Correcting the myth over Basra campaign
A few on the Left have made the efforts in Basra out to be something they're not. Namely, they point to the rise of Sadr's Mahdi militias as a sign that the Surge has failed, and Iraq stands on the brink of a civil war. (How many civil wars is that? I forget.) As Captain Ed explains when the Brits left Basra, the thugs down there fought for control. Mookie al-Sadr's boys won, and decided to push their limits. The Iraqi forces weren't up to snuff in 2005/2006, at least not on par with what was needed to take on the Shi'ite militia. However this time around the security forces, working in concert with US forces, were ready. Guess who lost this fight?
Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr on Sunday ordered his fighters off the streets nationwide and called on the government to stop raids against his followers and free them from prison.
The Iraqi government quickly welcomed al-Sadr’s apparent move to resolve a widening conflict with his movement, sparked Tuesday by operations against his backers in the oil-rich southern city of Basra.
Al-Sadr’s nine-point statement was issued by his headquarters in the holy city of Najaf and broadcast through loudspeakers on Shiite mosques.
“Because of the religious responsibility, and to stop Iraqi blood being shed ... we call for an end to armed appearances in Basra and all other provinces,” Sadr said in a statement. “Anyone carrying a weapon and targeting government institutions will not be one of us.”
Al-Sadr also called for an end to “random arrests” of his followers and for them to benefit from an amnesty law passed by parliament in February aimed at freeing thousands of prisoners from Iraqi jails.
When the Basra operations commenced, the media breathlessly reported this as some sort of rebel uprising. The sort they had been used to reporting since, oh, about 2003. They were reporting it as an oversight on our part, and were willing to lay the blame of such an outbreak of violence at our feet; an effort, no doubt, to paint the Surge as a failure when in fact that was the furthest thing from the truth. But the media has never let the truth get in their way before, now have they?
Worse, they seem reluctant to report that Mookie al-Sadr has hung his men out to dry. They don't want to admit that, once again, they were wrong in assessing this as another mother-of-all-battles fight where they were secretly rooting for Sadr's goons to really pull out the whoop @$$ on our troops and the Iraqi forces. (Um, hey guys, next time pray that the militia fighters have something extra, like maybe air power?) The truth is that when the Basra operations commenced, we hit the Mahdi targets with precision-guided bombs. We brought in Apaches to provide air cover for advancing troops in Basra. As the violence popped up across the country, almost like it was pre-planned, US and Iraqi forces swept in, and dealt with the Mahdis quickly and efficiently. And now, just like before, on 20 March Mookie al-Sadr has announced he's a failure.
Bye Mookie. Don't let the door hit you on the way out.
Publius II
Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr on Sunday ordered his fighters off the streets nationwide and called on the government to stop raids against his followers and free them from prison.
The Iraqi government quickly welcomed al-Sadr’s apparent move to resolve a widening conflict with his movement, sparked Tuesday by operations against his backers in the oil-rich southern city of Basra.
Al-Sadr’s nine-point statement was issued by his headquarters in the holy city of Najaf and broadcast through loudspeakers on Shiite mosques.
“Because of the religious responsibility, and to stop Iraqi blood being shed ... we call for an end to armed appearances in Basra and all other provinces,” Sadr said in a statement. “Anyone carrying a weapon and targeting government institutions will not be one of us.”
Al-Sadr also called for an end to “random arrests” of his followers and for them to benefit from an amnesty law passed by parliament in February aimed at freeing thousands of prisoners from Iraqi jails.
When the Basra operations commenced, the media breathlessly reported this as some sort of rebel uprising. The sort they had been used to reporting since, oh, about 2003. They were reporting it as an oversight on our part, and were willing to lay the blame of such an outbreak of violence at our feet; an effort, no doubt, to paint the Surge as a failure when in fact that was the furthest thing from the truth. But the media has never let the truth get in their way before, now have they?
Worse, they seem reluctant to report that Mookie al-Sadr has hung his men out to dry. They don't want to admit that, once again, they were wrong in assessing this as another mother-of-all-battles fight where they were secretly rooting for Sadr's goons to really pull out the whoop @$$ on our troops and the Iraqi forces. (Um, hey guys, next time pray that the militia fighters have something extra, like maybe air power?) The truth is that when the Basra operations commenced, we hit the Mahdi targets with precision-guided bombs. We brought in Apaches to provide air cover for advancing troops in Basra. As the violence popped up across the country, almost like it was pre-planned, US and Iraqi forces swept in, and dealt with the Mahdis quickly and efficiently. And now, just like before, on 20 March Mookie al-Sadr has announced he's a failure.
Bye Mookie. Don't let the door hit you on the way out.
Publius II
posted by Syd And Vaughn | 1:44 PM
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The Thunder Run has linked to this post in the - Web Reconnaissance for 03/31/2008 A short recon of what’s out there that might draw your attention, updated throughout the day...so check back often.
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