Masked insurgents mount show of force in Ramadi after Bush speech

[Nordmadr]

Masked insurgents mount show of force in Ramadi after Bush speech
by Michael Howard
Friday Dec. 2, 2005, Sulaymaniya: Masked insurgents took over much of the centre of the restive city of Ramadi yesterday and attacked a US base and government offices in an apparent show of force hours after George Bush's victory in Iraq speech on Wednesday night.
Residents and police said that shortly after dawn about 100 heavily armed men entered the city's streets, 68 miles west of Baghdad. "They stayed there for a few hours, launching mortar rounds before dispersing," said Captain Hassan al-Dulaimi of the Ramadi police.

He said the men distributed leaflets saying that al-Qaida in Iraq, the group led by Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, was in charge. Television footage showed the insurgents walking down a deserted street and in a residential neighbourhood as well as firing mortars.

Ramadi is the capital of the predominantly Sunni Arab Anbar province and regarded as a magnet for militants.



http://indiamonitor.com/news/readNews.jsp?ni=9558

[opihimoimoi]

1. So much for Bushies PROGRESS.....

[LiberalVoice]

2. You here that america?!?!

100 men with guns walked into the downtown of a major Iraqi city and hung out for hours....We have no control of that country. Bring our troops home!

[Nordmadr]

3. A part of this that sticks out to me is this:

"Meanwhile at a briefing in Baghdad the US military said there had been a decline in suicide bombings in November to 23, the lowest figure in seven months. US and Iraqi forces had also discovered 301 weapons caches, the biggest number in a single month this year".


Now this news can be spun both positive and negative, with the reality likely somewhere in the middle. A decrease in suicide bombings could simply be a tactical shift and not really indicate anything positive or negative. Furthermore, finding 301 caches of weapons speaks primarily to me that there are more caches out there to be found, which means that the Iraqi insurgents are becoming more weaponized and organized. If we have been there all this time and are continuing to find increasing stockpiles of weapons, that does not convince me we are winning.

What good does it do us to sweep an area, kill a few people, lose a few people, only to have the insurgents resurface after we have left? If we do not have enough troops to secure an area after we have taken it, we are not making any progress.


Maybe I'm just being pessimistic and tired of hearing about and seeing all this death.


Olaf

[Warren Stupidity]

4. Gee it turns out that mindlessly braying

'victory' 'victory' 'victory' much like mindlessly braying 'bring it on' ENDANGERS OUR TROOPS.

Obviously Mr. Bush is deliberately putting our forces at risk in order to make political points. He should resign immediately as he is unfit to command, and perhaps mentally incapacitated.