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al Qaeda’s Foreign Fighters in Iraq
The pros & cons of al Qaeda funneling both novice and experienced jihadis into Iraq
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Transcript from the Hugh Hewitt Show
Radioblogger has the transcript of last evening’s discussion with Hugh Hewitt on the situation in Iraq.
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Stepping Back from ‘Civil War’ in Iraq
The bombing at the Golden Mosque has not instigated civil war in Iraq
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Iraq “Civil War” Sitrep II
Fighting in Doura district of Baghdad seems to be locus of fighting; QRFs established to address hot spots
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Iraq “Civil War” Sitrep
A status report on the violence in Iraq and prospects for civil war; Sadr’s role
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al Qaeda Offensive on the Arabian Peninsula
Refinery in Saudi Arabia attacked following the destruction of the Golden Mosque in Samarra
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An Ebb in Fighting
Over two days after the destruction of the dome of the Golden Mosque, is the violence surging or abating?
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Looking for Signs of Civil War in Iraq
Reviewing the leading indicators that Iraq is sliding into a full scale civil war.
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Dome of the Golden Mosque Destroyed
al Qaeda likely conducted attacks; attack can lead to civil war or provide opportunity for Sunnis and Shiites to unite; al Qaeda may have made yet another miscalculation
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Local Jihad, Global Jihad
Pakistan sentences Islamists to death; Zawahiri taunts Musharraf; Prophet protests rage
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An Interview with Colonel Davis
Colonel Stephen W. Davis is the regimental commander of Regimental Combat Team -2, 2nd Marine Division, serving in AO Danger in Western Iraqi. His area of operation is comprised of the Qaim Region on the Syrian Border to the Triad cities of Haditha, Haqlaniyah and Barwana, as well as Rutbah, Anah, and Khan Al Baghdadi. I embedded with RCT-2 from November 26 to December 17th of 2005.
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Pressure on Pakistan
U.S., Afghanistan step up pressure on the Pakistani government to dismantle the Taliban terrorists operating in the tribal belt
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The Heat in Hit
Coalition forces disrupt al Qaeda plot to disrupt communications and assassinate tribals
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More Independent Iraqi Army Operations
The Iraqi Army conducts two separate battalion sized operation & gain control of a bigger slice of the battlespace
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Counterinsurgency Lessons: Friend and Foe
The U.S. Military and al Qaeda both have a vested interest in learning how to properly fight an insurgency
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Harmonizing al Qaeda
The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point releases al Qaeda documents and recommends a strategy for “Exploiting Al-Qaeda’s Organizational Vulnerabilities”
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The War in Waziristan
Is the Taliban in control in Waziristan? Pakistan’s influence in the tribal belt is tenuous at best.
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Counterinsurgency Operation Continue
Jafari picked to be new PM; Iraqi Army continues to take the lead & conducts night air assault; Rutbah becomes a ” vital logistical node for the insurgency”
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Iraq’s Western Borders, North to South
A quick look at Iraq’s long border with Syria and Jordan
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Tips, Infighting, and Strong Horses
The Iraqi people step up to the plate, and more Red-on-Red fighting Further details emerge about the developing rifts between the native elements of the Iraqi insurgency and al Qaeda and their Islamist allies. Army Major General Rick Lynch, the spokesman for Multinational Force Iraq, acknowledged the infighting has occurred in Anbar province; “Many times these citizens are urged by their local tribal leaders to rid the area of the insurgent influence… In Fallujah and Ramadi, citizens have established checkpoints to keep insurgents out and six al Qaeda leaders have been killed in the area since September.” According to Maj.…
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The Search for Zarqawi
Al Bawaba reports “US, Iraqi forces closing on al Zarqawi” in northern Iraq
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al Qaeda Jailbreak in Yemen
23 terrorists escape from custody, including the leader of the attack on the USS Cole and 12 others
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More Border Wars
Unrest Continues in Afghanistan and Pakistan; Taliban claims to have set up the “Islamic Republic of Waziristan”
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An Anbar Update
The status of the insurgency in the province formerly known as the “Wild West” Iraq’s Anbar province has been, along with Baghdad, one of the most violent in Iraq. Over one-quarter of Coalition deaths originated in the cities and towns along the Euphrates River, from Fallujah in the east to Husaybah on the Syrian border. The yearlong campaign to establish a permanent U.S. and Iraqi security presence in the province, which began in Fallujah during Operation Dawn and culminated in Operations Rivergate in the Triad and Steel Curtain in the Qaim region, has made a dramatic impact on the region.…
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Afghanistan Battles Continue
More fighting in Helmand; drug trade plays a role The battles between the Taliban and Afghan Army and police units, backed by U.S. forces, enters the third day in the troubled southeastern provinces of Helmand and Kandahar. Six Afghan policemen are killed in a roadside bombing near Kandahar as U.S. air forces conduct strikes in the Ghoraz region, where “close-air support was called to the scene of the attack. British Harriers, Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II and B-52 Stratofortress aircraft responded to the scene, attacking enemy positions and forcing them to flee into a nearby town.”
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Battles in Helmand, Afghanistan
Afghan Army and police units, along with the U.S. military are engaged in combat with Taliban forces in Afghanistan’s southern province of Helmand. The Associated Press states the fighting began after Afghan “police were deployed to the Haji Fateh area to hunt for Taliban rebels” and the Taliban attacked the police forces. Afghan police and Army units poured into the region to engage what is believed to be a force of about 200 Taliban fighters, and U.S. air support, including A-10 Warthog ground-attack aircraft have been pounding the Taliban positions. Reuters initial report stated there have been four engagements in…
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Foreign Fighters Found in Ramadi
The city of Ramadi has seen some progress of late in the fight against the insurgency. While Ramadi, the provincial capital and largest city in Anbar, is perhaps one of the most dangerous cities in Iraq, the government has been working to gain local support and cleave off the domestic nationalist elements of the insurgency from the more violent Islamist and foreign elements. One result has been the declaration of war against al Qaeda by the Islamic Army in Iraq and other insurgent groups. The Iraqi Army has taken on greater responsibilities in the province, with Operation Final Strike being…
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Adventures in Afghanistan
The resurgence of the Taliban has been predicted each year since the fall of the Taliban in the winter of 2002. The fact that over 1,600 Afghanis were killed during combat is often touted as evidence for the Taliban’s resurgence, however obscured in this number is the fact that the vast majority of those killed were Taliban fighters. Over the spring and summer, of 2005, the Taliban attempted to engage Coalition forces in mass formations, and were repeatedly destroyed en masse. The Taliban’s only success worth mentioning was the downing of a U.S. Special Operations helicopter in the mountains of…
