Basra op chiefs removed; police Iraqis desert

[K. A. Pital]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7350434.stm

Basra security leaders removed
Iraqi army soldier at checkpoint in Basra
The Iraqi operation in Basra did not achieve is stated aims

The Iraqi government has replaced the commanders of the army and police forces in the southern city of Basra.

The move comes weeks after an assault that aimed to disarm Shia militias in the city.

The operation was criticised by US commanders as poorly planned and failed to achieve its stated aims.

It ended when Iranian officials brokered a deal that took the militias off the streets but allowed them to keep hold of their weapons.

The Iraqi government says that the police chief and the army commander in Basra are not being fired, but they are being moved back to Baghdad.

Both Maj-Gen Abduljalil Khalaf and Gen Mohan Furaiji have been in the city for six months.

Both men have been praised by the British and American military and both have survived assassination attempts.

Desertions

The BBC's Baghdad correspondent Crispin Thorold says the men are leaving Basra at a time when the security forces there are being criticised.

Army chief Gen Mohan was the architect of the recent operations in Basra. He recommended the plan to Prime Minister Nouri Maliki.

That operation ground to a halt when the army faced considerable resistance from the militias, including the Mehdi army loyal to Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr .

The fighting spread to various parts of Iraq, hundreds of people were killed and thousands of civilians were trapped in their homes for days on end.

Since the operation, about 1,600 Basra police officers have either been discharged, detained or are wanted for court martial for dereliction of duty.

Iraqi officials told the BBC that the policemen were being investigated for failure to open fire at outlaws, joining them or giving them weapons.

Many soldiers also deserted.

The new army and police commanders are both from outside Basra, large parts of which are still controlled by different militias.

Well, I can't see I'm surprised at such an outcome for this joke "government".

[Vympel]

No surprise at all that Iraqi insecurity forces are still deserting and/or refusing to fight (or worse, defecting) when it's inconvenient for them. They're the ineffectual arm of a government that's seen as an illegitimate puppet, and as such commands no significant loyalty.

In the meantime, Sadr's militia fight for their neighborhoods and for a leader they view as legitimate and representative of their interests.

Any government of Iraq the US tries to prop up will be seen as illegitimate. That's just the way the cookie crumbles over there.

[K. A. Pital]

All the brothers in the army and police who gave up their arms to their bothers, were only obeying their grand religious leaders and they were driven by their religious duties

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7347361.stm

Well It seems Moq has yet more power up his sleeve indeed. And dismissal of Moq's followers from the police only means they are now in the Mehdi militia.

[Pint0 Xtreme]

I wonder how much instruction in conducting counter-insurgency operations did the US commanders give to the Iraqi commanders. You'd think that after getting some of it right after consistent failures would highly encourage the US commanders to try to prevent those past failures from occurring again with the new Iraqi Army.

[Dartzap]

British forces there are getting more and more demoralised. First the Iraqis don't ask them for support, then they call in US forces to rescue them and then when the US general went to meet the Iraqi PM, the British Brigadier with him is told to stay out of the meeting.

I reckon we're getting out of Basra airport within the next 12 months, maybe slightly longer.

[wautd]

I reckon we're getting out of Basra airport within the next 12 months, maybe slightly longer.

Hopefully. A collegue of mine has to go there soon

[Simplicius]

I wonder how much instruction in conducting counter-insurgency operations did the US commanders give to the Iraqi commanders. You'd think that after getting some of it right after consistent failures would highly encourage the US commanders to try to prevent those past failures from occurring again with the new Iraqi Army.

The US military training program is aimed at quantity, not quality, because big numbers and tall bar graphs look good on a powerpoint slide. Even were that not the case, the US would be hard-pressed to have adequately trained the ISF to conduct counterinsurgency when it had only just got its own COIN house in order.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

Pfft. Train them too much, and then you find them other side of the equation attacking you with your own tactics!

[Pint0 Xtreme]

I wonder how much instruction in conducting counter-insurgency operations did the US commanders give to the Iraqi commanders. You'd think that after getting some of it right after consistent failures would highly encourage the US commanders to try to prevent those past failures from occurring again with the new Iraqi Army.

The US military training program is aimed at quantity, not quality, because big numbers and tall bar graphs look good on a powerpoint slide. Even were that not the case, the US would be hard-pressed to have adequately trained the ISF to conduct counterinsurgency when it had only just got its own COIN house in order.

Allowing the ISF to take the situation of Basra into their own hands when they are not all prepared to meet the COIN challenges seems such a dumbfuck decision. Only a political motive could drive such a decision; and it certainly would be on par for this staggeringly incompetent administration.

