Air Strikes Kill 17 Iraq Al Qaeda Fighters
U.S. Helicopters Target Hardline Militants In Baqouba As Diyala Sweep Continues
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U.S., Iraq Troops Vs. Al Qaeda
U.S. and Iraqi troops are targeting an al Qaeda stronghold in Baqouba, Iraq. But Gen. Peter Pace says it is all about increasing Iraqis' confidence in their government. David Martin reports.
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New Operation Begins In Iraq
CBS News RAW: The 4th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, continued their ground surge in Iraq with Operation Arrowhead Ripper, launched June 19. NO AUDIO
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On The Hunt In Baqouba
Only On The Web: CBS News' Phil Ittner breaks down the daily grind for U.S. troops on the hunt for al Qaeda in Baqouba, capital of Iraq's deadly Diyala province.
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An Iraqi soldier secures an area in Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, on June 21, 2007. (AP Photo/Talal Mohammed)
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A regiment of the 2nd Infantry Division June 21, 2007, in the tense Dora neighborhood of Baghdad. The soldiers patrol their area almost daily in an effort to get to know the residents and find insurgents. (Getty Images/Chris Hondros)
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A soldier with U.S. Army's 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division rests in a bombed-out hospital in Baqouba, Iraq, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, June 21, 2007. (AP Photo/Lauren Frayer)
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A man holds an Iraqi flag in front of the Khulani mosque after prayers, in Baghdad, on June 22, 2003. The mosque was heavily damaged in last week's bombing that killed more than 80 people and wounded more than 200. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
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U.S soldiers of the 2nd Brigade, 23rd Infantry Regiment search a house during a patrol in southern Baghdad on June 20, 2007. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
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As the 10,000-troop mission to take back the volatile and extremely dangerous province intensified in its fourth day, so have concerns about keeping al Qaeda fighters on the run. The terrorist fighters and their allies already have been run out of Fallujah and Ramadi in Anbar province, only to regroup in Diyala's capital of Baqouba and surrounding districts.
The U.S. ground forces commander, Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno, said more than three-quarters of Baqouba's al Qaeda leadership fled before the Americans moved into the city this week. At the time, drone observer planes spotted fighters planting dozens of roadside bombs on the main highway into Baqouba.
Brig. Gen. Mick Bednarek, assistant commander for operations with the 25th Infantry Division, estimated that several hundred low-level al Qaeda fighters remained.
"They're clearly in hiding, no question about it. But they're a hardline group of fighters who have no intention of leaving, and they want to kill as many coalition and Iraqi security forces as they possibly can," Bednarek said Friday.
"It's 24/7 for us here, and it's probably the same for our adversary as well," he said. "It's house-to-house, block to block, street to street, sewer to sewer — and it's also cars, vans — we're searching every one of them."
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki's government is also under threat from within. After dozens of interviews with Iraqi political leaders both inside and outside the government, it's clear a broad-based movement is underway to bring down al-Maliki, reports CBS News chief foreign correspondent Lara Logan.
Called the "Iraq Project," the movement's manifesto outlines a plan to overthrow al-Maliki using constitutional means: a no-confidence vote in the Iraqi parliament that will force the prime minister to resign.
In other developments:
An Associated Press employee in Baqouba reported heavy fighting as U.S. troops swept into three eastern neighborhoods in Friday's operation, which began after U.S. forces warned residents to leave or stay indoors.
The American military said the 17 al Qaeda fighters were killed trying to flee past Iraqi security blockades on the road to Khalis, a predominantly Shiite city northeast of Baqouba.
Earlier this week, creeping house-to-house through western Baqouba, U.S. soldiers made a startling discovery: a suspected al Qaeda field hospital stocked with oxygen tanks, heart defibrillators and other medical equipment.
The find displayed al Qaeda's sophisticated support network in Baqouba, a mostly Sunni town of about 300,000 people, located 35 miles north of Baghdad.
That may presage great problems in an outright defeat of al Qaeda even if U.S. forces succeed in ousting the group from Baqouba. The city has received little aid or other services from the central government, which feared supplies would end up in al Qaeda hands.
As the al Qaeda field hospital proved, much assistance did bypass residents and found its way to the terrorist organization. Until trust is mended, U.S. military commanders say, any success they have in this offensive could be lost on a city unable or unwilling to reconcile sectarian differences.
Historically a mixed province, Diyala has become predominantly Sunni as Shiites fled an influx of Sunni militants from Anbar province. The militants were welcomed by many of Saddam Hussein's former Baath party members.
The shifting population balance only increased tension between local Sunni tribal leaders and the Shiite-dominated federal government in Baghdad.
"There are a multitude of systematic functions that aren't working," said Maj. Robbie Parke, 36, of Rapid City, S.D., a spokesman for the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division. "The Iraqi government has to say, `Look, Baqouba is in trouble, and we need to help.'"
