For those of you interested in war coverage that goes beyond coalition casualty reports and long, ideologically-framed narratives put out by the news weeklies, check out this presentation of operations that took place Aug 27-Sep 17th in the West of Iraq around the Syrian border. The piece was developed by Steve Schippert, Marvin Hutchens and Bill Roggio, and posted at The Fourth Rail with the following introduction:
The pace and tempo of operations in western Iraq have been increasing over the past month, indicating the Anbar Campaign is moving forward. The disclosure of Operation Sayaid signals the Coalition is now prepared to move on the towns and cities along the western branch of the Euphrates River. The following presentation highlights the significant operations in Ninawa and Anbar provinces from August 27 through September 17, 2005. The operations are designed to keep al Qaeda and the insurgency from operating freely in Western Anbar and preventing them from establishing safe havens, or in the case of Tal Afar, removing a main enemy base and transit point. Many high level al Qaeda commanders have been killed or captured in the operations.
Go over and click on the map. Flash plugin required.
See also Adventures of Chester (who juxtaposes Michael Ware’s showy, defeatist coverage for Time Magazine against information taken directly from a couple of corresponding DoD sources) and Wretchard for additional glosses.
(h/t Kate)
But Jeff–don’t you know that Iraq is a QUAGMIRE? Don’t you know there’s no PLAN? How could you suggest that there’s actually a robust campaign going on and link to all that nonsense that tries to undermine the brave and selfless sacrifice Michael Ware?
Really, you must get your news somewhere other than Time.
Yeah, I’m not much of a Ware fan. He’s like the X-Games of journalism.
Hey, George Galloway actually complained, during the Hitchens debate, that Tal Afar was a slaughter. All I could think was, ok, what’s the problem?
Make that “of Michael Ware” in the penultimate sentence. For someone who hates typos I make a lot of them.
Wretchard’s piece on the contrast between Ware and the DoD briefing Tuesday is excellent. I have a theory they (Rumsfeld and Myers, not Ware) were responding directly to Kerry’s dippy speech on Monday, which of course was widely touted in the media. He called Iraq a “sideshow adventure.” Such wisdom reinforces Ware’s narrative. It’s a shame.
What do have have for those of use who are interested only in allied casualty reports, devoid of all context? Because that’s where the Krazy Krugman Lukre is.
This and the many attempts to put our successes into perspective are wonderful, but I wish someone smart would write a piece showing why these successful military operations are more long-term and effective than our “successes” in Vietnam.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m 100% behind our efforts in Iraq. I’ve got friends (some on their second deployment) and family over there. I buy into the notion that if we succeed in Iraq, we may very well change the course of Middle Eastern history.
But I am constantly nagged by the Vietnam template. It is seared, yes seared in my memory, that our military had many successes in that war but did not understand the overall social and political picture. I know, I know—“The Best and the Brightest” (also seared into my memory—I think I read it 3 times as a teenager) did not tell the whole story. But it and other such tomes created the fertile seedbed for growing the Vietnam template that obsesses the media today and gives validation to doubts about the significance of military successes in these type conflicts.
Again, I’m fully behind the effort, but I’m just saying…
You mean victory in the field and defeat at home?
You have reason to worry about it. The Democrats have dedicated themselves to that plan, and are doing their best for our enemies.
As a veteran of Nam during the “successes” (’68 – ‘69), I can tell you that those successes were not even close to the progress we are making in Iraq. We kept score in Nam with “body counts” (inflated) and not by areas pacified. A big difference between Iraq and Viet Nam is the structure of the Governing Natives.
In Nam we were propping up a corrupt, despotic government that the people despised. The Viet Minh were a viable alternative to the oppressive South Vietnamese government. Consequently we did not receive very much, if any, helpful intelligence from the natives. If anything, they were working against our interests. Also, there was a steady supply of bodies available from the NVA and Viet Cong – a seemingly endless supply of reinforcements.
In Iraq now we are receiving intelligence help from people who are tired of the terrorists killing civilians. There is not, contrary to MSM reports, an endless supply of reinforcements for the terrorists. More of the bombings now are remote controlled – not suicide – because the supply of bodies are being depleted. Wide areas of Iraq (the Turkish North and Shiite South) are basically “under control”, controlled by forces that believe in the Democratic Process. That is vastly different than Nam, where there basically was not a “safe haven” anywhere.
The Iraqi security forces, in their infancy, are far superior to the SVA during their apex.
If I had to estimate, I doubt that 30% of the South Vietnamese were in favor of US success in Nam, where in Iraq, it is reported that over 80% favor an independent, Democratic Iraq.
tw: money – Put your money on a success in Iraq.
give it up cons… the situation is beyond repair,,,,
[edited to take out long cut and paste job; if you have a link, send it to me. If not, don’t try to hijack my comments with a flurry of words]
I thought about posting on Roggio’s Flash and Wretchard’s comments, but passed. Still, I’m not at all sure that Bill’s clever Flashery really does what a lot of folks seem to think it does. I see two clumps of activity over a three week period, and a moderate number of terrorist casualties.
As usual, the proof will be in the pudding. Tal-Afar, for instance, has been “cleansed” three times now – counting this as the third cleansing. al-Qaim and the surrounding areas have been sanitized multiple times as well.
Let’s check back there in three or six months before we declare victory, okay?