[Peace-discuss] rumors (3)

[C. G. Estabrook]

[Here, from the unimpeachable source of Faux News, is (part of?) the new
thinking on Iraq. Note (a) it was done before Bremer arrived back -- the
military is in command; and (b) the similarity to Sharon's tactics in the
occupied Territories. US occupation of the Middle East, by itself or its
collaborators, is of a piece. --CGE]

U.S. Forces Launch Operation Iron Hammer

Wednesday, November 12, 2003

BAGHDAD, Iraq --Â U.S. forces in Iraq on Wednesday launched a planned and
coordinated operation codenamed Iron Hammer that targeted pro-Saddam
loyalists, a senior military source told Fox News.

Based on intelligence collected on the ground, U.S. infantry set a number
of traps all over Baghdad. Several of those traps -- monitored from the
air and known as NAIs or Named Areas of Interest -- were activated almost
simultaneously Wednesday night.

In the most dramatic action, about a dozen Bradley armored vehicles used
25mm cannons to destroy a warehouse used by anti-U.S. forces in southern
Baghdad. A special forces AC-130 Spectre gunship also took part from the
air, targeting the warehouse with precise fire.

"The facility is a known meeting, planning, storage and rendezvous point
for belligerent elements currently conducting attacks on coalition forces
and infrastructure," the Pentagn said in a statement from Washington.

"The destruction of this structure will deny enemy forces any use of it in
the future."

The attack on the warehouse was one of four strikes in Operation Iron
Hammer. According to military sources, the other attacks were:

-- U.S. soldiers observed a group of people firing several mortar rounds
from a truck, who then tried to drive away. An AH-64 Apache helicopter was
called in to follow the fugitives and it fired on the vehicle, hitting it.
Two terrorists were killed and five others were captured. Plus, Americans
seized an 82mm mortar.

-- Infantrymen saw another enemy approach and fire three mortar rounds,
aimed at harassing U.S. forces. Americans opened fire using small arms and
a Bradley armored vehicle. The vehicle was hit several times but managed
to disappear in traffic on a highway.

-- An American artillery unit fired 12 rounds of 155mm howitzers against
an insurgent mortar team that had fired off a few shots in the direction
of the "green zone," where the central Coalition military andcivilian
authority compound is located in Baghdad. This two-square-mile area had
been hit by harassing mortar fire on a number of occasions during the past
week.

The U.S. offensive came on the same day that a truck bomb exploded at an
Italian paramilitary police headquarters in the southern Iraqi city
of Nasiriya, which killed 18 Italians and eight Iraqis.

And the U.S. action came one day after America's top soldier in Iraq said
attacks against the U.S.-led coalition were increasing and he vowed a
tough response.

"The most important message," he continued, "is that we are going to get
pretty tough ... but we will do everything possible to minimize the impact
on the people of the country," Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez (search)Â told
reporters.

Sanchez said the United States would "send a very clear signal that our
intent is to defeat the former regime loyalists, the terrorists and those
people that are attacking the coalition and the Iraqi people."

In Washington, administration officials vowed to keep the finish the job
of stabilizing Iraq.

"It's a difficult situation,"Â Secretary of State Colin Powel said of
security in Iraq. "But we are confident that our commanders will get on
top of it and our intelligence experts will be able to penetrate these
remnants of the old regime who are trying to destroy the hopes and
aspirations of the Iraqi people."

Analysts said the Wednesday offensive was an indication that the U.S.
forces were following through on Sanchez's pledge.

"It's great news because it shows we're bringing the fight to them," said
retired Col. David Hunt, a Fox News military analyst. Hunt said the attack
on the warehouse showed that Americans were getting better human
intelligence.

"It's never been a problem on the fight," Hunt said. "The problem has been
finding these bad guys and this shows there has been a new offensive
started."