So far that has not happened, U.S. officials say. But there are signs of hope.
"The (Iraqi) government is very immature, but they're getting better and saying the right things. We've got to hold them to that," said Odierno.
© MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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See all 239 CommentsQuestions: Is the White House seeing and accepting that fact? If so, what now? Plan B?
(Come to think of it, I don't recall hearing about any Plan B, only the "surge." However, the folly of never having a Plan B seems to have dogged this administration since Saddam's fall. What's new?)
If it's a fight to the death they want let's speed up the process for them.
We should have brought in an Einsatzgruppen. The only thing muslims understand and respect is strength and fear. Hit'em and hit'em hard.
It's better to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission.
If it's a fight to the death they want let's speed up the process for them.
We should have brought in an Einsatzgruppen. The only thing muslims understand and respect is strength and fear. Hit'em and hit'em hard.
It's better to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission.
Posted by soldat44
At long last! Righteous!
Posted by dukeu
That's because you don't pay any attention. Or didn't you hear that the Iraqis are demonstrating in the streets against Al-Qaeda. Not working? You are so misinformed.
(Come to think of it, I don't recall hearing about any Plan B, only the "surge." However, the folly of never having a Plan B seems to have dogged this administration since Saddam's fall. What's new?)
Posted by dukeudevil at 09:15 AM : Jun 22, 2007
Plan B? They still don't have a Plan A!! Unless Plan A is to let our troops sit out in the open exposed to the IED's.
Posted by soldat44
is that what your parents did when u arrived?
Soldiers! It is time to come home! There is nothing in our Constitution that demands that our blood and treasure be squandered for the sake of Oil and Zionism, or that our arms be disgraced by their application in the service of Evil. Come Home! The enemy is in Washington, the borders are open and the Constitution has been betrayed!
Posted by Smirk5 at 11:21 AM : Jun 22, 2007
In 15 years they'll still be telling us, "Just wait a few more months. Then the Iraqi government will step up and take control..."
Why are US forces detaining anyone in Iraq? Shouldn't Iraqi forces be detaining their own citizens?
The same goes for Afghanistan and Afghani forces.
It really, really does not take years to train police officers or soldiers.
The Bush administration and Congress are blowing smoke when they claim "we're making progress." We'll be making progress when there are no US forces playing Barney Fife on the streets of Iraq or Afghanistan.
He has illegally, immorally and unilaterally invaded a country that originally had no ties to terrorism. Now, yes, there are many terrorism threats as Iraq is an international terrorist congregation point.
I served in Iraq and spoke with hundreds of US and "Coalition" military members. I guarantee you there was no one who agreed with our/their presence in Iraq.
When was the last time you heard the media refer to "the Coalition?"
Who are the terrorists in Iraq? What the hell has Bush gotten us into? Where's the plan to get out of this quagmire?
Is there a poll of parents of the dead, injured or missing as to their support for this war?
Posted by tuckerndfw at 12:11 PM : Jun 22, 2007
Right on. The NY state troopers receive 40 weeks of training at their academy and they are some of the finest law enforcers in the country. (I'm not one by the way - I just happen to know about their training.)
"As they stand up, we'll stand up even more"?
It's hard to keep up with the propaganda.
Posted by notblue at 12:44 PM : Jun 22, 2007
My solution is to restrict US forces to their nice, comfy barracks in fortified compounds, only to be used in case of extreme emergencies, such as running short of pizza and beer.
US forces cannot realistically totally leave Iraq for the foreseeable future, but there is no reason whatsoever for them to be "patrolling" or "detaining" anyone. There should be no US "detainees" or US controlled or operated "prisons" (for anyone other than US forces, that is) in Iraq or Afghanistan.
Using US forces as policemen in Iraq is not "supporting the troops," it is grossly abusing them. And, so long as they are allowed to be abused in that manner, the insurgency will never end. Nor will Iraqis ever step up to the plate and do their own police work.
Anyone who supports the Bush administration's continued abuse of US forces hates US troops and America far more than I.
Did you know that a majority of your fellow countrymen (average Americans) want the U.S. to withdraw from Iraq?
Do you really think a majority of Americans hate America? Logically, that's what you're saying.
Bring the troops home now! The enemy are in Washington, the Constitution is betrayed and our borders are wide open!
Posted by notblue at 12:44 PM : Jun 22, 2007
Solution? Maybe start thinking your problems are not such a big deal. You can launch all the nukes at once and the rest of the universe will carry on just fine with out you, Iraq, or the United States. God made this huge powerful universe and let you experience it, and you are nothing but ignorant unappreciative arse holes. Did you ever notice how much Iraqis look like Americans or them notice how much Americans look like them? One has twelve arms or something? Defeatists...lol. You are all idiots!
Iraqi refugees choose Syria instead of the USA for thier choice of destination.. So not even the majority of them agree with you.
