Leaks plague battle against Iraqi insurgents

[leftchick]

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/MAR222206.htm

BAQUBA, Iraq, May 12 (Reuters) - In a war where intelligence is as important as guns, leaks of information from Iraqi soldiers are undermining the battle against insurgents, senior U.S. and Iraqi officers say.

Officers told Reuters it was almost impossible to keep secrets among soldiers who have members of their family or tribe on the other side. The result is operations that turn up mounds of weapons and explosives but few suspects, because tipped-off rebels flee before raids even begin.

"We still don't have secure operations. When we go on a mission, this gets leaked out to the people," said Colonel Thaier Dhia Ismail Abid al-Tamimi, who heads an Iraqi battalion in Diyala province.

Even meetings among his fellow battalion commanders cannot stay secret in his area near the city of Muqdadiya, about 110 km (70 miles) northeast of Baghdad, said Tamimi, whose unit has been praised by U.S. officers for its professionalism.

... :eyes:

Ahem......

Guerrilla (also called a partisan) is a term borrowed from Spanish (from "guerra" meaning war) used to describe small combat groups. Guerrilla warfare operates with small, mobile and flexible combat groups called cells, without a front line. Guerrilla warfare is one of the oldest forms of asymmetric warfare. Primary contributors to modern theories of guerrilla war include Mao Zedong and Che Guevara. While "asymmetric warfare" is the military term for guerrilla tactics.....

[sweettater]

1. this really pisses me off!

from the start of this "war" we all knew that the Iraqis wouldn't turn on one another. How stupid does one have to be? Apparently very!

[leftchick]

2. neocon thinking

they suffer from delusions of grandeur. Actually our soldiers do the suffering for them.
:(

[Selatius]

3. Bah, we had the same problem in Vietnam

We never could plug the leaks coming out of ARVN units. The North had informants and saboteurs all over South Vietnam.

[Dover]

4. The U.S. has no intention of leaving Iraq. The more chaos, the better

their excuse for staying. The Middle East remains THE strategic ground zero for American interests....along with a presence in S.E. Asia. They are not going anywhere, anytime soon.

[leftchick]

5. I agree and Chaos helps their strategy...

The US is there for Keeps.

[Warren Stupidity]

6. exactly

They did everything they could at the start to make sure that there would be an insurgency and that it would be well supplied. Oh gosh, I guess we will just have to stay for a long time. What a coincidence, the planet is running out of cheap oil. Gotta stay the course.

How many will die for our right to cheap gas to fuel our SUVs?

[Barrett808]

7. Leaks plague battle against Iraqi insurgents

Leaks plague battle against Iraqi insurgents
12 May 2005 06:49:23 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Ian Simpson

BAQUBA, Iraq, May 12 (Reuters) - In a war where intelligence is as important as guns, leaks of information from Iraqi soldiers are undermining the battle against insurgents, senior U.S. and Iraqi officers say.

Officers told Reuters it was almost impossible to keep secrets among soldiers who have members of their family or tribe on the other side. The result is operations that turn up mounds of weapons and explosives but few suspects, because tipped-off rebels flee before raids even begin.

"We still don't have secure operations. When we go on a mission, this gets leaked out to the people," said Colonel Thaier Dhia Ismail Abid al-Tamimi, who heads an Iraqi battalion in Diyala province.

Even meetings among his fellow battalion commanders cannot stay secret in his area near the city of Muqdadiya, about 110 km (70 miles) northeast of Baghdad, said Tamimi, whose unit has been praised by U.S. officers for its professionalism.

(more)

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/MAR222206.htm

[Zorra]

8. It's because the Iraqi people do not want you there

but your leaders want to take the country over at any cost.

And the neocons told you to expect flowers.

God, I feel sorry for our soldiers and for the Iraqis.

The entire world, (except for maybe the 40,000,000 people that voted for Bush) will party like never before in history on the day that Bush and the neocons are convicted of their war crimes.

[killbotfactory]

9. blood is thicker than water

ancient tribal family vs. infidel foreign invaders who are killing your fellow citizens.

hmmm... wonder which side they'll come down on?

[The_Casual_Observer]

10. What happens when the "Iraqi" army all of a sudden turns

their guns on the marines?

[daleo]

11. How long can the U.S. military fight a futile war?

Granted, the level of casualties is still only about 10% or so of Viet Nam (or so we are told), and there has not yet been a draft. But it seems to me this kind of never-ending pointless combat must still sap morale over time.