BLITZKRIEG…AMERICAN STYLE
Coalition forces appear to be making great progress in the battle for Fallujah:
“Hours after starting the offensive, U.S. tanks and Humvees from the 1st Infantry Division entered the northeastern Askari neighborhood, the first ground assault into an insurgent bastion. In the northwestern area of the city, U.S. troops advanced slowly after dusk on the Jolan neighborhood, a warren of alleyways where Sunni militants have dug in. Artillery, tanks and warplanes pounded the district’s northern edge, softening the defenses and trying to set off any bombs or boobytraps planted by the militants.” (HT: Belmont Club)
Fox News reports this morning that Marines have moved towards the center of Fallujah and appear to be slicing the city into smaller zones to make pacification easier.
Wretchard points out that for all intents and purposes, what we’re witnessing in Fallujah is the future of warfare; real-time intelligence gathered by extraordinarily sophisticated electronics transmitted instantly to commanders at the PLATOON level. In other words, for the first time in the history of warfare, the pointed end of the spear has as good a picture of the battlefield in front of him as division level commanders in the past. This kind of intelligence will save lives…not just our guys but innocent Iraqi civilians as well.
Wretchard gives an overview of this new tech:
“From UAVs (unmanned drones) wheeling overhead to Marines going through alleys linked by their intra-squad radios (a kind of headset and boom-mike operated comm device), the US force is generating lethal, real-time information which is almost immediately transformed into strike action. Against this, the jihadis have no chance.”
The drones have evidently been operating in Fallujah airspace for months. Special forces have also been extremely busy. This from the Washington Times:
“Since April, American forces have stayed outside the city. But intelligence collection has proceeded at a furious pace. Military sources said the U.S. command has a block-by-block schematic of the large city and knows from day to day where the rebels live and plan. That is how coalition aircraft have been able to direct precision-guided weapons at specific buildings known to harbor rebels.
“They have mapped the city and are taking the city down by sections,” said retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Thomas McInerney.
It’s clear that coalition forces have a plan based on using their technological advantages to the fullest. And U.S. Special Forces have done a fantastic job of infiltrating terrorist strongholds and calling down the wrath of God in the form of U.S. strike planes on terrorist hide-outs.
The key here will be the performance of Iraqi troops. How badly do they want to take their country back? We’ll see in the next few days.
A LITTLE DASH OF REALITY
I’ve been reading Boots on the Ground for months now. While Kevin ’s blog is not the widest read of milblogs, I’ve been attracted to his journal because of his honesty, quiet patriotism, common sense, and the human dignity that comes through in his writing.
Kevin was recently sent back to Iraq. Here are some of his thoughts:
“It’s true what they say that the first casualty of war is innocence. You watch war movies about the heroes that fought in previous wars and wish you could have been fighting with those brave men. Until you live it for real. I’ve found the hard way, that war is not glamorous. You quickly lose the idea of being a man fighting for his country when you have to carry your comrade who has been wounded in a gun fight. That nobility is lost quickly.”
And if that doesn’t cool your ardor to have our guys rush forward and win one for America, here’s what this soldier thinks:
“I know alot of people that read my blog for the most part believe the United States needs to be there. I agree with this, since I think it is morally wrong to come in, bomb the country and do alot of damage to it, and just leave is irresponsible and just doesn’t seem like the right thing to do. However, I lost the idea of going to Iraq to set people free from a dictator or to make it safe for democracy. When I go back to Iraq, my mind set is on making it home back alive. It’s not about fighting for the flag, it’s about fighting for my life and fighting for my buddies life.”
Those of us who support America’s war against the terrorists should NEVER forget that soldiers like Kevin are doing the fighting and the dying and that supporting the abstract notion of a POLICY should not blind us to the fact that the policy we support has real world consequences in the form of placing an enormous burden on fine young men like Kevin.
I’m not a praying man…but in Kevin’s case, I think I’ll make an exception.
DRAWING FIRE
Jay Tea over at Wizbang has gone and done it now. His post “In Praise of Civilian Casualties” is sure to draw a firestorm from both the left and right. After reading the post, however, JT is not quite as bloodthirsty as he will be portrayed by some. In fact, he draws some very logical conclusions about the problems associated with urban warfare going up against an enemy with absolutely no moral compunction about using civilians as human shields.
“There’s an old saying: “once you pay the Danegeld, you never get rid of the Dane.” Once we have established that we will refrain from pursuing our enemies when they hide among civilians, we threaten all civilians in the future. Any time one side in a battle publicly imposes limits on itself, the other side will immediately exploit it.”
That’s true as far as it goes. The problem here is that the terrorists want and need civilian deaths to garner sympathy from the arab media. Are we playing into their hands in this regard? Will we, like Tet in 1968, achieve an overwhelming tactical victory in Fallujah while suffering a strategic defeat in the court of world opinion?
JT recognizes this. And follows through to the logical conclusion:
“I don’t want there to be a single innocent death in Fallujah. And having faith in our military’s equipment, training, and scruples, I know they will be minimized as much as possible. But there will be many heart-breaking stories and images from this battle. We mustn’t let them cloud the real issue — if we let it stop us now, there will be many more Fallujahs in the future, and eventually we’ll have to disregard hostages or simply give up. And we can’t afford to surrender in this war.”
Kill civilians or eventually be forced to surrender? I see the logic, but I’m not sure we Americans can or should carry through to the logical conclusion. If we do, do we become what we hate? Is it worth the death of thousands of Iraqi civilians?
I just don’t know. Damn you, JT.
THE WICKED WITCH IS MELTING
Word from Fox News that Arafat will be taken off life support sometime today. He probably died 2 or 3 days ago and the announcement was delayed while the PA and Mrs. Arafat could agree to divy up the tens of millions of dollars the baby-killer stole from his own people. (HT: Captains Quarters)
JESUS! I wish the world wouldn’t make such a big deal over this dirt bag’s passing. As his twisted brain and gigantic ego slip into oblivion, I hope his last coherent thoughts were of the pain and suffering he caused his thousands of victims.