Iraqi leader takes charge of offensive in Mosul (PM Nouri al-Maliki takes personal charge)

AP on Yahoo ^ | 5/14/08 | Sinan Salaheddin - ap

[NormsRevenge]

BAGHDAD - Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki took personal charge Wednesday of a military operation to rout al-Qaida in Iraq in what the U.S. has described as the terror group's last major stronghold, even as a tenuous cease-fire took hold over Baghdad's Sadr City slum.

The campaign in the northern city of Mosul was the third by al-Maliki in two months as he attempts to stamp out Shiite militants and Sunni extremists across the country.

Also Wednesday, a suicide bomber killed 22 people and wounded 40 in an attack on a funeral tent in a village west of Baghdad, Iraqi police Col. Faisal al-Zubaie said.

Many Sunnis opposed to al-Qaida were at the funeral for Taha Obaid, a school principal who was shot dead Tuesday.

South of the capital, a young girl strapped with explosives killed an Iraqi captain and wounded four soldiers Wednesday. Iraqi army Lt. Ahmed Ali said the explosives were detonated by remote control as the girl approached the Iraqi commander in Youssifiyah, in the area once known as the Triangle of Death.

Both Iraqi and American spokesmen confirmed that the attack took place, and the U.S. military said it was investigating. Maj. John Hall, a coalition spokesman, said U.S. reports indicated one Iraqi soldier was killed and seven wounded.

Al-Maliki's flight to Mosul, 225 miles northwest of the capital, Iraq mirrors a trip he took almost two months ago to the southern city of Basra, where government troops fought radical Shiite militias. That fighting spread to Sadr City, a Shiite enclave in Baghdad, where a cease-fire to end fighting was reached this week.

Associated Press Television News footage showed al-Maliki being briefed by senior Iraqi officers and officials who used large maps to point out their operations. Al-Maliki made no comment.

"The Iraqi prime minister has arrived in Mosul to supervise the military operations, and its second phase is due to start today," Mohammed al-Askari, the spokesman of the Iraqi Defense Ministry, told The Associated Press. "The main aim of this operation is to purge and clean Ninevah province of all militants and their weapons and declare it a safe area."

Mosul is considered the last important urban staging ground for al-Qaida in Iraq after the terror group lost its strongholds in Baghdad and other areas during the U.S. troop buildup last year.

Al-Maliki has been promising a crackdown since January. But no major offensives have been mounted even as al-Qaida in Iraq tried to exert its influence through attacks and intimidation.

Al-Qaida and its supporters would find themselves without a major base of operations if ousted from Iraq's third-largest city, which occupies transport crossroads between Baghdad, Syria and other points. But a drawn-out fight could serve to rally insurgents and expose potential security weaknesses where U.S. troops are thin and Iraqi forces must take a front-line role.

"We are closely linked with Iraqi security forces and will support operations that the prime minister is developing over the next couple of days," U.S. military spokesman Maj. Gen. Kevin Bergner said. He added that Iraqi troops had arrested more than 500 people and captured five weapons caches. He said the operation was shifting gears.

In western Iraq, a senior U.S. commander said Wednesday that al-Qaida persists and that a recent increase in attacks shows that the group remains a threat there. A group of al-Qaida fighters recently infiltrated the area, went to the homes of 11 Iraqi police officers in the Anbar town of Husaybahand and beheaded them and one of their sons, he said.

Marine Maj. Gen. John Kelly, the commander of U.S. forces in Anbar province, said it appeared the insurgents crossed from the Syrian border, talked their way through a checkpoint and then went around the town grabbing police individually.

"I went up to the site yesterday and had never seen so much blood," he said Wednesday at his office at Camp Fallujah. Kelly said 11 of the victims were police officers and another was the son of one of the officers. "We are so hard to kill, they target the police," he said.

"Al-Qaida is not defeated. It's an ideology," he said. "Al-Qaida is still operational but on a smaller scale."

Sadr City was largely quiet Wednesday as Shiite fighters appeared to respect a cease-fire agreement, though some skirmishes were still being reported. The fighting left five dead and 22 wounded, according to hospital officials.

"The cease-fire is still active and we are still at square one," said Maj. Gen. Qassim al-Mousawi, an Iraqi army spokesman. "Nothing has been achieved so far as security forces are still waiting for the Sadrist leaders to prepare the appropriate atmosphere to enable our security forces to enter Sadr City to do their duties."

Bergner said that while U.S. commanders around Sadr City reported a drop in violence, some fighting persisted.

[NormsRevenge]

Maliki Ping

[rob777]

It looks like he plans to wipe out all of the bad apples while the U.S. Military is still there to assist.

[avacado]

Is there some sort of AP standard/requirement that all articles of good news on Iraq must have the 2nd through 5th paragraphs not about the subject but rather a catch up on all the other news that is bad? Then finally they actually get to the subject of the article 1/3 - 1/2 of the way down.

Surely they know that libtards don't read past a few sentences.

[avacado]

"It looks like he plans to wipe out all of the bad apples while the U.S. Military is still there to assist."

I imagine that the thought of Obama becoming the U.S. President is getting his butt in gear to take care of things now.

[r9etb]

Maliki "taking charge" of the offensive is little more than a showboat move, with mostly political purposes.

The good news is that for Maliki even to do this, implies that the chances of victory would have to be great indeed, as Maliki is a canny enough politician to avoid a situation where there's any real uncertainty as to the results.

