Ungrateful Iraqis. posted by Richard Seymour

The assault on Sadah is, naturally, an attack on a mighty citadel of insurgency. An insurgency, it goes without saying, that is "loyal to Al Qaeda". The assault was charmingly known as Operation 'Iron Fist'. Having blocked the city off, bombed it and sent the inhabitants fleeing, they combed the city for 'insurgents' who had, predictably, sneaked off like the cowardy custards they are.

Juan Cole wonders:

Since there are only 2,000 inhabitants of Sadah on a good day (it is a tiny border settlement near Syria northwest of Baghdad), the Marines have a certain advantage. You figure half of Sadah is women. Some further proportion is boys too young to fight and old men. Could they muster 300 local fighters (would all of them be in the guerrilla movement)? And how many foreign jihadis could live in a town of 2,000? Would you guess 50? So have we thrown 1,000 Marines at between 50 and 300 local fighters, who are poorly armed and lack real organization?

Nevertheless, the US army has some words of rebuke for those residents terrified by bombs falling on their homes:

"Some of you are concerned about the attack helicopters and mortar fire," a U.S. Army colonel reportedly told an angry crowd in western Iraq. "I will tell you this: those are the sounds of peace."

I'd hate to see this bastard's idea of war.


Create a desert; call it peace.