Posted on 06/21/2007 8:50:14 AM PDT by AU72
The first day of operation Arrowhead Ripper was intense. The Army is giving full access to the battlefield, and while on base full access to the TOC (HQ) which means I see the raw truth on the ground, and as it feeds through the TOC. They are hiding nothing. Or if they are, it’s in plain view. (Special operations notwithstanding.) A reporter can see as much as he or she can stand.
Civilian casualties are occurring, despite much discretion being used on the firing. I saw three MLRS rockets hit targets downtown today (June 20) and more were fired. Watched the video feed from the TOC as some of them hit. The targeting was perfect. Our guys had cleared out the civilians, but the enemy starts shootouts using civilians as cover. American officers are trying to account for civilian casualties; media is asking and command is still unable to answer, which of course looks like a cover-up. From what I see on the ground, there is no cover-up. The number is unknown but certainly there must be some.
Michael Gordon is a NYT reporter who is in the battle. Gordon will be an important resource. The commanders take a break from fighting each day to have meetings with each other, and Iraqi officers, and he comes off the battlefield with one of the commanders to the briefings. I saw Gordon today, his shirt stained white from sweat. Gordon and I were at a commander briefing when one of the battalion commanders, LTC Smiley, talked about how his soldiers shot some terrorists today (June 20); on different occasions today, women and children came out and “gave aid” to the wounded terrorists. My guess is that the number of civilian casualties is not high. Gordon has been running with other soldiers, so it will be important to hear his accounts. From what I’ve read so far, Gordon has been very accurate and on target.
By the end of the first day (June 19), about 30 enemy had been killed, 1 U.S. killed and 5 WIA. At least two soldiers were heat casualties, including one who was with my group.
The combat has only just begun, and media has now figured out this is serious business. During the morning brief (June 20th), Major Robbie Parke mentioned that CNN, TIME, Reuters and some others, are trying to get out here now. Problem is space. Looks like Gordon and I are mostly alone for now. Others are said to be in Baqubah, but if they are here, they are missing some of the most important parts, and if they were at the important commander’s meetings, I would have seen them.
The heat is intense for the enemy and for us. Soldiers, during any chance, would lay-down during the heat of day, and in complete body armor and helmets, fall asleep in the dirt. I took photos of course. Our guys are tough. The enemy in Baqubah is as good as any in Iraq, and better than most. That’s saying a lot. But our guys have been systematically trapping them, and have foiled some big traps set for our guys. I don’t want to say much more about that, but our guys are seriously outsmarting them. Big fights are ahead and we will take serious losses probably, but al Qaeda, unless they find a way to escape, are about to be slaughtered. Nobody is dropping leaflets asking them to surrender. Our guys want to kill them, and that’s the plan.
A positive indicator on the 19th and the 20th is that most local people apparently are happy that al Qaeda is being trapped and killed. Civilians are pointing out IEDs and enemy fighters, so that’s not working so well for al Qaeda. Clearly, I cannot do a census, but that says something about the locals.
Much going on here in Baqubah. Unfortunately I have no assistant with me, and so no time for photos or video.
More soon.
Looking forward to this development
Michael Yon is one hell of a guy.......thank you Michael for these updates.........
Sounds like a change in strategy. Does this mean they are taking off the gloves?
If the NYT reporter does in fact give an honest & fair accounting of what’s happening on the ground I suspect his piece will be “edited” back in NYC to make it more to the Times’ personal preference.
Superb!
Wipe 'em out, boys.
Civilian casualties are unavoidable in war, especially against an enemy who shields itself with them.
I bet the NYT reporter will be told by his editors to investigate all the civilian casualties while they blue pencil al-queda mentions.
They just want to get there so that they can twist and distort the truth like they always do.
I hope they get stuck at the Palestine Hotel and can't get north.
Too bad.
Give 'em the cold steel, boys! The more vermin squashed like bugs in Iraq the better.
LTC Smiley, talked about how his soldiers shot some terrorists today (June 20); on different occasions today, women and children came out and “gave aid” to the wounded terrorists.
This is very dramatic and good news. However, I am still having difficulty believing that terrorists are where they are, in the strength they are, doing what they are doing without having received (if not now) certainly at some point, support and compliance of civilians. The civilians’ ‘activities’ seem always to be ambiguous and I have to wonder if they are truly committed and if so, how steadfastly they are committed to changing things for themselves with the help of the coalition.
The longer it lasts and the nastier it gets i.e., IED ambushes, murder and torture of fellow soldiers and other atrocities then the troops will take off the gloves. And they won´t be wited to be asked either. happens in every war. the japs set the pace for WW!! and the US got as down and dirty as they did. Same thing happened in nam. We would find murdered, mutalated GIs and after a while we stopped taking prisoners.
And it’s about time.
It's been a long time since I heard somebody clank when they walked.
L
Thanks for posting.
TOC means Tactical Operations Center, for those who don’t know.
Bump Dat...
ping
That 1 KIA seems a waste if things will just keep going on that way when we are gone. That 1 KIA was someone's brother, son, husband, father....
Thanks for the Captain’s Quarter ping.
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