http://www.timesonline.co.uk/...
THE American military is planning a "second liberation of Baghdad" to be carried out with the Iraqi army when a new government is installed.
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The battle for Baghdad is expected to entail a "carrot-and-stick" approach, offering the beleaguered population protection from sectarian violence in exchange for rooting out insurgent groups and Al-Qaeda.
I kid you not. The Battle for Baghdad! Carrot-and-Sticks - the only thing Baghadians have to do is root out insurgent groups and al-qaeda. There will be SWAT teams....it isn't what you think: see below the flip.
Sounds like they are going to get really, really, really serious about ENFORCEMENT.
But the innovative approach for the Battle for Baghdad will include SWAT teams. Not what you're thinking.... this is, afterall, about helping our Iraqis brethren enjoy their new freedoms:
The sources said American and Iraqi troops would move from neighbourhood to neighbourhood, leaving behind Sweat teams -- an acronym for "sewage, water, electricity and trash" -- to improve living conditions by upgrading clinics, schools, rubbish collection, water and electricity supplies.
I thought we were finished will ALL THAT STUFF?!!!!!
The next paragraph states the ordering of TARGETS. I can't tell if they will be the targets of the new military tactics or if they will be getting some of the great new SWAT stuff. You decide:
Sunni insurgent strongholds are almost certain to be the first targets, although the Shi'ite militias such as the Mahdi army of Moqtada al-Sadr,
the radical cleric, and
the Iranian-backed Badr Brigade would need to be contained.
I remember hearing about Sadr. But Badr Brigade sounds new to me. I probably tuned it out. But like the fictional Zaqwiri... the BADDER BRIGADE sounds made up to me!
Interesting how an article just automatically includes an 'iranian backed' group as if it's been a known-known since we ever knew anything.
So, what is this about?
Poll numbers, mid-term elections.
President George W Bush and Donald Rumsfeld, the defence secretary, are under intense pressure to prove to the American public that Iraq is not slipping into anarchy and civil war. An effective military campaign could provide the White House with a bounce in the polls before the mid-term congressional elections in November. With Bush's approval ratings below 40%, the vote is shaping up to be a Republican rout.
So this new second liberation of Baghdad is going to be rolled out toward the end of the summer. I think they expect some big results... to be pulling US troops out just in time for the November voting.
Who came up with the clever new product name? A think-tank guy:
"It will be the second liberation of Baghdad," said Daniel Gouré, a Pentagon adviser and vice-president of the Lexington Institute, a military think tank. "The new government will be able to claim it is taking back the streets."
I am not much for looking at or pondering military strategies. I pretty much conclude things are going well when people aren't dying. That's my military expertise. Anyone familiar with this think tank The Lexington Institute?
Sorry to do a diary that is essentially quotes from an article. But, man, it just struck me as terribly desperate -- and that desperation sure doesn't seem induced by a care or concern about the people in Iraq. It just seems that it all about politics. Which makes it all the more vulgar to me. Not to mention.... the whole idea strikes me as one very scary prospect for the people of in Baghdad. Let's see.... carrots and sticks. INTENSE military campaign. They are pretty much going to purge the city of any possible 'dissenter'. It's going to be bloody.
And, also, so, a regular mom... to get some of the SWAT carrots...how many people will she have to report as insurgents????? This is TIPS program on steroids.
So, are the graphics people at Faux, CNN, ABC, CBS, and NBC all working on the new logos: The Second Liberation of Iraq. And will Katie Couric require flowers in hers?