READER COMMENTS: "Recent Iraq Operations - A Flash Presentation"

Posted by Justin Capone at September 21, 2005 12:14 PM ET:

Bill have you heard anything about this?

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Shiites fleeing Sunni dominated neighborhoods of Baghdad

BAGHDAD, Iraq - (KRT) - The ethnic cleansing of Baghdad neighborhoods is proceeding at an alarming and potentially destabilizing pace. Some Shiite Muslim residents in predominantly Sunni Muslim Baghdad neighborhoods are fleeing their homes because they say the country's violence and sectarian tensions have reached their front doors, forcing them to move into more homogenous communities.

Government officials and academic experts agree that the virtual expulsion of some ethnic groups from mixed communities is troubling and threatens the nation's stability, which depends on a degree of ethnic harmony. Some worry the purges are setting the early stages of civil war, saying that homogenous neighborhoods could become future battlegrounds in the capital.

Indeed, some government officials concede that insurgents, mainly Sunnis, are controlling parts of Baghdad. "Civil war today is closer than any time before," said Hazim Abdel Hamid al Nuaimi, a professor of politics at al-Mustansiriya University in Baghdad. "All of these explosions, the efforts by police and purging of neighborhoods is a battle to control Baghdad."

"To the extent that families are moving out, neighborhood by neighborhood, that itself is a sign of civil war," said Noah Feldman, a constitutional expert at New York University who visited Iraq in 2003 with American officials.

http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/news/world/12704914.htm

Posted by Justin Capone at September 21, 2005 12:18 PM ET:

Also I would like to say that this presentation is incredible. Great job.

Posted by Marlin at September 21, 2005 12:39 PM ET:

Justin -

I'd take the Knight-Ridder articles with a litle salt. Hannah Allem usually does good reporting for them, but Tom Lasseter and Nancy Youssef are committed ant-war/anti-Bush individuals. It;s been my experience that their reporting is decidedly negative. e.g., regular MSM.

Posted by Mixed Humor at September 21, 2005 2:37 PM ET:

Many congrats on the great visual presentation...excellent job gentlemen.

Posted by USMC_Vet at September 21, 2005 2:55 PM ET:

Thanks, MH. We appreciate that very much and value your feedback.

Marlin:

Excellent point.

Cheers all.

Posted by USMC_Vet at September 21, 2005 2:59 PM ET:

Thanks much, Justin. For not thanking you in the above, you can take one good swipe at me with a bamboo pole and I'll just have to sit here & take it.. ;-)

Cheers. (...again...)

Posted by Soldier's Dad at September 21, 2005 4:50 PM ET:

Good presentation Bill

Posted by leaddog2 at September 21, 2005 5:32 PM ET:

Great presentation! Can we hope that it might become an ongoing feature ???? September 18th to the 28th... 1 week or 10 days at a time or whatever is doable from now on.

????

Posted by leaddog2 at September 21, 2005 5:34 PM ET:

One other comment... it is great, but slow the next way down in changing from slide to slide for easier reading. (If you decide to do another one, I mean)?

Posted by Burger at September 21, 2005 6:04 PM ET:

Great presentation!
How about putting it in a format (MPEG) that viewing may be controlled?

Posted by Jack at September 21, 2005 6:11 PM ET:

Excellent presentation.

Posted by Chester at September 21, 2005 6:26 PM ET:

Bill, Steve, Marvin:

Great work guys! Your time spent on this has paid off.

All the best,

Posted by Bill Roggio at September 21, 2005 7:19 PM ET:

FYI:

We will be releasing an updated version to make this more viewable. Thanks for the feedback, everyone.

Posted by Terry Gain at September 21, 2005 7:46 PM ET:

Bill,

Great posts today- and for the past couple of months. The outcome in Iraq has been of great concern to me since this phenonemenol undertaking began.

This site is my first stop each day. You are providing us with news that no one else seems willing or able to convey. As a result -and because of the undeniable demographics- I remain optimistic - despite the naysaying.

Posted by USMC_Vet at September 21, 2005 7:49 PM ET:

In the meantime and for future reference:

Pausing Without a Pause Button

You can pause just about any audio/video playback in a browser (IE or Firefox) by right-clicking over the playback area and un-shecking the "Play" item in the menu that pops up.

Resume playing from that point by right-clicking again and clicking "Play" again.

You'll have viewable controls within this presentation soon. As Bill said, we're working on it as we speak.

Thanks for the constructive feedback!

(We listen closely.)

Oh...and for those who know me as USMC_Vet [old Belmont friends?], my wife calls me Steve Schippert. Usually.

Posted by Ike at September 21, 2005 10:01 PM ET:

NATO Reports All 26 Nations Are Aiding Iraq With Training
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/22/international/middleeast/22nations.html

Iraqi Forces Show Signs Of Progress In Offensive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/21/AR2005092102175.html?nav%3Dhcmodule&sub=AR

Posted by Ike at September 21, 2005 10:22 PM ET:

Horn of Africa Force Seeks to Win Friends, Prevent Terrorism
http://www.dod.mil/news/Sep2005/20050921_2814.html

Posted by Rookie at September 22, 2005 12:13 AM ET:

First, let me congratulate The Forth Rail team for their work. Well done ! I'm looking forward to see new versions of this file, which could become an accurate monthly report on WOT.

