Report: U.S. Drive in Baghdad Falters
By KIM GAMEL
Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD (AP) - U.S.-led forces have control of fewer than one-third of Baghdad's neighborhoods despite thousands of extra troops nearly four months into a security crackdown, a newspaper reported Monday - an assessment that came as the U.S. casualty toll soared.
But military officials said they have warned all along that the fight would not be easy.
Iraqi police also said at least six people were killed and 14 were wounded in three separate bombings Monday in Baghdad.
The New York Times said an American assessment of the security plan through late May found that American and Iraqi forces were able to ``protect the population'' and ``maintain physical influence over'' only 146 of the 457 Baghdad neighborhoods.
(Continued here.)
Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD (AP) - U.S.-led forces have control of fewer than one-third of Baghdad's neighborhoods despite thousands of extra troops nearly four months into a security crackdown, a newspaper reported Monday - an assessment that came as the U.S. casualty toll soared.
But military officials said they have warned all along that the fight would not be easy.
Iraqi police also said at least six people were killed and 14 were wounded in three separate bombings Monday in Baghdad.
The New York Times said an American assessment of the security plan through late May found that American and Iraqi forces were able to ``protect the population'' and ``maintain physical influence over'' only 146 of the 457 Baghdad neighborhoods.
(Continued here.)
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1 Comments:
As usual, the real telling comments are buried in the lower paragraphs.
U.S. military leaders in charge of the Baghdad drive, now nearing the end of its fourth month, have repeatedly complained that both the Iraqi army and police units that were sent to Baghdad for the operation are often at only 60 percent full strength, if that.
{SNIP}
Maj. Gen. Joseph F. Fil Jr., commander of the 1st Cavalry Division which runs the security operation in Baghdad, expressed particular disappointment with Iraqi police performance during a recent visit to his troops in the capital's Karradah neighborhood.
We hear about the American deaths … 127 in May (how many injured???).
And how does that compare to the Iraqis ?
Reuters reported ”1,944 civilians were killed in May, a 29 percent hike over April. At least 174 soldiers and policemen were killed in the same period.
So doesn’t that beg the question, after four years of vetting and training the Iraqi military and police, why aren’t they more in the lead? Who’s their Grant, Jackson, Sherman, or even Lee ?
Prime Minister al-Maliki seems to be more concerned with Turkey and potential military incursions into northern Iraq then he does with the civil war in Baghdad. Is that because he knows he has the US military patrolling the streets?
Why is America dictating the police keeping operation parameters?
General David Petraeus calls this a “doable mission”
I understand having a military presence, but I never understood why Petraeus opted to move out of bases thousands of troops into joint security stations leaving them more exposed to attack.
It’s not the “surge” that isn’t worth it, it’s Petraeus’ strategy that is wrong.
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