[MKSheppard]

Link

Basra residents welcome Iraq army crackdown

1 day ago

BASRA, Iraq (AFP) — Three weeks after Iraqi troops swarmed into the southern city of Basra to take on armed militiamen who had overrun the streets, many residents say they feel safer and that their lives have improved.

The fierce fighting which marked the first week of Operation Sawlat al-Fursan (Charge of the Knights) has given way to slower, more focused house-by-house searches by Iraqi troops, which led on Monday to the freeing of an abducted British journalist.

Residents say the streets have been cleared of gunmen, markets have reopened, basic services have been resumed and a measure of normality has returned to the oil-rich city.

The port of Umm Qasr is in the hands of the Iraqi forces who wrested control of the facility from Shiite militiamen, and according to the British military it is operational once again.

However, the city is flooded with troops, innumerable checkpoints constantly snarl the traffic, residents are scared to go out at night despite the curfew being relaxed, and the sound of sporadic gunfire can still be heard.

An AFP correspondent said three northwestern neighbourhoods once under the firm control of the Mahdi Army militia of radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr -- Al-Hayaniyah, Khamsamile and Garma -- are now encircled by Iraqi troops who are carrying out door-to-door searches.

Two other neighbourhoods once dominated by the Mahdi Army, Al-Qiblah in the southwest and Al-Taymiyyah in the centre, have been cleared of weaponry and many people have been arrested, military officials say.

Residents expressed relief at the improved security.

"I am very happy about the situation right now. The deployment of the Iraqi army has made gunmen and gangsters disappear from the streets," said court employee Mahdi Fallah, 42.

"The gangs were controlling the ports and smuggling oil. Now the ports are back in government hands. Everything in Basra is better than before."

Taxi driver Samir Hashim, 35, said he now felt safer driving through the city's streets and was willing to put up with the traffic jams caused by the many security checkpoints.

"We feel secure. Assassinations have ended, organised crime is finished and armed groups are no longer on the streets," said Hashim.

"I think Basra will be the best city in Iraq," he added optimistically. "We are finally beginning to feel there is law in Basra."

"We feel comfortable and safe and secure," said civil servant Alah Mustapha.

"The situation in Basra is stable. The Iraqi army controls the city and there are no longer armed groups on the streets."

The Iraqi security operations have not been without severe problems, and on Sunday 1,300 police and soldiers were sacked for failing to do their duty during the assault, which began on March 25 under orders of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

Iraqi military officers have also come under fire from their coalition force allies for launching the operations without adequate preparation, with American commander in Iraq General David Petraeus saying Maliki had disregarded US advice to delay the assault.

But the security forces were given a boost by the rescue of British photographer Richard Butler on Monday two months after he was kidnapped from a Basra hotel.

The journalist was freed when troops from the army's Fourteenth Division raided a house in Basra's Jubaiyia neighbourhood, not knowing he was being held captive there.

The US military, meanwhile, said that since the crackdown began, the Iraqi security forces have arrested some 430 people, including 28 death row convicts who had been on the run.

And the British military, which is stationed at Basra airport giving logistical and air support to the Iraqi forces, said Iraqi soldiers had uncovered large caches of weapons and had dismantled a car bomb factory.

The Sadr movement has bitterly denounced the crackdown, accusing the government of using the security forces to weaken its political opponents ahead of provincial elections due in October.

A similar crackdown is also under way in the Mahdi Army's eastern Baghdad bastion of Sadr City where around 90 people have been killed in clashes between US and Iraqi forces and Shiite militiamen in the past 10 days.

[MKSheppard]

No surprise at all that Iraqi insecurity forces are still deserting and/or refusing to fight (or worse, defecting) when it's inconvenient for them.

link

Six days after the Iraqi government launched Operation Knights’ Charge in Basrah against the Mahdi Army and other Iranian-backed Shia terror groups, Muqtada al Sadr, the Leader of the Mahdi Army, has called for his fighters to lay down their weapons and cooperate with Iraqi security forces. Sadr’s call for an end to the fighting comes as his Mahdi Army has taken serious losses since the operation began.

"Sadr has sent a message to his loyalists urging them to end all armed activities," the Al Iraqiya television channel reported. Sadr "disowned anyone attacking the state institutions or parties' offices and headquarters."

"Based on responsibility towards Iraq and to stem Iraqi bloodshed and to preserve the country's unity and integrity as a prelude to its independence, I call on the people to be up to their responsibility and awareness in order to maintain Iraq's stability," according to a statement issued by Sadr and sent to Voices of Iraq. Sadr has called for the government to free members of the Mahdi Army and the Sadrist Movement captured during recent operations.

