Major Combat Operations Continue (Ctr. for American Progress)

[nostamj]

from today's Progress Report (which you really should sign up for!)
Major Combat Operations Continue
More than 15 months after President Bush triumphantly declared that "major combat operations in Iraq have ended," the U.S. is leading "major operations" in Najaf. It is part of an effort led by U.S. troops "to crush an uprising led by cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, whose fighters have been battling U.S. troops in Shiite strongholds across Iraq for a week." The operation is particularly sensitive it is centered in the city of Najaf, home of the "revered Imam Ali shrine and its vast cemetery." The new offensive risks "enraging Iraq's Shiite majority – including those who do not support the uprising – if it targets the shrine, where many of the insurgents have taken refuge." Already, operations by U.S. forces in Najaf have "ignit mass street protests in at least two other cities." For those concerned about the administration's failure to locate WMD, obtain more assistance from international troops or stabilize Iraq, Bush offered this assurance: "I know what I'm doing when it comes to winning this war."

NO EASY VICTORY IN NAJAF: There are no clear solutions to resolve the revolt in Najaf led by al-Sadr. The Christian Science Monitor explains if al-Sadr "is killed while fighting in such a holy site, he would become a martyr, drawing thousands of Shiites to his cause. If American and Iraqi forces pull back from a final assault on Najaf - and indeed, intense negotiations have been conducted since the beginning - and create another truce with Sadr, Sadr may be seen by many as a man who stood up to the Americans."

TEXAS NATIONAL GUARD SHIPPING OUT: The San Antonio Express News reports that in "the largest combat mobilization of Texas Army National Guard troops since World War II, about 3,000 soldiers are bound for Iraq." The soldiers will be required to remain in Iraq for up to two years. Across the country, "about 102,000 reservists, or 29 percent of all guard troops, are now mobilized." While the call-up has been expected in recent weeks, "the advance notice didn't keep tears from flowing over the prospect of loved ones being separated by the 17-month-old war that continues to claim lives long after major combat operations were deemed over."

MEDIA LOSES INTEREST IN IRAQ: Distressingly, "until the recent flare-up in Najaf, Iraq had faded from the front pages." The paucity of coverage in the six weeks since sovereignty was handed over to Iraq has occurred even as "the country has been gripped in escalating violence, forcing some coalition countries and private contractors to flee for safety." As a result of the instability, "Iraq's national conference – critical to the eventual implementation of free elections – has been postponed." Nevertheless, there has been far more attention to Martha Stewart, Laci Peterson and Kobe Bryant.

www.americanprogress.org

[vetwife]

1. Good post ! Get the Holy war on full blown !

[nostamj]

2. maybe but

it sure dropped into the depths pretty quick!

[Larkspur]

3. Juan Cole predicted the media losing interest in Iraq

He said that the purpose of the June 30 sovereignty transfer was to take Iraq off of the front pages in American newspapers.

[nostamj]

4. he wasn't the only one!

even the editorial cartoonists have completely dropped Iraq as far as I can tell in my weekly searches...

[NewJeffCT]

5. good prediction

Most of the newspapers have gotten word from on-high (Rove down to Black, Scaife, Murdoch, et al) to bury Iraq as deep as possible.

Just a guess here, but I would imagine most Americans think there have been fewer casualties since the transfer of power than the weeks before, when the opposite is true.