May 11, 2005
DON'T LET THE BORDER STOP YOU:
Marines Push Toward Iraq's Syrian Border (ANTONIO CASTANEDA, 5/10/05, Associated Press)
Capitalizing on a lull in fighting Tuesday, hundreds of U.S. Marines pushed through a lawless region on the Syrian frontier after intense battles along the Euphrates River with well-armed militants fighting from basements, rooftops and sandbag bunkers. [...]Iraq's foreign minister, meanwhile, told the Associated Press that some of Iraq's neighbors have become unnerved by the American-backed attempt to establish a robust democratic government in Baghdad and still are not doing enough to stop militants from trying to undermine the newly elected government.
As many as 100 insurgents were killed in the first 48 hours of Operation Matador, as American troops cleared villages along the meandering Euphrates then crossed in rafts and on a pontoon bridge, the U.S. command said. Many of the dead remained trapped under rubble after attack planes and helicopter gunships pounded their hideouts.
At least three Marines were reported killed and 20 wounded during the first three days of the offensive — the biggest U.S. operation since Fallujah was taken from extremists six months ago.
The operation was launched after U.S. intelligence showed followers of Iraq's most wanted terrorist, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, took refuge in the remote desert region — a haven for smugglers and insurgent suppliers. The fighters were believed to have fled to Anbar Province after losses in Iraqi cities.
After intense fighting with militants entrenched on the south bank of the Euphrates River early in the operation, Marines saw only light resistance Tuesday and advanced through sparsely populated settlements along a 12-mile stretch to the border with Syria, according to a Chicago Tribune reporter embedded with the assault, James Janega.
Stop when you hit the Med. Posted by Orrin Judd at May 11, 2005 12:15 AM
I hear the Bekka valley is lovely this time of year.
Posted by: Jim in Chicago at May 11, 2005 12:55 AMActually, we would only have to go as far as Damascus.
Posted by: jd watson at May 11, 2005 4:08 AMMy nephew just returned fromhis tour over there as a navy seal. His time was mainly spent in security work and raids bringing in some very bad guys. The vast majority are foreign fighters coming in from Syria and Iran and the locals have had it with these folks. The home grown insurgency is mainly a fiction. Is the MSM getting this fact across to the American people?
Posted by: Tom C., Stamford, Ct. at May 11, 2005 8:20 AMQuite seriously, if Syria cannot or will not prevent such misuse of its territory, international law permits us to remedy the situation, as we did in Cambodia, years ago.
Posted by: Lou Gots at May 11, 2005 8:29 AMOperation Matador. At least this one has a real name. Given the trend, I'm surprised it wasn't Operation Euphrates near Syria Freedom.
Posted by: Chris Durnell at May 11, 2005 11:33 AMTom C.;
I wouldn't call the "home grown insurgency" a fiction. Rather, it's old news. There was a lot of local resistance early on, probably even stronger than the foreign jihadis. However, that resistance (which I'll call "remnants") was never about ideology but about politics and power. While there were doubts about American resolve and how the Iraqi people felt, the remnants were willing to fight to bring themselves back in to power. As that hope faded (particularly after Al-Sadr, a prime example of a remnant, was put down) most of the locals have decided that it's better to have second class seat on the train than be under it. I wouldn't be a bit surprise if, in hindsight, the battle of Fallujah is considered the time when the local resistance collapsed, not so much because they were eliminated but because it became obvious the best deal possible was being a political party, not a ruling class. Fallujah asked the question "can the remnants pursue the typical insurgent pattern that's brought rebel groups to power before?" and the battle answered "no".
Posted by: Annoying Old Guy at May 11, 2005 2:11 PMIndeed; it's just a line on a piece of paper.
Posted by: at May 11, 2005 10:06 PM