The Iraqi government has welcomed Sadr’s call for his followers to cease fighting. "The order to pull off gunmen off Basra along with all Iraqi provinces and to disavow those who has taken up arms against government offices and security forces is responsive and patriotic," Ali al Dabagh, the spokesman for the Iraqi government, told Voices of Iraq. The Iraqi government has not called for a halt in military operations.

Sadr’s call for an end to fighting by his followers comes as his Mahdi Army has taken high casualties over the past six days. Since the fighting began on Tuesday, 358 Mahdi Army fighters were killed, 531 were wounded, 343 were captured, and 30 surrendered. The US and Iraqi security forces have killed 125 Mahdi Army fighters in Baghdad alone, while Iraqi security forces have killed 140 Mahdi fighters in Basrah.

From March 25-29 the Mahdi Army had an average of 71 of its fighters killed per day. Sixty-nine fighters have been captured per day, and another 160 have been reported wounded per day during the fighting. The US and Iraqi military never came close to inflicting casualties at such a high rate during the height of major combat operations against al Qaeda in Iraq during the summer and fall of 2007.

US and Iraqi forces are maintaining the high pace of operations against the Mahdi Army and the Special Groups. While the daily reporting from Iraq is far from over, initial reports indicate at least 18 Mahdi Army fighters have been killed and another 30 captured.

US soldiers killed 14 Mahdi fighters in Baghdad during a series of separate engagements. Iraqi security forces killed four Mahdi Army fighters and captured another 30 in Babil province, where a major offensive led by the police has been underway.

[MKSheppard]

Link

Iraqi, US troops press forward against the Mahdi Army in Baghdad and Basrah
By Bill RoggioApril 15, 2008 4:01 PM

Iraqi and Coalition forces are pressing the fight against the Mahdi Army in northeastern Baghdad and the southern port city of Basrah. Iraqi troops have cleared two Mahdi Army strongholds in Basrah and reportedly have surrounded three others as they prepare to press the operation. In Baghdad, the Iraqi Army and US forces continue to clash with the Mahdi Army while forces have moved into southwestern Sadr City and set up a "demonstration area" to distribute aid and provide local security.

The battle for Sadr City

The Iraqi government signaled that it was willing to take on the Mahdi Army inside its Baghdad stronghold of Sadr City and the outlying neighborhoods since Muqtada al Sadr ordered his militia to cease fighting six days after the Basrah operation began in March. Last weekend, Ali al Dabbagh, the spokesman for the government of Iraq, said Iraqi and US forces would "continue [operations] until we secure Sadr City." Multinational Forces Iraq said it was backing the Iraqi government and military in its efforts.

The operation involves more than military operations, as the Iraqi government seeks to wrest control of the Mahdi Army's grip on public services inside Sadr City. "The aim now is to launch an ambitious plan of 30-day, 60-day, and 90-day public works and services-improvement projects designed to convince the local population that the Iraqi government -– and not Sadr's Mahdi Army militia –- is best able to improve the quality of life in an impoverished expanse of pot-holed streets, open sewers, and joblessness," the Christian Science Monitor reported. "US and Iraqi military are now set up and living among the Sadr City residents in the 'demonstration' area of the southern third of the sector."

Clashes in Sadr City continue as the Mahdi Army attempts to disrupt the government's attempts to gain a foothold in the neighborhood. US troops killed five "criminals" in a series of engagements starting on the evening of April 14 up through this afternoon. Two "criminals threw grenades at an M1A2 main battle tank followed by an additional two criminals engaging the armored patrol with small arms fire," Lieutenant Colonel Steven Stover, the Public Affairs Officer for Multinational Division Baghdad told The Long War Journal. "The patrol of Abrams Tanks and Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles fired 25mm and 1 x 120mm HEAT round and killed all four."

Two more clashes took place in the early morning and afternoon of April 15. "Today, at approximately 3 a.m. an air weapons team reported five heavily armed criminals with 2 PKCs (machineguns) and multiple AK-47s," Stover said. "The group splits and the (air weapons team) engages and kills two criminals with a Hellfire missile. Finally, at 2 p.m. an (air weapons team) engaged a minivan transporting a mortar tube after radar acquisition identified the point of origin of a mortar attack. Both the minivan and the mortar tube were destroyed and the criminal killed."

A US solider was also killed in a roadside bomb attack in northeastern Baghdad on April 14. An Iraqi soldier was also killed and a school damaged in a rocket attack in eastern Baghdad. The day prior, US troops killed six more "criminals" after they attacked a US tank patrol. An air weapons team crew killed one Mahdi Army fighter in an open field while an Abrams tank crew killed another five as they attacked the US troops from a rooftop.

