BAGHDAD, Jan. 10, 2008
Massive U.S. Airstrike Hits Baghdad
40,000 Pounds Of Bombs Dropped In Just 10 Minutes Targeting Al Qaeda Safehavens
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Operation Marne Thunderbolt
"Operation Marne Thunderbolt" is the U.S. military's biggest air strike in more than a year, targeting Al-Qaeda south of Baghdad. Mark Strassmann reports from the frontline.
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Forecast For Iraq
Violence in Iraq has fallen by nearly 60 percent since the U.S. troop surge. "The Early Show" Foreign Policy Analyst Michael O'Hanlon speaks with Russ Mitchell about this recent decline.
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A U.S. army soldier from Ghostrider Company, 3rd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment runs through smoke generated by a grenade during Operation Phantom Phoenix in the village of Abu Musa on the northern outskirts of Muqdadiyah, in the volatile Diyala province, about 60 miles north of Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Jan. 10, 2008. (AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic)
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CBS News correspondent Mark Strassmann was on the frontlines with the U.S. troops.He watched in real time from a tactical operation center as the bombs fell in what's called "Operation Marne Thunderbolt."
It's the Third Infantry Division's assault against al Qaeda targets south of Baghdad, part of a nationwide U.S. offensive that began this week, Strassmann reports.
The mighty barrage - recalling the Pentagon's "shock and awe" raids during the 2003 invasion - appeared to mark a significant escalation in a countrywide offensive launched this week to try to cripple remaining insurgent strongholds.
But it also fits into the endgame strategy of last year's U.S. troop buildup, which seeks to regain control of Baghdad and surrounding areas as a buffer zone for the capital. U.S. commanders are now attempting to subdue the last insurgent footholds around Baghdad before the Pentagon faces a possible reduction in troop strength.
Hours after the massive bombs fell, U.S. soldiers set foot in tough terrain outside Baghdad, an area where they haven't gone in a year.
"The air strikes we saw today were about one kilometer from here," said Lt. Col. Mark Solomon.
Strassmann asked him: "From where we are, how much further until we get into dicey territory?"
"About 100 meters," Solomon said.
The area's now secured, but it's not safe. When you walk around, it's only in the Bradley tank tracks, or the humvee tire tracks, Strassmann reports. Anywhere else could be right on top of pressure-plate IEDs - a minefield left behind by insurgents.
Some of the additional 30,000 troops have been pulled out and the remainder are expected to depart by June, military officials have told The Associated Press. With insurgents still holding pockets south of the capital in the north - including areas around the key northern city of Mosul - the military apparently wants to take the remaining four months or so to use the expanded military muscle against al Qaeda.
After Thursday's fierce airstrikes, U.S. and Iraqi soldiers advanced through smoldering citrus groves into areas that were considered important al Qaeda enclaves around Arab Jabour, southeast of Baghdad. An Iraq officer said the soldiers discovered two houses used to torture kidnap victims and arrested at least 12 suspected insurgents.
Little initial resistance was reported. At least nine American soldiers were killed since the offensive began Tuesday - the deadliest days for American forces since last fall.
In the farming village of Zambaraniyah, on the outskirts of Arab Jabour about nine miles southeast of the capital, scenes of neglect and devastation were testimony to years of fighting between militants and U.S. and Iraqi troops. Most of the land is torched or left fallow along small roads that were once laced with booby traps and bombs. Fields are strewn with trash and the blackened hulks of cars. Many buildings are pockmarked by gunfire, and most homes are Maj. Alayne Conway, a spokeswoman for troops in central Iraq, said the amount of ordnance dropped in 10 minutes nearly exceeded what had been used in that region in any month since last June.
Conway said the air attack "was one of the largest airstrikes since the onset of the war" in March 2003.
A military statement said two B-1 bombers and four F-16 fighters hit 40 targets in Arab Jabour in 10 strikes. Al Qaeda fighters are believed to control Arab Jabour, a Sunni district lined with citrus groves.
"Thirty-eight bombs were dropped within the first 10 minutes, with a total tonnage of 40,000 pounds," the statement said.
The Iraqi army officer, whose unit is in the Arab Jabour area, said the airstrikes began at 8 a.m. and set several groves ablaze and destroyed two houses used by gunmen. He said soldiers confiscated documents and weapons including AK-47s.
The army officer spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. But Sheik Mahmoud Kamil Shebib, a local Sunni leader who has turned against al-Qaida in Iraq, independently gave a similar account.