Second, I found this on cnn...:

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/09/21/iraq.main/index.html

If the report is correct, we have 5 dead terrorists - camouflaged into "insurgents" not to be recognized by MSM - and one detained. Very good.

But (...) 3 soldiers/police dead, 7 wounded, air support called in.... at this rate the Iraqi battalions will have to be replenished very often, not mentioning the huge costs of this kind of operation.

I can understand if the 6 terrorists were hardcore veterans, but I'm afraid there were not. The fact that their kidnapped victim manage to escape somehow prove this.

Posted by Soldier's Dad at September 22, 2005 5:41 AM ET:

Rookie,

"at this rate the Iraqi battalions will have to be replenished very often"

The Iraqi battalions grow at the rate of about 5,000 per month.

Posted by leaddog2 at September 22, 2005 6:36 AM ET:

Ultimately Rookie, if it came to that (and it WILL NOT) look at the Gross Numbers: 60% Shia, 20% Kurds, 20% Sunni Arabs.

In reality, there are millions of Sunni Arabs who DO NOT support the Terrorists. Even if they did, they hold a losing hand.

Posted by Robert M at September 22, 2005 7:00 AM ET:

Forwarded your post and flash presentation to my local papers. Looking forward to the response.

Posted by Rookie at September 22, 2005 7:40 AM ET:

Yes people, but are you not worried about this kind of events? Not speaking that lifting up several Apaches and launch expensive ammunitions to kill 6 ragheads will cost you, US, a bunch? In five minutes their 6 proud mothers are going back-alley and create a new lot of suicide bombers...

Not all Sunnis are supporting terrorists, that's correct. But also enough Shia's are, only not the same terrorists. Basra will develop really ugly if Brits are forced to leave, mainly because their "no see, no hear, no speak" policy.

I saw the soldiers who escaped from that tank. Brave young lads. Imagine that something like Fallujah was happening, what they did to those contractors.... no reprisals here possible, Shia will go up immediately. I'm really curious what those 2 Brits who got arrested did, if it was an Iranian setup to provoke exactly this. For Iran, facing laughable UN sanctions, it's the right time to try something... now that Al Queda was smashed in the Western Iraq.

Sorry about pesimism, it's in my nature. I know that many will disagree, but someone said that we must not forgot why US are in Iraq: to make US and world safer, to deny safe heavens to terrorists. Establishing a prosperous democracy is a bonus, but if I look back at how Europeans are behaving now after WW2 and Marchall plan, don't expect too much gratitude in the future.

Long post, sorry. Hope it makes some sense.

Robert M: "Looking forward to the response"

[crickets] :)

Posted by USMC_Vet at September 22, 2005 12:49 PM ET:

So we should pack up and go home because it's hard, Rookie?

That's what you are suggesting.

Forget the 'replenishing rate' or 'enlistment rate'. Your argument doesn't even get that far with me. Your argument hinges upon an attitude of defeat and the path of least resistance.

I reject that emphatically, energetically, confidently and completely. Period.

Furthermore, while appreciation or 'much gratitude in the future' is rewarding in its own right, it is by no means a basis of determining what action is the correct action to take.

Rookie, you are traveling from New York to Denver, yet determining your travel route based on a map of Los Angeles.

I have but 5 minutes of internet access today and this is what I read?

Now, go back and continue to argue about the freeways of Los Angeles. I'll call you from Denver when we get there.

Posted by USMC_Vet at September 22, 2005 4:01 PM ET:

[crickets] :|

Posted by Tony B at September 22, 2005 4:28 PM ET:

Bill, really, really nice job.

Posted by Rookie at September 23, 2005 2:52 AM ET:

USMC_Vet:

Don't need to get so upset, and only in 5 minutes... Sorry I did not responded earlier, as I saw you waited for a comment, I worked 13 hours yesterday... hence the crickets...

I'm worried about proficiency and costs. I do not advocate retreat, but "rentability". I'm not US citizen, and I must say that everywhere I go, in Europe, Asia, Africa (except Denver, never was in USA) I'm a tiny minority with my views. The others? Peace lovers talk: "I hope Iran will use Sunburn missiles to destroy US army", "I really wish someone to nuke NY", "9/11 was designed by US". Don't fool yourself focusing just on Iraq.

From your site I saw a description of yourself, and I salute your sacrifice. As a soldier, it's obvious you're trained to think positive, to keep morale high.

At some point, the costs of war will reach the critical mass, exploited by the terrorist's 5th column in US. Pression will be higher and higher. Pression from 30 moonbats in Washington DC who get all media attention. Then 100, then 500. On TV, they will look like 5.000.000. This is what moderate people are seeing, there are not millions reading this blogs. And then they vote.

Most of the people thoughts are passing through their stomachs. How many from normal people in US will say ummmm... I have a rough life here, and we are spending hundreds of thousands to kill 6 terrorists. Proficiency, I say. Kill 100 with 100.000 and minimum casualties. Let them spin that.

How? I have no clue... I have the wrong map :(. Besides, I'm 98.5% civilian.

Posted by Timber Wolf at September 23, 2005 10:05 AM ET:

Great job Bill! Thanks! The Troops thank you!

Side Note: quoting an article from the duluth superior paper, why not just cut the bull and quote Air unAmerica.