Operation Knights' Assault moves forward in Basrah

As Iraqi and US troops work to gain control of Sadr City from the Mahdi Army and allied Iranian-backed Shia militias, Operation Knights' Assault continues in the southern port city of Basrah. Knights' Assault has "entered a new phase of operations," Multinational Forces Iraq reported in a press release. Iraqi troops, backed by US and British advisers and Coalition air and logistical support, have "started the process of clearing strongholds previously dominated by criminal militias." Iraqi and Coalition spokesmen continue to refer to the Mahdi Army and other Iranian-backed militias as "criminals."

Iraqi troops have cleared the Qiblah in the southwestern portion of the city and the Taymiyyah neighborhood in central Basrah, while the Mahdi Army strongholds of Hayaniyah, Khamsamile, and Garma in the northwest "are now encircled by Iraqi troops who are carrying out door-to-door searches," according to AFP.

Iraqi troops took control of the ports of Khour al Zubair and Umm Qasr in Basrah province on April 1, and the ports are now open for business. Iraqi Marines are now securing the ports, freeing the Iraqi Army to conduct operations elsewhere in Basrah province.

Elements of the Mahdi Army in Basrah have vowed keep their weapons as the Iraqi security forces move into the Mahdi-controlled neighborhoods. The 17/3 movement, a Mahdi Army faction "loyal to the Shiite cleric Muqtada al Sadr" said it would not abide by the government's order to surrender its weapons. "The movement would not surrender heavy arms to security forces," Sheikh Abdullah al Ashmani, the leader of the 17/3 movement told Voices of Iraq. The weapons would be used "only against the occupier" and "not against Iraqi forces," Ashmani said.

Clashes between the Mahdi Army and Iraqi and Coalition forces are ongoing in Basrah. Coalition air forces killed four Shia mortar men and wounded another in an attack west of Basrah on April 15. An Iraqi intelligence officer was killed in an ambush by "unidentified gunmen" in central Basrah on April 14. Iraqi soldiers also captured one kidnapper while freeing a British journalist who was kidnapped in Basrah more than two months ago. The Iraqi troops were fired on by the kidnappers as they were clearing the neighborhood.

Iraqi and Coalition forces have inflicted serious casualties on the Mahdi Army since launching Operation Knights' Assault. Four hundred Mahdi Army fighters have been killed since the March 25, while Iraqi soldiers have lost 15 killed in fighting and have had another 400 wounded. More than 400 Mahdi Army fighters were captured and 1,000 wounded in the clashes in Basrah alone.

Background on the fighting between the Mahdi Army and the Iraqi government

Mahdi Army forces rose up after the Iraqi government started the assault on Basrah on March 25 to clear the city of the Mahdi Army and other Iranian-backed Shia militias. Sadr called for his forces to leave the streets on March 30 just as Iraqi Army and police reinforcements began to arrive in Basrah. Sadr later admitted he ordered his followers within the Army and police to abandon their posts and join the fighting against the government.

US and Iraqi forces killed 173 Mahdi Army fighters in Baghdad alone during the six days of fighting from March 25-30. The fighting has not abated in Sadr City and other Mahdi Army-dominated neighborhoods in northern and eastern Baghdad.

Sadr and his political movement have become increasingly isolated since the fighting began in Basrah, Baghdad, and the South. The Iraqi government, with the support of the political parties, said the Sadrist political movement would not be able to participate in upcoming provincial elections if it failed to disband the Mahdi Army. On April 13, the cabinet approved legislation that prevents political parties with militias from contesting provincial elections this year. The bill will now be sent to parliament for approval. Grand Ayatollah Ali al Sistani, the senior most Shia cleric in Iraq, said the Mahdi Army was not above the law and should be disarmed.

[MKSheppard]

Wow; I just noticed this tidbit:

Four hundred Mahdi Army fighters have been killed since the March 25, while Iraqi soldiers have lost 15 killed in fighting and have had another 400 wounded. More than 400 Mahdi Army fighters were captured and 1,000 wounded in the clashes in Basrah alone.

So about a 26 to 1 kill rate - not bad for a bunch of deserting Iraqis.

[Illuminatus Primus]

Calling the Mahdi Army "Iranian-backed terror" when Maliki and his goons are buddies with the current powerful in Tehran is pure right-wing, good-vs-evil whitewashing. That desperate for any sign of progress and to dispel the increasingly clear notion that the U.S. is just siding in oligarch struggles?

[MKSheppard]

Iraqi Air Force comes back to life

Iraqi air force lifted by support missions
April 10, 2008

By Sara A. Carter - The Iraqi air force, struggling back to life after being decimated in the 1991 Persian Gulf War, played a key role in battles against rebel militiamen in Basra last week, boosting morale among Iraqi troops and providing hope for the country's future, its top commander told The Washington Times.

