Iraq update
Iraq the Model says Iraq’s parliament will convene March 19.
StrategyPage reports on operational trends in Iraq –and much more. The entire March 13 update considers sectarian fighting and the drop in US/coalition casualties. In my own view, the Iraqi civil war began in late summer 2003, and has flared with varying degrees of intensity every since.
Here’s the excerpt from StrategyPage on current operations (the section with StrategyPage’s take on why US casualties have dropped):
…
March 13, 2006:
….The violence has shifted away from American troops, who are suffering 60 percent fewer casualties this month than in the past year. and more towards Iraqi security forces and civilians. Part of this is because there are simply more Iraqi police and soldiers patrolling the streets and policing the neighborhoods. Where there are about two American advisors for every hundred Iraqi security troops, these Americans are there to advise, not fight. And the Iraqis are doing the fighting, and taking the casualties. American troops are still making raids and patrols, but there has also been a sharp decline in terrorist attacks. Some six months of sweeps and battles in western Iraq has shut down many of the Sunni terrorist sanctuaries. Indeed, many al Qaeda terrorists have fled western Iraq for towns and villages on the Iranian border. Iranians don’t like to advertise the fact, but they do provide support to al Qaeda, despite al Qaeda’s attacks on Shias (for being heretics.) Iran would also like to see a civil war (ethnic cleansing of Sunni Arabs) in Iraq. If that were to happen, Shia Arabs would be 75 percent of the Iraqi population, and likely to side with Iran on many issues. ..
Read the entire StrategyPage analysis.
UPDATE: Iraq the Model now says parliament will convene on Thursday, March 16.
U.S. Casualties Continue to Drop Sharply as Iraqi Troop Levels Rise, and Threat of Civil War Lessons Strategy Page (see below) points out the steep drop in American casualties, and suggests that this is because of the greater role of the Iraqi army in handling security for Iraq; Iraqi army soldiers are more in evidence, while U.S. soldiers are les…
Trackback by Amber — 3/13/2006 @ 5:00 pm
I’d appriciate it if you would talk to some of your buds and sask them just why oh why is this guy still walking around? Sadr condemns Rumsfeld, turn against his Sunni allies and threaten to kill Shiite women in the UIA. Papa Ray West Texas USA
Comment by Papa Ray — 3/13/2006 @ 9:35 pm
Bush: Iraq Insurgency Wants Civil War President Bush said Monday insurgents in Iraq were trying to ignite a civil war by escalating violen
Trackback by Unpartisan.com Political News and Blog Aggregator — 3/14/2006 @ 2:31 am
Papa Ray I’d say that the reason is pretty simple; a calculation has been made that there would be more trouble caused by killing him than there is by letting him live. Remember, things can always get worse.
Comment by Tom the Redhunter — 3/14/2006 @ 8:15 am