Posted by notblue at 01:09 PM : Jun 22, 2007
It's not in CHAOS right now, there, Maxwell Smart?
That "chaos" was the plan from the beginning, as was the permanent occupation. The fourteen permanent bases weren't built for nothing...the calls by Americans to the Shi'ia in Baghdad to loot and burn public buildings weren't for bringing democracy to Iraq...like the dismissal of the police and army by Bremer, it was to create the very chaos that is now used to justify the continued occupation.
US forces cannot be totally withdrawn because the US is responsible for reconstructing Iraq. Which means US personnel will have to be in Iraq to oversee the reconstruction.
Which means US forces will be required to protect them in extreme emergencies. However, there is no reason to have thousands of combat troops in Iraq waging war on Iraqis. They should be there for the sole and exclusive purpose of protecting other US personnel, most of whom will be civilians, overseeing the billions of dollars US taxpayers will be spending to rebuild all we have damaged or destroyed.
In no case should US forces be playing Barney Fife in Iraq or Afghanistan.
Posted by j-whitman at 01:17 PM : Jun 22, 2007
Can over 70 percent of you yo-yos vote and change the orbit of Jupiter too? It's God's universe not you and your whole stupid society. It's 10 commandments not any percent of any of you.
When the Repubs finally sign on to a timetable, you have to refer to them all as surrender monkeys. Get ready, because it's coming.
The money to rebuild Iraq must be taken from the Oligarchy that is responsible for this bloody farce. It is not simply a matter of ending the war in Iraq--it is bringing to justice those reponsible for it and making them pay for it with what they love most--their money.
If they don't wear uniforms or identification, how can U.S. military bombers tell that these men were 'al Qaeda'? They can't, because they were not.
The 'al-Qaeda-in-Iraq' group is a complete fiction, as far as I can tell. We can be fairly certain that these murdered Iraqis were either civilians, and/or freedom fighters.
The Bush regime has resorted to sending our soldiers on an idiotic ghost hunt, in order to manufacture a reason for continued U.S. occupation of Iraq, and to keep the American public stupid and misinformed.
Ideologically, I agree with most of what you claim.
But, we live in the real world and in the real world, US personnel will be in Iraq for the foreseeable future. It is appropriate to use the military to protect US government personnel.
Halliburton, ExxonMobil, the GOP, et al should be indicted as criminal enterprises (RICO statutes), but that won't happen in my lifetime, so it is pointless to expect that to happen, or advocate that position.
DARE TO DREAM, 'tuckerndfw,! DARE TO DREAM, MY FRIEND!
More like, keep hallucinating......my friend.
"It's like jelly in a sandwich %u2014 it squirts when you squeeze it," Parke said. "We're fooling ourselves if we think we can hold them in."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070622/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq
Boy have I heard this story before.
The Iraqis have clearly had enough Bush regime style 'liberation'.
Get out of Iraq!
www.ipetitions.com/petition/OutNow
DARE TO DREAM, 'tuckerndfw,! DARE TO DREAM, MY FRIEND!
Posted by FeelFree1 at 01:50 PM : Jun 22, 2007
I have my dreams, but reality keeps interfering with them.
When average Americans do what global corporations and political parties do, we prosecute them and put them in prison for a very long time.
Although I do not support John Edwards, his comment about "two Americas" is more or less correct.
Those in power are exempt from prosecution until their gang loses power, after which, they become "criminals." (see Enron's history for an example and details)
But, it's just human nature and the way it has always been and always will be.
Not surprising, since they seem to be chasing non-existant 'al Qaeda' phantoms in Iraq. Better call Ghost Busters for backup!
The war will continue.
We have no right to be in Iraq. We have no right to ask our military to continue an unjust and unconstitutional war. If we accept the "real world" of continued occupation, then we abandon the justness of our cause and accept the goal of the vile, lying Neo-cons.
You bunch of candyassed bedwetting libs are just too much. For the first time I can remeber, CBS actually posts some PRO AMERICA news, and you you can do is whine lie little girls about Halliburton and ExxonMobil. Boo-Hoo-Hoo!!!!
So who tipped them off? That is the question that should come immediately to mind.
Re: "So who tipped them off? That is the question that should come immediately to mind."
What's more, who did the head-count as they were leaving, and how did they determine that they were 'al-Qaeda'?
Ridiculous!
What's the matter, run out of "blame Bill Clinton" takes? Talk about bedwetters. Bill Clinton, George Soros, moveon.org, back to Bill Clinton. The standard neocon lineup for diverting criticism.
The most important part of this story is that 75% (how they pulled that number out of their butt, I don't know) slipped away and disappeared. More whack-a-mole. Bush has been playing this for 4+ years. What's a little more failure when it comes to our soldiers lives, right? Stay the course.
Last Throes: Year 3
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