Since March 25, Lt. Gen. Kamal Barzanji's airmen have flown more than 100 missions in support of Iraqi ground security forces in Basra during Operation Charge of the Knights, under the order of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who said the offensive was to squelch the growing criminal elements in the region.

"When the Basra operation started, from the first day our air force [conducted] support missions," Gen. Barzanji said in a telephone interview from Baghdad. "It raises the morale of the [Iraqi] soldiers as well. One hundred percent of all the requests from Basra we fulfilled."

Gen. Barzanji said significant steps have been taken to rebuild the Iraqi air force — the oldest in the Middle East — and stressed the importance of continued support from allied forces, particularly the United States, as his nation continues to battle the insurgency. He predicted that the Iraqi air force would be self-sufficient within three years.

Gen. Barzanji said support from Gen. David H. Petraeus and other U.S. commanders has been imperative to the rebuilding efforts of the Iraqi air force and has given "confidence" to Iraqi citizens that their government is making significant strides.

"Of course, this example in Basra gives us confidence to help our ground forces, not only the army, but we support the police as well," he said. "Still, I think we have to work together with the coalition until we get the special kind of fighter planes necessary" and equipment needed to operate on "our own."

The continued fighting in Shi'ite southern city of Basra and the continued mortar attacks in Baghdad's Green Zone stemming from an uprising of Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia poses challenges for U.S. military officials and threatens to destabilize various parts of Iraq after relative calm over the past year.

Since Sunday nearly 70 people have been killed and more than 250 others have been wounded as Iraqi Security Forces continue to fight factions of the Mahdi Army.

The Iraqi air force also flew more than 45 C-130J and rotary-wing missions in support during the operation in Basra, along with airlifting food, water, medical supplies and other goods into the region in support of Iraqi troops, the commander added.

More than 50 intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions also were flown over Basra by the Iraqi air force, U.S. defense officials said.

"The troops celebrated when they saw that their country was supporting them in the mission," Gen. Barzanji said, adding that Iraq still has a long way to go before it can regain its former status as one of the largest air forces in the world.

The U.S. military is supplying Iraq with helicopters, small surveillance planes and other transport aircraft to try to assist the fledgling force with counterinsurgency operations, some of which it now can do on its own, Iraqi air force officials said. The hope is that the Iraqi air force will build itself back into the viable military branch.

During the Gulf War, the Iraqi air force was devastated by U.S. and allied forces, as many Iraqi pilots flew to Iran to escape the bombing campaign.

The Iranian government confiscated the aircraft, mainly Chinese- and Soviet-made fighters, claiming the equipment as reparations for the Iran-Iraq war. The planes, which at first were impounded, were then turned over to the Islamic Republic of Iran air force.

Before the Gulf War In 1991, the Iraqi air force had 50,000 personnel, compared with only 1,200 today, according to the Military Balance, the International Institute for Strategic Studies' annual assessment of the military capabilities and defense economics of 170 countries worldwide.

In 1991, the Iraqi air force had 16 bombers, including Tu-22 and Tu-16; 360 fighter ground attack craft, which included J-6, MiG-23, Su-7, and Su-20; and 275 fighters, including the MiG-21, Mirage and MiG-29. Today, it has 17 reconnaissance planes, three transport planes and only several aircraft for training.

Despite the shortage, the recovery of the Iraqi air force over the past few years is considered a successful endeavor for Iraq-U.S. relations.

Since November 2006, the U.S. Air Force has been aiding Iraqi military commanders in an effort to get the fledgling branch to solely take on military operations.

Gen. Petraeus testified that the Iraqi forces have shown success in their recent operations in Basra and other less-fortified regions of the nation, telling House members Tuesday that "some of these provinces were challenged during the outbreak of violence that accompanied the start of the Basra operation. And in the bulk of those southern provinces, Iraqi forces proved up to the task."

Gen. Barzanji said the Iraqi air force, which will celebrate its 77th anniversary April 22, still needs "two to three years" of continued coalition support.

The number of assigned personnel in the Iraqi air force increased from 915 in February 2007 to more than 1,300 last month. About 90 percent of the nation's training is conducted in Iraq, officials said.

Lt. Col. Veronica Brown, deputy spokeswoman for Multi-national Security Transition Command-Iraq, said maintaining a relationship with the Iraqi air force is important for future stability in the nation.

"More and more, we are taking on an advisory type of role, while the Iraqis are taking more of a lead in their operations," Col. Brown said.

Despite the numerous adversities within Iraq's borders, Gen. Barzanji said he is hopeful that his nation will soon be free of "war and enemies" and instead live in "peace" with the help of allies.

