Just like the horrible reporting done during the Burning Six episode now we get even worse reporting as the MSM vainly attempts to make a good thing, that being the fact that Iraqi troops are taking on the gangs of Basra themselves, into a “Iraq is falling apart” story:
In Baghdad, the Mahdi Army took over neighbourhood after neighbourhood, some amid heavy fighting, others without firing a shot.
In New Baghdad, militiamen simply ordered the police to leave their checkpoints: the officers complied en masse and the guerrillas stepped out of the shadows to take over their checkpoints.
Guess what…not true:
The Times Online claimed the Iraqi Army and police have abandoned checkpoints in Baghdad, but the US military denied the Mahdi Army is in control of police and Army checkpoints in Baghdad.
“All checkpoints and ISF [Iraqi security forces] buildings are in ISF and/or Coalition control. No checkpoint is in enemy control,” said Lieutenant Colonel Steve Stover, the Public Affairs Officer for the 4th Infantry Division and Multinational Division Baghdad in an email response to questions from The Long War Journal. “There were several cases where the ISF needed our assistance (and more often than not – did not) and either CF 9Coalition forces) ground or air responded and either reinforced or took back in a couple occasions the CP or IP (Iraqi Police) building – none of that happened today.”
And the Times of London reporting also failed to mention the amount of casualties the Iraqi army is inflicting on the Mahdi gang:
Several hundred Iraqis are reported to have been killed during the fighting since the operation began on March 25. A large majority of them are Mahdi Army fighters, according to the press reports. The US and Iraqi military have killed more than 70 Mahdi Army fighters in Shia neighborhood in Baghdad alone over the past three days.
Major General Ali Zaidan said that 120 Mahdi Army and other Shia terrorists have been killed since the fighting began, while another 450 have been wounded. Iraqi police said they have captured 218 “militiamen” since the start of the operation on March 25.
US and Iraqi security forces killed 26 Mahdi Army fighters in Baghdad on March 26. Another 42 Mahdi Army fighters were killed in a series of battles throughout Baghdad on March 27. Eight of the Mahdi Army fighters were killed after they attempted to overtake an Iraqi Army checkpoint. The Iraqi soldiers beat off the attack, losing one soldier in action.
US and Iraqi security forces killed 26 Mahdi Army fighters in Baghdad on March 26. Another 42 Mahdi Army fighters were killed in a series of battles throughout Baghdad on March 27. Eight of the Mahdi Army fighters were killed after they attempted to overtake an Iraqi Army checkpoint. The Iraqi soldiers beat off the attack, losing one soldier in action.
The Army and police have been active in Babil province. Hillah’s Iraqi Special Weapons and Tactics unit attacked a Special Groups unit in Hillah on March 26. The Hillah Swat team killed 14 Special Groups fighters and wounded 20. The Iraqi Army said it captured a commander of a terror cell in Al Hashimiyah, south of Hillah. Seven other Sadrist leaders believed to be behind attacks in Hillah were captured by the police.
Sounds to me like the Iraqi army is performing well. Not excellent, but a damn sight better then most thought they would while the gangs have no where to go except to meet those 72 virgins.
Then we got the lefty blogs all gleefully cheering on the bloodshed because, hell, what have they had to bitch about for the past year except their new enemy, Hillary Clinton:
As you’ve probably heard, our local boss in Iraq, Prime Minister Nuri al Maliki, sternly set forth a 72 hour deadline for members of the Mahdi Army to surrender their weapons or his government forces would take them by force, attack, whatever. Well, things haven’t been going well and now he’s extended the deadline until April 8th, according to this report from NPR.
Oh really? Bob Owens:
…according to the AP article appended to the very NPR story he linked to.
Al-Maliki’s office also announced it has given residents in Basra until April 8 to turn over “heavy and medium-size weapons” in return for unspecified monetary compensation.
The deadline is separate from the three-day ultimatum announced Wednesday for gunmen to surrender their arms and renounce violence or face harsher measures, government adviser Sadiq al-Rikabi said.
The move instead appeared to be aimed at noncombatants who may have weapons like machine-guns and grenade launchers either for smuggling purposes or to sell to militants or criminal gangs.
Two different deadlines have been set down, the original being a deadline on small arms, and the second, separate deadline for “heavy and medium-size weapons.” The small arms deadline has not been changed, and it is the deadline on larger weapons that takes effect on April 8th
To happy to have found the smoking gun to actually read the report that NPR linked to I suppose. Thats the kind of thing you get when relying on organizations like NPR to give you your news in the first place.
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"Sounds to me like the Iraqi army is performing well. Not excellent, but a damn sight better then most thought they would while the gangs have no where to go except to meet those 72 virgins."
Do you really think so?
The Iraqi Army has stalled; they have taken no ground in either Baghdad or Basra. Americans have now taken the lead in air and ground in Baghdad and in the air in Basra. That’s a political defeat for Maliki if we are looking at a 3 day ultimatum.
To make the matter more politically prickly, if Maliki’s ultimatum is three days, where’s the beef, why isn’t Maliki acting on his demand?
They have taken 1/4 of the city of Basra and are also inflicting heavy casualties on the Mahdi army while taking little themselves. To myself, for a army that is still in its infant stage, that is pretty good.
Bill also pointed out past examples that spew from the lefty media in these kind of battles:
What is it with you people you demand results in war within 48 hours or so, and if not, its a failure? In war you have to fight an enemy that can also change tactics to adapt from your tactics. So you overcome that and fight on….it takes time.
Nothing will be resolved in a few weeks during this fight, let alone 48 hours.
"Although American officials have emphasized that the campaign in the southern port city of Basra is directed by Iraqi forces, the Iraqis have failed so far to wrest control of neighborhoods in Basra from Shiite militias and asked the Americans and British to step in. The Iraqi military does not have jet fighters."
–I had heard different.
I never said, "it was a failure."Â
I just expected that when you give an ultimatum, if you can, you follow through with it. Since Maliki didn’t, it illustrates something– that the Iraqi army stalled, and then received aid from us and the Brits.
But you’re right. It will be weeks before this shakes out to be decipherable.
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