Monday, October 11, 2004
Even More Good News from Iraq
Iraqi Forces Gaining Effectiveness
When Iraq's 202nd National Guard Battalion faced insurgents six months ago, it simply, in the words of one American general, "evaporated." Now, the same outfit, tested in recent combat, is being touted as a vital building block of the force the United States says will increasingly replace its own troops on the front lines.Iraq PM Moves to Take Over Rebel Areas
Storming into the insurgent stronghold of Samarra with the Americans, the 202nd and other Iraqi units seized two holy sites and a large industrial complex, conducting house-to-house searches and raids on militant hideouts, according to U.S. military accounts.
"The good news is that the Iraqi forces are on their feet and getting better every day," said Maj. Gen. John Batiste, who commanded the operation. "Our work to train and equip Iraqi security forces is beginning to pay off in spades."
Blending diplomacy with American firepower, Iraqi interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi is moving closer to bringing rebel areas under government control before national elections in January.Weapons handover begins in Sadr City
In just over a week, joint U.S.-Iraqi forces smashed militants in Samarra, forced a truce with Shiite gunmen in Baghdad and pursued insurgents south of the capital....
Allawi's carrot-and-stick approach seems to be working.
Al-Sadr aides announced Saturday that militiamen will begin surrendering heavy and medium weapons next week in a first step toward halting weeks of fighting in Sadr City. Meanwhile, defense ministry officials and the chief negotiator from Fallujah, Sheik Khaled al-Jumeili, told The Associated Press that a deal could be struck soon to bring the embattled city under government control....
Returning Fallujah to government control without bloodshed would be a major victory for Allawi. It would also enable the Bush administration to avoid another major battle for control of Fallujah.
Iraqis aligned with the Medhi Army have started trickling into police stations in Baghdad to exchange their weapons for coupons they can later use to get cash from the Iraqi government.Iraq captures foreign terrorists
Rebels were expected to surrender thousands of medium and heavy weapons at various centers in the Sadr City area of the city under the control of police, the National Guard and City Council officials during a five-day amnesty, officials in Iraq's interim government said Monday.
Observers said the surrendering of rocket-propelled grenade launchers, mortars and machine guns was a sign an agreement between radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and the Iraqi government was being.
Iraqi forces have captured 42 suspected foreign fighters in a sweep in the rebel stronghold of Samarra, Iraqi Defense Minister Hazim al-Shalaan said on Monday.Iraqi troops return to the frontline
Shalaan told Al Arabiya television that the foreigners included 18 Egyptians, 18 Sudanese and one Tunisian national, who were among 105 suspected insurgents detained in the town north of Baghdad....
U.S. and Iraqi forces on Sunday declared victory in Samarra, the first step of a drive to take back all of Iraq's rebel-held areas before elections due in January.
Iraqi special forces commander Fadel Jameel's men charged toward Samarra's sacred golden-domed mosque dodging bullets in an operation that he said showcased the Iraqi military's readiness to take on rebel enclaves in the countdown to January elections....
Jameel and his men swaggered. It was a sharp contrast from the last major offensive on a rebel-held city, Fallujah last April, when the 36th battalion, demoralised and angry, pulled out after a week....
Jameel says a huge difference is the men are now serving an Iraqi government and not the US-led occupation administration.
The year-long occupation forced soldiers to make a formal pledge of allegiance to the Coalition Provisional Authority.
But in Samarra Saturday, Jameel, a former Kurdish rebel commander, said his troops clearly knew they were fighting for their country and not for anyone else.
"The soldiers know the Iraqi prime minister tried to negotiate with the insurgents, but the rebels wanted to overthrow the government," he said....
Aware Iraqi officials want to start taking back insurgent-controlled Iraqi cities, Laibi said his soldiers were prepared for more battles like Samarra in the run-up to January elections.
"We are ready to take back any place. If any city doesn't obey the government, we're ready to take the order and attack," he said and flashed a rare smile, proud of his men in the flush of victory.
And even more from Chrenkoff, part 12. Yes, a blogger can publish a twelve part series of good news while the MSM continues to portray doom and gloom.
