THE THREE DAY STALINGRAD:

U.S., Iraqis claim win: 'It is over in Samarra' (ZIDAN KHALAF, 10/03/04, Chicago Sun-Times)

U.S. and Iraqi forces battled pockets of resistance Saturday in this former insurgent stronghold, where the American military said 125 rebels were killed and 88 captured in two days of fierce fighting.

The American commander declared the operation a successful first step in a major push to wrest key areas from insurgent control before January elections. [...]

U.S. and Iraqi commanders said they controlled 70 percent of Samarra after about 5,000 troops -- including 2,000 Iraqis and 3,000 Americans -- swept into the city early Friday. Iraqi Defense Minister Hazem Shaalan claimed success, telling the Arab television station Al-Arabiya: ''It is over in Samarra.''

Maj. Gen. John Batiste, commander of the 1st Infantry Division, said he was ''very confident that the future of Samarra is good.''

''This is great news for the people of Samarra, 200,000 people who have been held captive, hostage if you will, by just a couple of hundred thugs,'' he told CNN.

Batiste praised the performance of Iraqi troops, saying they ''really handled themselves well'' as they secured the hospital, a revered shrine and centuries-old minaret.

''They're getting better and better trained, better and better equipped. It ought to give us a lot of confidence,'' he said.

Samarra, 60 miles northwest of Baghdad, appeared mostly calm Saturday, but pockets of resistance persisted, with heavy tank shelling and exchanges of machine-gun fire erupting in early evening in the northern part of the city.

One seeming weakness in the extemists' game plan is that any time they fight us openly they get waxed at minimal loss to us, meaning they can never take control anywhere on earth for any extended period of time.

Posted by Orrin Judd at October 3, 2004 10:44 AM