of Iraq after we leave" is an old 'pro-war' arguement and nonsense. (no offense intended towards Rex)