Sounds lik Iraq is already as safe and stable as Italy.
after meeting stiff resistance from militants hidden in basements, on rooftops and inside sandbag bunkers in a lawless region near the Syrian border.
Stiff resistance. That's good. That means more of the SOB's are dying. Whenever they stand and fight we kill them in droves.
It's about time we're launching a major counteroffensive. I was seriously starting to wonder if our leaders had forgotten that there's a war going on.
Operation Matador....Hmmmmmmmmm
Isn't that where you kinda dance with the bull before you kill his a$$..?
Let's go live to our senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre -- Jamie.
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, the Pentagon says that "Operation Matador" is a dagger aimed at the heart of the insurgency in western Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MCINTYRE: These first fleeting glimpses from the front lines give a flavor of the remote area of western Iraq, where "Operation Matador" has been unfolding, but show nothing of the ferocity of the fighting of the past three days, as U.S. Marines engage a motivated and well-trained enemy.
BRIG. GEN. JAMES CONWAY, U.S. MARINE CORPS: There are reports that these people are in uniforms, in some cases are wearing protective vests. And there's some suspicion that their training exceeds that of what we have seen with other engagements further east.
MCINTYRE: According to journalists embedded with the U.S. Force of some 1,000 Marines the toughest battle came Monday during a night of gritty house-to-house urban warfare.
JAMES JANEGA, CHICAGO TRIBUNE REPORTER: In Ubedi (ph) it was face-to-face combat. The firing, as I said, was quite intense. They went there in armored personnel carriers with tanks. They had air support from F-18s and from Huey Cobra Gunships.
MCINTYRE: The operation kicked off Saturday when the Marines crossed the Euphrates River and set up a blocking position south of the Iraqi town of Ramada. But instead of running the enemy stood and fought. So far the U.S. says as many as 100 insurgents have been killed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If they are intending on being martyred, that has to be cranked into the equation with this particular enemy.
MCINTYRE: The Pentagon says since last November's Fallujah offensive the center of resistance has moved west, regrouping in the desert area near the Syrian border, where smuggling routes provide easy access to money and arms. There has even been a reported sighting within the past three weeks of Iraq's most wanted terrorist, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. But he is said not to be a target of the operation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It would be a welcome event to come across him or his body and find him in that region, but that's not the purpose of the operation.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MCINTYRE: And in what appears to be a desperate move, rebels have kidnapped the governor of the region and are holding him hostage demanding an end to the U.S. offensive. The U.S. military says it doesn't deal with kidnappers, and some observers believe that the abduction is linked to a feud between the governor's tribe and one that backs Zarqawi -- Wolf.
BLITZER: This operation taking place not far from the Syrian border, as you reported, Jamie. What are they saying at the Pentagon about the involvement of the Syrian Government per se in allowing these insurgents, these foreign fighters, as they're called, to come into Iraq from Syria?
MCINTYRE: Well, they're still complaining about the fact that Syria is not doing essentially anything to stop the flow of arms, money, and as you said, fighters themselves from going in and out of Iraq across that border. I think the U.S. military realizes it's going to be its job and the Iraqi forces' to eventually seal that border. They're complaining to Syria, but other than that they're not saying too much publicly.
BLITZER: Jamie McIntyre with the latest at the Pentagon. Jamie, thanks very much.
And while they may be hard pressed right now in western Iraq, the insurgents are keeping up their attacks in the capital, that would be Baghdad. Three more bombs blew up there earlier today. The worst was a suicide strike which killed at least seven people and wounded 14 others. Police say the target may have been a U.S. military convoy.