We're the Military and Airpower Guys of Jonah Goldberg of National Review Online + a stray we found wandering around looking lost. All original material JHD, BHD, JR, WT, and KA 2003-2007 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/09/hi_fires_02_sep.html Tue, 23 Sep 2008 17:18:25 Z Movable Type 4.12 en Copyright 2008 http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification Open post for those with something to share, updated through the day. New, complete posts come in below this one. Note: If trackbacking, please acknowledge this post in your post. That's only polite. You're advertising here, we should get an ad at your place... *********************************** TigerHawk is sponsoring a photo contest as an excuse to cover his lite blogging this weekend.... Chuck Simmins sends: It took 12,000 American troops ten years to move 14 miles. Was it one of the worst defeats in American history? No, it was something that a lot of men and women can be very proud... http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/09/hi_fires_02_sep.html http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/09/hi_fires_02_sep.html Sun, 02 Sep 2007 23:35:57 -0600 Anyhow, I just read that the Iraqis are sending down a couple of brigades to bolster their presence there. We'll have to see if it is the "infiltrated" brigades or one that is relatively loyal to the central government and the idea of "Iraq". They will face some of the same problems US troops faced. Which was liasioning with the locals. If they have a solid power base in the Shia South, with good relations with local police and what not, then they can begin the pushback on the mafia controlled territories. Like any turf war, you must control the territory and the only way to do that is to gain the loyalty of the people on that territory. No matter how loyal an Iraqi Army force is to the good side, they won't be able to achieve maximum effectiveness without the relationship the US has with Al Anbar at the moment. Iraqi Army units have also historically needed good relations with Iraqi Police. Army comes from somewhere else, while police are recruited locally. A schism between the two was hard enough for the US to overcome, I don't think the Iraqis could gain anything positive so long as such a barrier was in place. And given that Sadr and Company have had quite a bit of time to plan things out and lay contingencies, it will be a good test to see whether American High Command as well as Iraqi leadership have learned from the mistakes of Operation Iraqi Freedom's initial invasion stages. For Iraqis, their examples are Sadr City and Fallujah. For the US, it is using armored divisions to take Baghdad, bypassing the Shia south and the Kurdish north. The grassroots networks that Sadr and our enemies have created in the south will take some time to dismantle. Hopefully whoever is making the decisions at the top will no longer be afraid to take on Sadr, given that AQ is decreasing in potency. Fear is the ultimate weapon. It makes mincemeat of the greatest of weapons and armies.]]> http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/09/hi_fires_02_sep.html#comment-63919 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/09/hi_fires_02_sep.html#comment-63919 Mon, 03 Sep 2007 14:17:22 -0600 Well, I think the Brits were saying for sure that immediately after the invasion, there weren't enough troops. I'm not sure what they think now except that they want out and they are upping their contingent in Afghanistan. The "real" war, you know. Anyhow, I just read that the Iraqis are sending down a couple of brigades to bolster their presence there. We'll have to see if it is the "infiltrated" brigades or one that is relatively loyal to the central government and the idea of "Iraq". http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/09/hi_fires_02_sep.html#comment-63895 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/09/hi_fires_02_sep.html#comment-63895 Sun, 02 Sep 2007 23:22:02 -0600 The British are contemplating a complete withdraw from the area and have already turned over one joint security station that was promptly taken over by the Mahdi Army. So their answer to not enough troops for security is to make sure there are no troops for security? Interesting. As for the South, there doesn't seem to be much of a toe hold for US forces. There once might have been, but that was in 2003/4. Whatever resources the Brits acquired in terms of humINT is probably going down the toilet, unless the US moves in some soldiers that live amongst Shia Iraqis. Sort of like what a re-look at Vietnam produced. ]]> http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/09/hi_fires_02_sep.html#comment-63893 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/09/hi_fires_02_sep.html#comment-63893 Sun, 02 Sep 2007 21:47:42 -0600 Yup, I've been watching the progress of the road for eight years. Slow, but steady. Every branch has been here, every MOS from runway repair to water purification, POL handlers to D7 operators. You should have seen the barges of damaged equipment leaving here. Dump trucks, cracker boxes, dozers, tractors, pickups, HUMMVs ...waugh! But a huge amount of work and training was accomplished. The most valuable asset on the modern battlefield? A D7 dozer. http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/09/hi_fires_02_sep.html#comment-63892 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/09/hi_fires_02_sep.html#comment-63892 Sun, 02 Sep 2007 21:21:50 -0600 The Alcan Highway Redux! Nice to see that Englineers don't just hang around Fort Useless being a "Break Glass In Case Of Emergency" asset... http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/09/hi_fires_02_sep.html#comment-63874 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/09/hi_fires_02_sep.html#comment-63874 Sun, 02 Sep 2007 10:22:39 -0600