Battle for Baghdad: US and Iraq plan street by street offensive

[tocqueville]

by Patrick Fort
1 hour, 19 minutes ago

BAGHDAD (AFP) - Faced with a make or break struggle to wrest control of Baghdad from insurgents and sectarian death squads, US and Iraqi commanders plan an ambitious strategy to take back the Iraqi capital street by street, district by district.

Thousands of reinforcements have been drafted in to flashpoint areas like Dura in the south of the city -- until recently a scene of bloody clashes and civilian massacres -- and are setting up cordons around entire neighbourhoods, before proceeding to disarm the gangs through house to house searches.

Analysts warn that the Iraqi government and its US ally face an enormous challenge to restore their battered authority in an increasingly divided and radicalised city, the scene of more than 50 murders per day. But commanders in Dura feel they have made a start and have proved their tactics can work.

"So far, we've had some effect. Obviously during the last three days while we've had 5,000 soldiers involved in this operation, we have had no murders. These are the same neighbourhoods where on the worst day we've had over 20 murders," said Colonel Michael Beech, who leads the US 4th Infantry Brigade.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060811/wl_mideast_afp/iraqusunrest

[leftyladyfrommo]

1. That street by street stuff has worked so well in the past.

I wonder how many civilians will get caught in the middle.

[ClintonTyree]

2. Here we go again.............

playing, "insurgent whack-a-mole". :eyes: Yes, they'll go through Baghdad street by street, house by house and they'll succeed in temporarily quelling the violence. BUT, they don't have enough troops for a permanent presence in these streets (thanks to an ill-reasoned strategy by Rummy and Wolfie) so as soon as they leave the area it will once again become as violent or more violent that it was before. A never ending game of "insurgent whack-a-mole".

But I guess that was the "plan" all along, wasn't it? A never ending war with a permanent American military presence in Iraqi soil.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

3. It takes 5000 soldiers to keep one neighborhood calm?

Of course, as soon as they leave the murdering will start right back up again.

[DoYouEverWonder]

4. Wouldn't turning on the water and electric

do a lot more to calm things down?

Instead of killing Iraq, maybe we should put them to work rebuilding their country instead?

[Postman]

5. Oh, so now they're coming to the realization they needed more troops?

...from the start.

Actually, there never should have been a start to this immoral war and occupation.