(hat tip to
atrios)
[UPDATE: AMERICAblog is on the case too]
For those of you who were wondering if Operation Swarmer was all it is being hyped up by the media to be, turns out... it isn't.
there are no insurgents, no fighting and 17 of the 41 prisoners taken have already been released after just one day. The "number of weapons caches" equals six, which isn't unusual when you travel around Iraq. They're literally everywhere.
What's more - it's a big effort to showcase the Iraqi Army leading up to this weekend's three-year anniversary. Surprised?
As noted, about 1,500 troops were involved, 700 American and 800 Iraqi. But get this: in the area they're scouring there are only about 1,500 residents. According to my colleague and other reporters who were there, not a single shot has been fired.
"Operation Swarmer" is really a media show. It was designed to show off the new Iraqi Army -- although there was no enemy for them to fight. Every American official I've heard has emphasized the role of the Iraqi forces just days before the third anniversary of the start of the war.
And of course the media dutifully tows the line, never for once questioning this latest assault the day after Scottie said that Bush wasn't even informed of this upcoming battle - yeah right.
Stations like Fox and CNN have really taken this and ran with it, with fancy graphics and theme music.
Same old story...