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85 Militants Killed in U.S. Raid in Iraq
By EDWARD HARRIS (Direct descendent of Joseph Stalin! - tha malcontent)
Associated Press Writer Mar 23, 5:55 PM EST
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) � U.S. and Iraqi forces
killed 85 militants at a suspected training camp along the marshy shores of a
remote lake, one of the highest guerrilla death tolls of the two-year
insurgency, officials said Wednesday. They said citizens emboldened by the
January elections are increasingly turning in intelligence tips.
(ap) - "They said citizens
emboldened by the January elections are increasingly turning in intelligence
tips." Normally, the AP would state things as a matter of Fact, not as a
simple claim by someone potentially not trustworthy to them as a source, like,
say, maybe, the United States Military or Government when an (R) is @ 1600!
If there were increased Attacks Against our Soldiers, instead of decreasing
Attacks as is the case today, the AP would be telling us why, as a matter of
Fact. This Realization regarding what the January Elections has brought,
has to make the Leftists at the AP's blood boil!... I Love it! Only
American Liberals could be so Arrogant and Self-involved as to deny what is
going on in the Middle East thanks to our Leadership, and more importantly, our
Troops in the field... Or worse yet, once they realize it, to have a Disgust for
the good news, as is evidenced in their tone regarding the good news that
continues to pile up since January, not only in Iraq, but across the region! -
tha malcontent)
The raid at Lake Tharthar in central Iraq turned up booby-trapped cars,
suicide-bomber vests, weapons and training documents, Iraqi Maj. Gen. Rashid
Feleih told state television. He said the insurgents included Iraqis, Filipinos,
Algerians, Moroccans, Afghans and Arabs from neighboring countries.
(One of the objectives with this
War was to focus the Terrorists in one place... Did I just read that last
paragraph correctly?... Has that objective been successful? The simple answer
is, yes! - tha malcontent)
"What's really remarkable is that the citizens this time really took the
initiative to provide us with very good information," Feleih said.
In three days, according to Iraqi and U.S. officials' accounts, troops have
killed at least 128 insurgents nationwide, culminating in the announcement of
Tuesday's attack by Iraqi commandos, backed by U.S. air and ground fire. On
Sunday, U.S. soldiers killed 26 insurgents south of Baghdad, while a fight
during an ambush on an Iraqi security envoy killed 17 militants on Monday.
"This string of successes does have positive repercussions in that it may
convince Iraqis not supporting the insurgents � but not supporting the United
States either � to perceive that the tide is turning and not go with the
insurgents," said Nora Bensahel, a Washington-based Iraq analyst for Rand Corp.
(This news is killing the American
Left!... The last thing they want, and the one thing they pray will never
happen, is Bush (43) being correct about Iraq, and by relation, the Middle East!
- tha malcontent)
But while it's been "a fairly successful few days," Bensahel cautioned that
"there's a long, long way to go."
(The Big
BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUTT!... Liberals like big butts, and they don't know
why! - tha malcontent)
The U.S. military gave the first report of the Lake Tharthar raid, saying that
seven commandos and an unspecified number of militants were killed. The military
declined Wednesday to confirm the Iraqi government's death toll of 85 militants,
and it was impossible to check the figure independently.
But 85 deaths would make the raid the heaviest hit militants have taken since
the opening days of the U.S.-led attack in November on the city of Fallujah,
where more than 1,000 insurgents died.
U.S. Army Maj. Richard Goldenberg, a 42nd Infantry Division spokesman, said an
estimated 80 to 100 insurgents were at the camp, 60 miles north of Ramadi, and
that some insurgents fled with casualties before the area could be surrounded.
Iraqi commandos were in the area to conduct a different raid, but tips from
residents redirected them to the lakeside camp, Goldenberg said. An Iraqi
officer said residents had been providing intelligence for 18 days before the
attack.
Iraqi officials also credited other successes to a torrent of intelligence that
has begun flowing from citizens heartened by Jan. 30 elections and emboldened by
film footage aired on state television that shows captured insurgents confessing
their roles in attacks.
(The Left would decry this as
"Propaganda", and not Fair to the Justified Rebellion Against the Imperialist
Boy Prince, Georgie Porgie!... You know that feel exactly this Childish about
Bush (43)! - tha malcontent)
"Before, the people had a neutral stance toward this issue," said Sabah Kadhim,
a spokesman for the Interior Ministry. "Now, they have turned against the
terrorists."
Kadhim said insurgents initially operated in small cells but that crackdowns
have caused them to change tactics and gather in larger groups. They chose the
lakeside camp because of its terrain, he said.
"The area is full of marshes and lakes. It is hard to comb, and that's why the
terrorists chose it," Kadhim said. "They used to use boats to get to the camp.
It's difficult to get there, and to discover the location."
Analysts, however, warned the spate of deadly clashes wasn't likely to end an
insurgency believed to have thousands of supporters.
(Analysts the AP Favors, that is! - tha malcontent)
"We're in a phase where it could be a tipping point one way or the other in
terms of whether the insurgency is on a downward slope, with the elections
moving things to the Iraq government more," said Marcus Corbin, an
counterinsurgency specialist for the Washington-based Center for Defense
Information. "But the real issue is the long-term political solution and what
the power-sharing will be between the ethnic groups."
(An AP "Butt-boy" just in time to say that success is not all that it's cracked up to be, because nothing is Perfect, and in that, Bush (43) is dumb... OK, I am assuming he feels that way, but he's making some assumptions himself! - tha malcontent)
On that front, politicians helping shape the emerging government said
negotiators are considering naming a Sunni Arab as defense minister to try to
bring that group into the political process � and perhaps deflate the Sunni-led
insurgency.
"The Defense Ministry will go to a Sunni Arab because we do not want Arab Sunnis
to feel that they are marginalized," said Abbas Hassan Mousa al-Bayati, a top
member of the Shiite-dominated United Iraqi Alliance. "They will be given one of
the four major posts because we want them to feel that they are part of the
political formula."
Sunni Arabs, dominant under ousted dictator Saddam Hussein, largely stayed away
from the balloting, either to honor a boycott or because they were afraid of
being attacked.
(Too bad. The AP neglected to point out that 60% of Eligible Voters came out... I wonder why? - tha malcontent)
Kurds are thought to number between 15 to 20 percent of Iraq's 26 million
people, with Sunni Arabs roughly equivalent. Shiite Arabs make up 60 percent of
the population.
(Oh, because the 60% they want to focus on is the one that makes the Shiite's (the OPPRESSED under Saddam) out to be the Oppressors now, simply because they are the majority. They do this by pointing out that the Sunni's stayed home and pouted... TOO BAD! You missed out on History, and if you continue, History will pass you by. Be Thankful there is not rampant Retaliation for what many of you did while Saddam was Dictator! - tha malcontent)
___
Associated Press writer Mariam Fam contributed to this report from Baghdad.
� Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All
rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.
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