As Iraqi Army Prepares the Battlespace for Coming Sadr City Siege, So Too Does the MSM

The declarations of defeat and quagmire will be deafening.

Sorry to steal so much from Hot Air today, I just can't seem to find crap on my own.

Iraqi soldiers for the first time warned residents in the embattled Sadr City district to leave their houses Thursday, signaling a new push by the U.S.-backed forces against Shiite extremist who have been waging street battles for seven weeks.

Iraqi soldiers, using loudspeakers, told residents in some virtually abandoned areas of southeastern Sadr City to go to nearby soccer stadiums, residents said. UNICEF says about 6,000 people have been forced to flee their homes in Sadr City, most of them from the southeastern section.

That article seems to have been rewritten since posted on Hot Air. It now says this:

Some residents of Sadr City claimed Thursday that Iraqi soldiers warned them to leave their houses and go to nearby soccer stadiums for security reasons. The U.S. military denied the claim and called it as a "rumor."

Not sure if that's the straight dope, or the US military just doesn't know, or they're denying intelligence to the enemy.

Instapundit writes about the coming media counter-surge, and notes the basic flaw in their narrative: "The basic rule of press coverage is that if there's fighting, we must be losing."

This is a childish conceit they cling to -- that, as is the moral of WarGames, "the only way to win [in war] is not to play at all." It's a thoroughly pacifist notion, and I don't mind that our press is personally pacifist, but they continue injecting their goofball worldview into what should be straight accounts in the news.

19 Mahdi Thugs Die of Diverticulitis and US Special Forces, But Mostly US Special Forces: The Special Forces were only responsible for a couple of the sad deaths, but I'm running out of things to follow the "but mostly."

US and Iraqi forces have reported heavy fighting during multiple engagements in Sadr City and the surrounding districts. Nineteen Mahdi Army fighters have been killed and nine were captured during clashes and raids in Baghdad.

US and Iraqi troops and US air weapons teams killed 17 Mahdi Army fighters during a series of engagements in the Baghdad districts of Sadr City, New Baghdad, Adhamiyah, Kadhamiyah, and the Taji Qada northwest of Baghdad.

Many of the Mahdi Army fighters were killed as they attacked barrier emplacement teams and planted roadside bombs in Sadr City on the night of May 7 and the morning of May 8. US Special Forces units killed an additional two Mahdi Army fighters as the US teams were providing security for engineers "making safety infrastructure improvements in Sadr City."

The US and Iraqi military have been concrete constructing barriers around the southern third of Sadr City to cut off the Mahdi Army from the area and provide security and humanitarian assistance. The US military has described the barrier as a "magnet" for Mahdi Army attacks as they seek to stop the construction effort.

A total of 539 Mahdi Army fighters have been confirmed killed in and around Sadr City since March 25, according to numbers compiled by The Long War Journal.

Obviously we're losing then. It demeans and demoralizes our troops every time they kill a bad guy, you know.

Thanks to CJ.

posted by Ace at 02:25 PM

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