Air Force quietly building Iraq presence

[babylonsister]

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/24704

Air Force quietly building Iraq presence
Submitted by davidswanson on Sun, 2007-07-15 13:56. Media

By CHARLES J. HANLEY, AP

Away from the headlines and debate over the "surge" in U.S. ground troops, the Air Force has quietly built up its hardware inside Iraq, sharply stepped up bombing and laid a foundation for a sustained air campaign in support of American and Iraqi forces.

Squadrons of attack planes have been added to the in-country fleet. The air reconnaissance arm has almost doubled since last year. The powerful B1-B bomber has been recalled to action over Iraq.

The escalation worries some about an increase in "collateral damage," casualties among Iraqi civilians. Air Force generals worry about wear and tear on aging aircraft. But ground commanders clearly like what they see.

"Night before last we had 14 strikes from B-1 bombers. Last night we had 18 strikes by B-1 bombers," Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch said approvingly of air support his 3rd Infantry Division received in a recent offensive south of Baghdad.

Statistics tell the story: Air Force and Navy aircraft dropped 437 bombs and missiles in Iraq in the first six months of 2007, a fivefold increase over the 86 used in the first half of 2006, and three times more than in the second half of 2006, according to Air Force data. In June, bombs dropped at a rate of more than five a day.

Inside spacious, air-conditioned "Kingpin," a new air traffic control center at this huge Air Force hub 50 miles north of Baghdad, the expanded commitment can be seen on the central display screen: Small points of light represent more than 100 aircraft crisscrossing Iraqi air space at any one time.

more...

[partylessinOhio]

1. What the hell are they striking? How many Iraqis are dying?

The media tells us nothing about what is going on in Iraq.

We need to withdraw from Iraq now. This is no war, it is an occupation. Why are we wasting more lives and more of our treasury (or rather that borrowed from China) on this evil pursuit?

The Iraqi people have done nothing to deserve this. We need to impeach Bush/Cheney and replace them with a peace president. Who do you think that person might be?

[rodeodance]

3. sshhhhhhe.... it is don't ask don't tell policy (iraqi civilian deaths)-----Can you

imagine what the country as a whole looks like?

[rodeodance]

2. huge Air Force hub ------are the permanent-or wil leave to the Iraqi

[DemoTex]

4. Iraq, shellac. This buildup is for Iran.

All this is just some real-time practice before Cheney orders Showtime-in-Iran.

[snappyturtle]

6. My thoughts exactly...how c-o-n-v-e-n-i-e-t ! AND, this bombing

is probably the only way to make the surge appear to work.

[Peregrine Took]

5. Will there be one living thing left in this truly Godforsaken country when we

are done with it - if we are EVER done with it?