"We will continue our relations and future as friends," said Gen. Barzanji, regarding U.S.-Iraq relations. "We will fight the enemy together and win the war against terrorism."

He added that "Iraq will one day be a good example for the rest of the Middle East."

IAF in Knight's Charge


Iraqi Mi-17 in support of Knight's Charge

(BAGHDAD, Iraq) - Although still in the early stages of development, the Iraqi Air Force planned, executed, and monitored 104 missions in support of Iraqi ground security forces in Basra during Operation Charge of the Knights in the Basra area between March 25th and April 1st.

The Iraqi Air Force has seen a significant increase in capacity and capability over the last 13 months. The number of assigned personnel has increased from 915 in February 2007 to 1344 assigned personnel in March 2008.

The fleet of aircraft has similarly undergone a growth spurt utilizing nine different airframes and reaching a current total of 59 aircraft. The Iraqi Air Force increased the number of sorties by 1000 per cent from 30 to 300 per week.

Since January 2008 the Iraqi Air Force has graduated 116 Warrant Officers and 50 Commissioned Officers from the academy located in Taji. These personnel will become the foundation on which the new Iraqi Air Force is being built.

The Iraqi Air Force was tasked with the mission to support the Iraqi ground forces during recent operations in Basra with personnel transportation, medical evacuation, logistical resupply, and Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance.

The Iraqi Air Force planned and executed the forward deployment of six rotary winged and five fixed winged aircraft to complete this mission set. The aircraft included four Mi-17, two Huey II helicopters, two C-130 and three CH2000 single engine reconnaissance aircraft.

The CH2000 reconnaissance aircraft executed 53 missions for a total of 91 hours of Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance over the Basra battlespace.

The efforts of these pilots provided valuable intelligence on enemy concentrations and movements, bomb damage assessment, and current status of Iraqi ground units.

The rotary winged aircraft performed 30 missions including logistic support missions moving food, water, and medical supplies throughout the area of operations. They also provided perimeter defense, supported several leaflet drops, and transported Iraqi Security Forces to the fight and evacuated the wounded heroes.

"This is a historic milestone in the growth of the Iraqi Air Force to be able to effectively support on-going operations in Basra with critical air mobility and airborne Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance capabilities," said U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Brooks Bash, Multi National Security Transition Command - Iraq, Coalition Air Force Training Team commander.

The two Iraqi C-130 Hercules proved once again that it is a rugged and dependable aircraft worthy of its namesake. During Operation Charge of the Knights, these Iraqi C-130 aircraft and their crews moved 175 tons of cargo including 127 tons of ammunition, 18 tons of food, and eight tons of medical supplies from New al Muthana Air Base in Baghdad to Basra.

They were integral in the rapid deployment of over 800 military and civilian security personnel and effected the medical evacuation of 69 Soldiers from Basra to Baghdad. "The Iraqi people can be very proud that their air force is making a real difference in the fight against those criminal elements who seek to harm innocent Iraqi citizens and disregard the rule of law," said Bash.

The Afghanistan Air Force is also progressive when it comes to reviving aircraft and rebuilding inventories of operable aircraft. They also have instituted pilot aid aircrew training programs and in the Kabul area U.S. Marines are working with the Afghan aviators to help develop programs for both operations and maintenance.

[MKSheppard]

Anyway, I did the numbers:

Operation Saulat al-Fursan (Operation Charge of the Knights)

Operation K
16,000 Iraqi Police in Basra (421 deserted/defected) - 2.63% Desertion Rate
14,000 Iraqi Army in Basra (500 deserted/defected) - 3.57% Desertion Rate
Overall Saulat al-Fursan rate: (921 deserted/defected) - 3.07% desertion rate.

By comparison
US Army in Vietnam: 5~% desertion rate
US Army in the 1970s - 1% to 3% desertion rate

Please note that apparently the people using the 1,300/1,500 number are also adding in units not directly connected to the fighting in Charge of the Knights.

Good example. In Kut, a city 100 miles SE of Baghdad, and 186 miles NW of Basra, they fired 400 policemen as well, which when added to the 921 from Basra, brings the total up to 1,300~ which is in line with earlier news reports.

[SirNitram]

This 'Long War Journal' sounds like little more than a propaganda peice, especially adopting the silly name 'The Long War' for the War On Terror.

And the Moonie Times? It's a sad day when we start considering that credible.

Mind you, that means there's been a number of sad days here, but.

[K. A. Pital]

So they killed/wounded around 1800, but 1300 went off from teh Army/Sec Force? Doesn't sound like big progress.

