Violence grips Iraq as Fallujah battle rages

[bemildred]

Some interesting bits.

Major-General Richard Natonski, commander of the 1st Marine Division, said 69 American personnel and 34 Iraqi government soldiers had been wounded since the assault began on Monday. The military had been slow in releasing official, comprehensive reports, citing security but about 225 injured soldiers are in Landstuhl Medical Centre in Germany.

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General Richard Myers, head of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, declared the offensive was " very, very successful". But he also admitted: "If anybody thinks Fallujah is going to be the end of the insurgency in Iraq, that was never the objective, never our intention, and even never our hope."

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To protect the estimated 400,000 Kurds living in Mosul, the Kurdistan Democratic Party has sent units of its Peshmerga fighters to the city. Nominally under American command within the Iraqi National Guard, the Peshmergas work under their own officers. Their arrival in Mosul threatens to plunge the Kurds into direct conflict with Iraq's Arabs and widen the war.

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Marine Captain John Griffin said: "Claiming the city is secure doesn't actually mean that all the resistance is gone; it just means we have secured the area and have control."

Independent UK

[MGKrebs]

1. How come half the stories say "battle rages" and

half say "resistance is light"?

[alittlelark]

2. Ignore that and enjoy your increased chocolate ration!!!

[deutsey]

6. I'm having an extra shot of Victory Gin tonight.

:evilfrown:

[Deja Q]

3. Quite. Last night they were calling Fallujah the 'center of terrorism in

Iraq'.

False hopes? Hubris? :wtf:

[sandnsea]

4. 80% secured

That's what MSNBC says. Just wanted to make sure we had all the "facts". lol.

[gristy]

8. Right.

And my project at work is 80% done.

[Voltaire99]

5. "There's an old saying in Tennessee - I know it's in Texas...

...probably in Tennessee...that says, Fool me once, shame on...shame on you. Fool me...you can't get fooled again."

But as you have discovered in today's headlines, it's quite easy for even an imbecile to fool this public.

[DrWeird]

7. Interesting propaganda on my local news.

During the build up to the big push in Fallujah, the reporter read the following statement (paraphrasing): ...however, the troops are under no illusion (that) this will bring about the end of the insurgency.

Only the way he read it was this: "However, the troops are under no illusion. This WILL bring about the end of the insurgency."

Make no mistake. There's no shortage of right wing nutjobs who thought this mess in Fallujah would end the insurgency.

Fucking savages.

[karlrschneider]

9. Dammit! Who keeps hiding those freaking goal posts?

:eyes: