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U.S. Marines, Iraqi Troops Finish 'Quick Strike' Operation

Tetracide

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American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Aug. 10, 2005 - Iraqi special operations forces, Iraqi army soldiers and U.S. Marines from Regimental Combat Team 2 concluded Operation Quick Strike today.

American and Iraqi forces had teamed up to sweep the Haditha, Haqliniyah and Barwanah areas in recent few days as a part of a joint operation interdicting foreign and domestic terrorists' presence and networks, and collecting intelligence.

Quick Strike netted 36 suspected terrorists for questioning, officials said.

"This is another operation, similar to those conducted before, that has disrupted the insurgents' ability to operate freely in the western Al Anbar region," said Col. Stephen W. Davis, commanding officer, Regimental Combat Team 2. "The intelligence collected throughout this operation will enable us to better assist the citizens of western Al Anbar in their quest to participate in the upcoming referendum."

Nine car bombs were discovered. Three were identified by a local citizen, and the remaining six were discovered in an assembly garage used for rigging vehicles with explosives for insurgents to attack Iraqi civilians and military targets. And 28 improvised bombs were discovered during the operation. Most were planted as roadside bombs; others were rigged to destroy entire buildings.

(From a 2nd U.S. Marine Division news release.)
_______________________________________________________
NOTE: View the original version of this web page on DefenseLINK,
the official website of the U.S. Department of Defense, at
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Aug2005/20050810_2383.html.

Depriving the insurgents of not only material (weapons, safe heavens) but also moral. A big round of applause for the good guys!
 
This is the part that I find amazing:
Nine car bombs were discovered. Three were identified by a local citizen, and the remaining six were discovered in an assembly garage used for rigging vehicles with explosives for insurgents to attack Iraqi civilians and military targets. And 28 improvised bombs were discovered during the operation. Most were planted as roadside bombs; others were rigged to destroy entire buildings.
:applaud Good job on the collaborative effort in getting these before they went off!
 
Tetracide said:
Depriving the insurgents of not only material (weapons, safe heavens) but also moral. A big round of applause for the good guys!

Great news, the kind that should be on the front page of every paper and a lead story on every news broadcast. I have a son over there now and another graduating 9/2 from Parris Island. We need to get 'er done, but done right.
 
:shock: Interesting. I no longer support this war. The reasoning behind it is flawed and has changed far too much. It really is a quagmire...pretty soon the military is gonna run out of operation names. If they really want to stop these people they need to do more than poke the problem with a gun every few days and just erradicate them all together. The fact that there are bombs to disarm at this stage in the game speaks miles about the lack of planning and direction post Saddam.
 
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While such an effort and results are quite laudable, the issue still remains that one day the people NATIVE to Iraq are going to have to be able to police themselves and their own country. The United States (I will not single out President Bush as much as i would love to do so--democrats and republicans lined up behind him to go to war) obviously has again proven case in point that imperialistic actions cannot hold water in the modern world.

On another note, "eradicate them"???? Why not just ship the whole country off to the gas chamber, that'll show them (sarcastic). In this country when a death row inmate is found postmortem to have been innocent, there is great clamour over the "critical flaws in the system". How can we not apply similar principles to others? There is no such easy way out of the predicament that our military has dug for itself in the middle east. Obviously you cannot empathize at all with the civillians who have to LIVE in those areas and who want an end to the strife more than any of us can begin to understand.
 
shuamort said:
This is the part that I find amazing:

:applaud Good job on the collaborative effort in getting these before they went off!
Ditto!:applaud
 
Stinger said:
Great news, the kind that should be on the front page of every paper and a lead story on every news broadcast. I have a son over there now and another graduating 9/2 from Parris Island. We need to get 'er done, but done right.

God bless your sons and may they be safe.........I thank them for their service........

I have seen very little on this story on our national media.....That does not surprise me though...............They only print or talk about the bad things that happen in Iraq.............
 
saveChief said:
While such an effort and results are quite laudable, the issue still remains that one day the people NATIVE to Iraq are going to have to be able to police themselves and their own country. The United States (I will not single out President Bush as much as i would love to do so--democrats and republicans lined up behind him to go to war) obviously has again proven case in point that imperialistic actions cannot hold water in the modern world.

On another note, "eradicate them"???? Why not just ship the whole country off to the gas chamber, that'll show them (sarcastic). In this country when a death row inmate is found postmortem to have been innocent, there is great clamour over the "critical flaws in the system". How can we not apply similar principles to others? There is no such easy way out of the predicament that our military has dug for itself in the middle east. Obviously you cannot empathize at all with the civillians who have to LIVE in those areas and who want an end to the strife more than any of us can begin to understand.

In this case I believe that the ends justify the means. The buisness of this country is OUR buisness not the affairs of state of a foreign nation. It's simple not to apply similar principles because it's NOT our country. The Iraqi government should have taken over long ago. If the civilians want an end to it then they should fight against it themselves instead of hoping and expecting someone else to babysit for them. We're coddling them..period and we're paying for it with lives. Sitting around hoping for the pieces to magically fall into place in a region which has never experianced this form of government, which I might add is opposed by the majority of the Iraqi population, is ridiculous. The Sunis comprise the majority of the population in Iraq and they do not want a democracy they want an Islamic state. We're shoving a form of government which is not wanted down their throats and this is the price we pay.
 
Stinger said:
Great news, the kind that should be on the front page of every paper and a lead story on every news broadcast. I have a son over there now and another graduating 9/2 from Parris Island. We need to get 'er done, but done right.

Shake your sons' hands for me - and extend my deepest regards. My heart, and my thanks, goes out to all the families of those men and women who chose to serve our country.

One of my best friend's son (22nd MEU) returned from Afghanistan this past winter. He's leaving for Iraq within the next few weeks. Another good friend had a son in the 101st Army Airborne - saw major activity for 2 years in Iraq. His unit took a lot of hits and Colin lost several friends. But both of these young men feel we are in the right place and want to see the job completed.

The one thing I hear from friends who either serve or have family that serve in the military is that they wished the press provided more balanced coverage, that they show all the good things that the military has accomplished (i.e. rebuilding communities, assisting with setting up schools, hospitals etc).
 
Napoleon's Nightingale said:
In this case I believe that the ends justify the means. The buisness of this country is OUR buisness not the affairs of state of a foreign nation. It's simple not to apply similar principles because it's NOT our country. The Iraqi government should have taken over long ago. If the civilians want an end to it then they should fight against it themselves instead of hoping and expecting someone else to babysit for them. We're coddling them..period and we're paying for it with lives. Sitting around hoping for the pieces to magically fall into place in a region which has never experianced this form of government, which I might add is opposed by the majority of the Iraqi population, is ridiculous. The Sunis comprise the majority of the population in Iraq and they do not want a democracy they want an Islamic state. We're shoving a form of government which is not wanted down their throats and this is the price we pay.


Errr, sir, the Sunni's are the minority, you have just made yourself look a fool, thus forcing me to disregard your opinion. Try doing some research, then come back and try again, I am willing to give you another chance to make sense.;)
 
Well because it is another country it is ludicrous to IMPOSE OUR WILL upon it. You are basically giving these people two options, abandon their beliefs and customs and wants and accept whatever fate this country heaps on them (we have a bad history of choosing bad "democratic" leaders in central and south america btw), or be killed? What gives us the audacity to do that to other people? When did the United States and, gasp, George W become the all knowing political Buddha, with all of the answers to the middle east's problems?
Did you ever consider that we might be wrong in trying to impose such a government upon people? If the Sunnis are the majority in Iraq, then why are we trying to quell them? That seems pretty undemocratic in itself. Of course we are having to coax them into a new government because, exactly as you put it, they have never experienced it nor do they want to start now.
The scenario you are laying out for me is that 1)we should have killed massive amounts of Iraqis (Sunnis?) to "convince" them to consent to our wishes. 2)that by doing so we will prevent the loss of more American lives

Either way people are going to die. If we maintain a troop presence and try to "coddle" them until they admit to our military's whim, people on both sides WILL die. But if we start massacring their people not only will we be taking many many more lives, but we will be igniting the ire of other Muslim countries in the proximity and all over the world. You can't fight fire with fire. We got stuck in this mess because of our overzealous president and his brigade of rich politicians and advisors out for personal gain as much as increased popularity (both terrible reasons to go to war). But now we are stuck in it. Shooting a bunch of people will not stop the bleeding, it will only cause more of it.
 
The Sunni is a majority sect, however they are not the majority of Iraq. The majority is the Kurds (A shining example of success) and the Shi'ites.

Iraq's Sunni Arabs need to master a simple equation: If you support those who kill Americans, there are penalties. If you cooperate to build a better Iraq, there are rewards. We need contrasts in Iraq between how we treat the deserving and the murderous. If the populace continues to harbor our enemies and the enemies of a healthy Iraqi state, we need to impose strict martial law. Curfew in cities like Fallujah and Baghdad should be set. We should restrict access to the cities and control electricity and water as a punitive tool. Unfair to the innocent? The current situation is unfair to our troops and to the tens of millions of Iraqis who want to build a secure, better future. As long as the Sunni Arabs refuse to be part of the solution, we need to recognize that they're the problem - and treat them appropriately.

A great deal of misunderstandings has been spouted as to the Sunni-Arab triangle being the "strategic high ground" or the "center of gravity" in Iraq." That's simply nonsense. The strategic high ground - literally - is the Kurdish region in the north, while the human center of gravity is the Shi'a majority in the south. The Sunni Arabs are outflanked and outnumbered. Their position is weak, not strong. We need to make it plain to them that they will never again dominate the other peoples of Iraq, despite their wishing. The Sunni Arabs must understand that their terrorism against us and against other Iraqis will have severe consequences - including the division of Iraq into three separate states: a Kurdish Republic in the north that includes the northern oil fields; a Shi'a state in the south that encompasses the southern oil fields; and a disarmed, resource-poor Sunni Arab state in the center. The international community would protest. The international community always protests. The more just and far-sighted our actions, the louder the protests. Tough. Those who won't help now don't get a vote tomorrow.

The United States needs to be clear: America isn't failing the rest of Iraq. The Iraqis are failing themselves. The war to depose Saddam handed them an opportunity no other power would have or could have given them. If, despite the U.S. investment of blood and treasure, Iraq's Arabs decide to squander their chance for a peaceful and prosperous future, there may be painfully little the United States can do about it. The training wheels are on...it's up to them to take them off.
 
Deegan said:
Errr, sir, the Sunni's are the minority, you have just made yourself look a fool, thus forcing me to disregard your opinion. Try doing some research, then come back and try again, I am willing to give you another chance to make sense.;)

Actually you are the fool my friend ;) The Sunni's make up 58% of the population. It's a new study done by a humanitarian organization. I sudgest you do your research.
 
"The Sunni's make up 58% of the population. It's a new study done by a humanitarian organization. I suggest you do your research."

That is interesting and brings up an interesting theory. I know their are people crossing the border into Iraq because of the opportunities that the new Iraq might provide for them, but I wonder what sect is making up the majority of them (Sunni?) and I wonder if the refugee number is becoming greater. More so, after the Iraqi government takes over complete charge of their country, will the militaries of other countries park on their borders to prevent their people from going to Iraq to become a part of a true democratic nation? The spread of democracy will be what sees terrorism to it's end. The future will tell.
 
GySgt said:
"The Sunni's make up 58% of the population. It's a new study done by a humanitarian organization. I suggest you do your research."

That is interesting and brings up an interesting theory. I know their are people crossing the border into Iraq because of the opportunities that the new Iraq might provide for them, but I wonder what sect is making up the majority of them (Sunni?) and I wonder if the refugee number is becoming greater. More so, after the Iraqi government takes over complete charge of their country, will the militaries of other countries park on their borders to prevent their people from going to Iraq to become a part of a true democratic nation? The spread of democracy will be what sees terrorism to it's end. The future will tell.

Heh I doubt that. Most of the independently wealthy and wealthy buisiness Iraqi familys have and are still moving to Jordon. With no money to back the government it will fail.
 
If it fails it will be because they allow the fundamentalists take control of them after we leave. I don't think it will be because of economy. That country is very wealthy with oil. Unlike the rest of their Islamic middle eastern world, they need to move on from being oppressive and spread it and not horde it.
 
GySgt said:
If it fails it will be because they allow the fundamentalists take control of them after we leave. I don't think it will be because of economy. That country is very wealthy with oil. Unlike the rest of their Islamic middle eastern world, they need to move on from being oppressive and spread it and not horde it.

It may be wealthy with oil but it is not wealthy in cash..they don't even have a new currency yet :lol: Besides, most of the pipelines are either damaged or destroyed. It will fail because the majority of the people don't want democracy they want an islamic state and becuase they'll expect good old America to bail them out everytime something happens. This whole war is a quagmire and a moneypit.
 
Of course the majority want an Islamic state, but the majority also want a more democratic state where all are equal. It is only the most fundamental Sunni and their insurgent "friends" that wish Sunni Arab control like they had and like the rest of the Middle East. (I think we should have smashed off the Syrian Government while we had the chance.)

Either way...time will tell.
 
GySgt said:
Of course the majority want an Islamic state, but the majority also want a more democratic state where all are equal. It is only the most fundamental Sunni and their insurgent "friends" that wish Sunni Arab control like they had and like the rest of the Middle East. (I think we should have smashed off the Syrian Government while we had the chance.)

Either way...time will tell.

You cannot have an Islamic democratic state.. :lol: thats the point..they're fundamental principles are contradict eachother.
 
Napoleon's Nightingale said:
You cannot have an Islamic democratic state.. :lol: thats the point..they're fundamental principles are contradict eachother.
I'd like it if you'd expand on that, if you would please.
 
Napoleon's Nightingale said:
You cannot have an Islamic democratic state.. :lol: thats the point..they're fundamental principles are contradict eachother.

When did they take Turkey off of the map?
 
cnredd said:
When did they take Turkey off of the map?

If you had ever studied Islam you would know that it is umpossible to have an Islamic democratic state. Turkey isn't democratic..their women do not have equal rights etc etc
 
Over 5 million Kurds have proven to all that both can exist and both can exist while being at peace with America and Israel. While the media concentrate on the combat and confusion to the south, over 5 million Iraqi Kurds have brought off a near miracle: They've built a financially efficient, rule-of-law democracy in the Middle East. Elsewhere, the billions are spent to keep a failed state on life support. While the rest of Iraq's population wallows in the region's addiction to blame, the Kurds have rolled up their sleeves and gone to work. There is a lesson here for Iraq and a clear message to the rest of the Middle East and the world.

As the Arab sections of central and southern Iraq, insurgents, religious extremists and international terrorists indulge in an orgy of kidnapping and killing of their civillians. Yet, in the north lies Suleimaniye. Here, in the capital of one of the two Kurdish regional governments, officials are writing zoning laws, demanding environmental impact statements from builders and making education funding a priority.

In the streets, women walk freely and safely, dressed any way they wish. Only a minority choose Islamic garb — head scarves, not veils. The regional Prime Minister wants to increase the number of female government officials, describing them as "harder working" than men and "utterly incorruptible." And there are no forced marriages.

They have a University for education where just under half of the university students are women. Males and females study side by side. Internet use is free to all students. There is no censorship or political influence on campus. Not one of the oil-rich Gulf states rivals this still-poor section of country’s educational freedom — or standards. There's a department of religious studies, but it's only one of 16 departments (and far from the most popular).

Still, the Kurdish government isn't content. It hopes to build a world-class "American" university to develop its human capital. As the rest of Iraq threatens to implode, the Kurds are racing against time to develop their infrastructure and provide opportunities for their population. International business is welcome, contractors aren't murdered, and even the Turks, longtime opponents of the Kurds, are investing.

If anyone believes that no good came of deposing the old regime, he or she should talk to the Kurds. For them, generations of oppression, ethnic cleansing, torture and massacre ended when Saddam's statue fell. But with hostile powers on their borders, their future security depends on America's goodwill. As terrorists campaign to drive the U.S. from the Middle East, the Kurds are begging for U.S. military bases on their territory.

When American politicians of either party describe the Middle East they'd like to see, they're describing the Kurdistan that already exists. An ironclad military rule is "Don't reinforce failure. Reinforce success." Instead of supporting our only real friends in Iraq, we try to please implacable enemies by pouring billions of taxpayer dollars into cities whose people assassinate U.S. troops and fellow Muslim civilians, while ignoring what the Kurds have already achieved.

If only the Kurds had a disaster or two, then our media might tell their story. Of course, bringing to much attention to this would force the hand of the lords of terror and send it’s “martyrs” to inflict “Allah’s will” as a warning to other Muslims that might try to create a peaceful existence without the rule of oppression and the Arab's twisted version of Islam.
 
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Napoleon's Nightingale said:
If you had ever studied Islam you would know that it is umpossible to have an Islamic democratic state. Turkey isn't democratic..their women do not have equal rights etc etc
Really, so the US wasn't a democracy* when it was founded because we didn't allow women to vote?


*(constitutional republic for accuracy, just like turkey/iraq)
 
shuamort said:
Really, so the US wasn't a democracy* when it was founded because we didn't allow women to vote?


*(constitutional republic for accuracy, just like turkey/iraq)

The U.S. has never and never will be a democracy..we're a democratic-republic. There's a difference.
 
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