[MKSheppard]

This 'Long War Journal' sounds like little more than a propaganda peice, especially adopting the silly name 'The Long War' for the War On Terror.

Funny, considering that IS what the Military is starting to adopt in place of GWOT in their internal policy documents. It reflects the fact that the GWOT is not going to go away if for example, BHO is elected president, or if we withdraw from Iraq.

And the Moonie Times? It's a sad day when we start considering that credible.

You'll note that there are two articles in there, one is from the Washington Times, with a second article from a different source, which backs up the WT's article. In anycase, the WT is a decent paper. Just ignore Bill Gertz's hysterics.

[Darth Wong]

Wow, this is great news. If all goes well, the Iraqi military might someday attain a small fraction of the military strength of the US forces which spent the last five years failing to pacify the country.

[SirNitram]

This 'Long War Journal' sounds like little more than a propaganda peice, especially adopting the silly name 'The Long War' for the War On Terror.

Funny, considering that IS what the Military is starting to adopt in place of GWOT in their internal policy documents. It reflects the fact that the GWOT is not going to go away if for example, BHO is elected president, or if we withdraw from Iraq.

Yes. Doing idiotic things like declaring war on a particular method tends to be an eternal quest. That's why only idiots do it. So that's no real support for this website's internally produced stuff? Gotcha.

And the Moonie Times? It's a sad day when we start considering that credible.

You'll note that there are two articles in there, one is from the Washington Times, with a second article from a different source, which backs up the WT's article. In anycase, the WT is a decent paper. Just ignore Bill Gertz's hysterics.

I didn't comment on the other sources because I found no fault in them. But take the WT's word on anything? Hah. I'll do that when you defeat 'terror'.. A state of being inherent to the human condition.

[Illuminatus Primus]

This 'Long War Journal' sounds like little more than a propaganda peice, especially adopting the silly name 'The Long War' for the War On Terror.

Funny, considering that IS what the Military is starting to adopt in place of GWOT in their internal policy documents. It reflects the fact that the GWOT is not going to go away if for example, BHO is elected president, or if we withdraw from Iraq.

No Shep. Its a fucking propoganda statement. Its not a descriptive or useful title, its just an attempt to defuse ahead of time, any argument over the duration or strategic utility of this war.

Check out the "about" everyone. Where does the head of this journal come from? Oh right....the American Enterprise Institute and Weekly Standard. Didn't see that one coming. And his "correspondents"? All ex-military rah rah war America types. Didn't see that one coming either.

How much longer do you right-wing lunatics expect us to swallow shit from the American Enterprise Institute and the Weekly Standard? How many more times must they be wrong?

"Shia terror groups" my ass. What a rag.

[Sidewinder]

It seems I have to use a whenever Iraq is mentioned. What, was Bush & Co. giving Maliki lessons in incompetency?

[Simplicius]

I'll address a few tidbits here.

Six days after the Iraqi government launched Operation Knights’ Charge in Basrah against the Mahdi Army and other Iranian-backed Shia terror groups, Muqtada al Sadr, the Leader of the Mahdi Army, has called for his fighters to lay down their weapons and cooperate with Iraqi security forces. Sadr’s call for an end to the fighting comes as his Mahdi Army has taken serious losses since the operation began.

Sadr's announcement came after a handful of Iraqi parliamentarians went - behind Maliki's back - to Iran, to ask the Iranians to please ask Sadr to stop fighting.

"Sadr has sent a message to his loyalists urging them to end all armed activities," the Al Iraqiya television channel reported. Sadr "disowned anyone attacking the state institutions or parties' offices and headquarters."

"Based on responsibility towards Iraq and to stem Iraqi bloodshed and to preserve the country's unity and integrity as a prelude to its independence, I call on the people to be up to their responsibility and awareness in order to maintain Iraq's stability," according to a statement issued by Sadr and sent to Voices of Iraq. Sadr has called for the government to free members of the Mahdi Army and the Sadrist Movement captured during recent operations.

Not only was the Mahdi Army not crushed in a decisive battle like Maliki intended, Sadr was in a strong enough position to issue terms for a JAM cease-fire.

very precise casualty figures

When even the US military and Iraqi officials didn't make any casualty estimates this precise, never mind major and reputable news outlets, one has to wonder just what Ol' Bill is tabulating here.

US and Iraqi forces are maintaining the high pace of operations against the Mahdi Army and the Special Groups.

As far as the Iraqis were concerned, "high pace of operations" apparently means "a lot of posturing and not much action."