[reagan_fanatic]

a young girl strapped with explosives killed an Iraqi captain and wounded four soldiers Wednesday. Iraqi army Lt. Ahmed Ali said the explosives were detonated by remote control as the girl approached

Tell me again that satanic evil does not exist.

[buwaya]

“Maliki “taking charge” of the offensive is little more than a showboat move, with mostly political purposes. “

Very important political purposes, not easy to dismiss. Maliki has discovered that he has a powerful instrument mostly at his disposal, the now-powerful Iraqi Army and police. He obviously wants to make it clear that he is in charge of that.

That is a positive thing for Iraq and US policy, not merely Maliki. What Iraq has lacked till now is a native government capable of imposing its authority.

[Herakles]

For every incident where we find Iranian munitions in Iraq we should send 1 missile to Iran targeting their leadership.

How long would it take for them to get the message??

I would think quite fast. Actions mush have consequences in this politically correct world once again!

Screw with us and we will screw you back - seems to work for the Israelis and they live over there.

[r9etb]

Very important political purposes, not easy to dismiss.

Agreed -- I was just more interested in the implications as far as his risk assessment capabilities are concerned...

[ikez78]

“Al-Qaida and its supporters would find themselves without a major base of operations if ousted from Iraq’s third-largest city, which occupies transport crossroads between Baghdad, Syria and other points. But a drawn-out fight could serve to rally insurgents and expose potential security weaknesses where U.S. troops are thin and Iraqi forces must take a front-line role.”

What a recipe for sitting on one’s hands. Pathetic.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

I was just going to Highlight that....as the USUAL Crap from the Drive By Media....

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

From Jawa :

More Vermin Extermination

**************************Note From JAWA*************************

I'm sure the large secondary explosions are from bags of grain or something, not Iranian ordnance. It's nice that the last thing these insurgents hear in this world is the thunder of the planes, coming down on their heads like the judgement of God.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

From the Strata Sphere Blog:

Updates On The War In Iraq 05_14_08, Sadr City Residents Battle The Iranian-Backed Mahdi Army

******************************EXCERPTS********************************

Some news you may not get from the liberal SurrenderMedia as they try and paper-over the sea change happening in Iraq. First off, there is a little reported final push in Northern Iraq to extricate the last major remnants of al-Qaeda from Iraq. In the year plus since The Surge began al-Qaeda has been systematically destroyed and pushed out of Iraq. al-Qaeda’s final significant toe-hold is about to come to an end.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki visited the northern city of Mosul on Wednesday to supervise a military offensive against al-Qaida in Iraq in its last major stronghold, regional Gov. Duraid Kashmola said.

Maliki’s flight to northern Iraq mirrors a similar trip he took almost two months ago to the southern city of Basra, where government troops fought radical Shiite militias. That fighting spread to the Shiite slum of Sadr City in Baghdad, where a cease-fire to end those clashes was only reached on Monday.

Basra is now free of the Mahdi Army oppressors, so we can expect Mosul (and therefore Iraq) will soon be free of al-Qaeda. Once this is done it will be time to unfurl some well deserved congratulations for our armed forces, the armed forces of Iraq and the people of Iraq. Hopefully the Democrats will see fit to acknowledge the important milestone when Iraq has purged al-Qaeda from all its strongholds. There will always be dead-ender believers, but that is not excuse to recognize the sacrifices and accomplishments of the final defeat of al-Qaeda in Iraq.

All indications point to scenario where President Bush will leave office having defeated al-Qaeda in Iraq.

al-Qaeda has left an impression on Iraq and the Muslim community - one that relates more to the Holocaust by the Nazis than anything else. In the Islamo Fascist version of this sick story the enemy is not Jews, but non-believers who must be blown up by suicide bombers at market for the sins. That is the legacy of al-Qaeda: their brutality against Muslims.

This brutality from al-Qaeda and Mahdi Army forces has led Muslims to a new Jihad - against the killers of their people, their neighbors and their family. But this time they are not so gullible as to buy into the propaganda pushed by dictators and liberal media news outlets that the threat is American society. They know first hand the threat is Islamo Fascists - which is why you find the Muslim Street fighting back at our side:

[fishergirl]

Thank you. Just read another article here about McCain’s temper. Maybe unleashed is what we need. Enough already!

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Ernest.

A group of al-Qaida fighters recently infiltrated the area, went to the homes of 11 Iraqi police officers in the Anbar town of Husaybahand and beheaded them and one of their sons, he said. Marine Maj. Gen. John Kelly, the commander of U.S. forces in Anbar province, said it appeared the insurgents crossed from the Syrian border, talked their way through a checkpoint and then went around the town grabbing police individually.

I'm sure the Syrian gov't had no prior knowledge of al-Qaeda activity in Syria though...

[Allegra]

You're both right. And Maliki's tough stance is having a very positive impact on the Iraqi people.

They have complained vociferously about their lack of decent leadership since early 2006. (I love to hear them do that, though...because they can.)

Now, the attidtude among the people has shifted considerably and Iraq is finally developing that "can-do" spirit that I knew was there all along.

[Crim]

“Now, the attidtude among the people has shifted considerably and Iraq is finally developing that “can-do” spirit that I knew was there all along.”

Right on.

The concept of Liberty is quite within their grasp...but it takes a bit of time after 30 years of living in an insane asylum...

And once a man Knows liberty...he’ll fight to keep it...

Al Q only knows fear and intimidation...the Iraqis are starting to know liberty...

The former are no match for the later...