.Operation Swarmer 'to last for days'
The US military's largest assault in Iraq since the 2003 invasion is still continuing and is expected to last for days to come.
Operation Swarmer, aimed at flushing out insurgents loyal to Saddam Hussein and his regime, involves more than 50 aircraft and 1,500 Iraqi and US troops as well as 200 tactical vehicles.
George Bush did not need to authorise the operation - the decision to launch the airborne assault was made by military personnel on the ground.
It is targeting Iraqis operating area near the town of Samarra, 60 miles north of Baghdad.
The assault was launched just hours before Iraq's new parliament was sworn in Thursday behind the concrete blast walls of the heavily fortified Green Zone with parties still deadlocked over the next government.
Sectarian violence has escalated in Iraq since a Shi'ite shrine in Samarra was bombed, sparking reprisal killings and bloodshed that has pushed Iraq toward the brink of civil war.
White House spokesman Scott McLennan said: "There have been a number of operations that have been undertaken over the course of the last several months to go after the terrorists and the Saddam loyalists who want to return to the past and oppression and tyranny.
"So what we are continuing to do is train and equip those Iraqi forces and also focusing our efforts on the enemy, going after those who are seeking to derail the transition to democracy."
ITVNews
This is strange news, I got the link from Juan Cole's blog, this story seems to suggest that Bush was not involved it the decision making process.Could Bush have finally seen the light and put the war in the hands of the generals on the ground? No way, this is propaganda.
Operation Swarmer, aimed at flushing out insurgents loyal to Saddam Hussein and his regime, involves more than 50 aircraft and 1,500 Iraqi and US troops as well as 200 tactical vehicles.
George Bush did not need to authorise the operation - the decision to launch the airborne assault was made by military personnel on the ground.
It is targeting Iraqis operating area near the town of Samarra, 60 miles north of Baghdad.
The assault was launched just hours before Iraq's new parliament was sworn in Thursday behind the concrete blast walls of the heavily fortified Green Zone with parties still deadlocked over the next government.
Sectarian violence has escalated in Iraq since a Shi'ite shrine in Samarra was bombed, sparking reprisal killings and bloodshed that has pushed Iraq toward the brink of civil war.
White House spokesman Scott McLennan said: "There have been a number of operations that have been undertaken over the course of the last several months to go after the terrorists and the Saddam loyalists who want to return to the past and oppression and tyranny.
"So what we are continuing to do is train and equip those Iraqi forces and also focusing our efforts on the enemy, going after those who are seeking to derail the transition to democracy."
ITVNews
This is strange news, I got the link from Juan Cole's blog, this story seems to suggest that Bush was not involved it the decision making process.Could Bush have finally seen the light and put the war in the hands of the generals on the ground? No way, this is propaganda.
posted by madtom at 11:06 AM
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