The operation involves more than military operations, as the Iraqi government seeks to wrest control of the Mahdi Army's grip on public services inside Sadr City. "The aim now is to launch an ambitious plan of 30-day, 60-day, and 90-day public works and services-improvement projects designed to convince the local population that the Iraqi government -– and not Sadr's Mahdi Army militia –- is best able to improve the quality of life in an impoverished expanse of pot-holed streets, open sewers, and joblessness," the Christian Science Monitor reported. "US and Iraqi military are now set up and living among the Sadr City residents in the 'demonstration' area of the southern third of the sector."

Ah, and now the disingenuous quotes of other, more respectable sources. Anyone who reads the Monitor article for himself (here) will see that what Roggio describes as "the Iraqi government seek[ing] to wrest control of the Mahdi Army's grip on public services inside Sadr City" is not so:

• ...US military officials are putting out feelers to Mr. Sadr's associates.
  
  They are reaching out to elements within his militia that they could possibly work with to end the violence and are launching public-works projects designed to win over local hearts and minds inside Sadr City, the Mahdi Army's main Baghdad stronghold.
  
  []
  
  General Hammond's desire to "reach out" to moderate Sadr supporters – even while forces under Hammond's command take out what he calls the "criminals" loyal to the same leader – reflects sentiments expressed last week by both Gen. David Petraeus, the US commander in Iraq, and Defense Secretary Robert Gates. While in Washington to brief Congress on the situation in Iraq, General Petraeus called Sadr's following a "legitimate political movement" and said Sadr should not be "backed into a corner from which there is no alternative."

What's that? The US is trying to provide services, while the Iraqi government - which can't spend the money is has - is doing what, exactly? And what's that? The US is trying to buy Sadr and his movement off? I don't see any 'wresting' going on here, that's for sure, and I definitely don't see the heroic Iraqi government holding the initiative and calling the shots.

Also, that "demonstration area"? That's US forces trying to control ground to push all those rocket launchers and mortars - remember them? - out of range of the Green Zone.

Elements of the Mahdi Army in Basrah have vowed keep their weapons as the Iraqi security forces move into the Mahdi-controlled neighborhoods. The 17/3 movement, a Mahdi Army faction "loyal to the Shiite cleric Muqtada al Sadr" said it would not abide by the government's order to surrender its weapons. "The movement would not surrender heavy arms to security forces," Sheikh Abdullah al Ashmani, the leader of the 17/3 movement told Voices of Iraq. The weapons would be used "only against the occupier" and "not against Iraqi forces," Ashmani said.

...As the Iraqi government shows that is is powerless to enforce its own ultimatums. "We will crush the extremists in Basra! We will show no mercy!" "We will stop attacking you, extremists, if you surrender your heavy weapons by x date.Or else!" "No, make that x+n days." "Why aren't you doing what we tell you to?"

Also note that during Knights' Charge, the Iraqi Army was pretty well getting thumped until US air support showed up to save the day - at which point the Mahdi Army in Basra melted away, intact and with heavy weapons in tow. Wow, what a resounding defeat they suffered.

Sadr later admitted he ordered his followers within the Army and police to abandon their posts and join the fighting against the government.

And guess what - they did! Ooh, that rascal Sadr, having the loyalty of soldiers in an army belonging to an incoherent, incompetent, ineffectual, and unpopular government!

Sadr and his political movement have become increasingly isolated since the fighting began in Basrah, Baghdad, and the South. The Iraqi government, with the support of the political parties, said the Sadrist political movement would not be able to participate in upcoming provincial elections if it failed to disband the Mahdi Army. On April 13, the cabinet approved legislation that prevents political parties with militias from contesting provincial elections this year. The bill will now be sent to parliament for approval.

"Increasingly isolated?" Oh, man. I guess if a Republican Congress and administration wrote some legislation that banned the Democrats from an upcoming election, all those people who support the Democrats would just melt into thin air. That's some kind of isolation you've got there, ISCI and Dawa, and it's going to blow up in your faces if you keep trying.

Grand Ayatollah Ali al Sistani, the senior most Shia cleric in Iraq, said the Mahdi Army was not above the law and should be disarmed.

Funny that the LWJ is the only source that says so. Shit, guys, we all got scooped by Ol' Rog! Or - could it be - oh, no, he wouldn't mislead us like that! He couldn't !

Four hundred Mahdi Army fighters have been killed since the March 25, while Iraqi soldiers have lost 15 killed in fighting and have had another 400 wounded. More than 400 Mahdi Army fighters were captured and 1,000 wounded in the clashes in Basrah alone.

What makes you think these figures are reliable, anyway? Corroboration? Does Roggio give his sources? No, he does not.

[Illuminatus Primus]

Roggio being the AEI and Weekly Standard shill. Just goes to show that Shep-esque war whores go to Billy Kristol's handmaidens' livejournals for the "accurate reporting" on the Mr. Bush's War.