Moahmoud Chiad, who lives on the edge of Arab Jabour, said he was surprised to see many U.S.-Iraqi checkpoints with Iraqi security forces. The Iraqis used loudspeakers to order residents to stay home.
"After this, we saw U.S. helicopters hovering over the area while the sounds of jet fighters were also heard," he said. "Minutes later, there was the sounds of big explosions. We saw fire and smoke coming out from some groves. Then, the gunfire crackled in the groves, but it ended by noon."
"This is about as far as our offensive has come to at this point," U.S. Army Lt. Col. Mark Solomon told a small group of reporters on a six-hour tour.
In other developments:
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See all 312 Comments"40,000 Pounds Of Bombs Dropped In Just 10 Minutes Targeting Al Qaeda Safehavens"
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"Al-Qaeda-in-Iraq" is a make believe entity.
We are slaughtering the people of Iraq.
God help us.
Why not 100,000?
The time for taking off the kid gloves is long overdue.
The only good Moslem is a dead Moslem.
The United States military just committed instantaneous genocide against an entire population.
The Little Boy nuclear weapon dropped on Hiroshima had a maximum yield of 15 kilotons, or 30,000 pounds of dynamite.
Our military just dropped 40,000 pounds of much higher yield explosives on an entire population in 10 minutes to exterminate them.
The shock waves themselves, depending upon their frequency and amplitude, will have killed many thousands, many miles away from any intended target.
And it will be many years before we know just how many thousands of innocent civilians we just murdered.
The world now lives in utter fear and terror of America, the only country to proudly, boldly, and regularly use weapons of mass destruction against any people it desires.
On a whim.
ST
"We became evil to fight evil, assuring its victory."
SearingTruth
A Future of the Brave - www.searingtruth.com
I see it as another glorious nail in America''s victorious coffin, Jerry O''Mara.
beehive21
Astonishing.
ST
"An eye for an eye.
So all were blind."
SearingTruth
"The victims of 9/11 did not die so America could forsake its heritage and humanity."
SearingTruth
"Slaughtering the innocent never brought back our dead."
SearingTruth
A Future of the Brave - www.searingtruth.com
"Al Qaeda-in-Iraq is a make believe entity"
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It is ashame that someone might read what you have typed. You are simply ignorant if you believe that AQI is not real.
We finally found the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
And Americans are the only ones wielding them.
Against masses of innocent citizens.
ST
"We have become the enemy we fought."
SearingTruth
A Future of the Brave - www.searingtruth.com
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Posted by ArmySGT1 at 06:33 AM : Jan 10, 2008
+ report abuse
Why do you fascist always attack people you don''t agree with? The poster has some REAL points there, if you agree or not isn''t the point. What the LIAR in Chief call''s Al Queda in Iraq and the Al Queda that attacked us are TWO seperate things indeed. When we Attacked this nation there was NO Al Queda to speak of and certainly not the level we face today. The Resistence in that Nation to American Occupation especially the Sunni Arabs, formed into a group and associated themselves with Al Queda. Sieg Heil Bush!!
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Posted by beehive21 at 06:15 AM : Jan 10, 2008
+ report abuse
REALLY? How many of those that Attacked the WTC were from Iraq? You Fascist Bigots have and will always be this stupid... "They''re all the same" to you freaks huh? I doubt you will ever win with that approach. Now go put away your hood and sheet but before you go, let''s give that skin head salute! READY?!? SIEG HEIL Bush!!
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Posted by usakora at 06:31 AM : Jan 10, 2008
+ report abuse
Hate to pop your bubble there Sparky but the Enemy that attacked us isn''t where the bombs are falling. THEY are in another country. Dispite the LIE of that piece of trash you bootlickers keep calling a President, He will not go after them in that country either so we bomb these poor people instead. Oh! In case you haven''t noticed? Pakistan ACTUALLY does have Nuke''s and it''s getting closer by the minute to breaking out into a war there as well. Sieg Heil Bush!!
Bush grows ever more profane, as he knows now that no one will stop him, and the fact that this is the most unpopular war in the history of the US means nothing to him, as he will never be held accountable.
MCVet,
There you go again with your equally ignorant response. Your response has nothing to do with what I was speaking about. Feelfree1 wrote that %u201CAQI is a make believe entity%u201D. The writer did not say where they came from, where they are, what they do, who started them, or what religion they are. He said they %u201CAQI is a make believe entity%u201D.
Please remember that I always get a laugh when I read the news and see your comments. It must be nice to have as much free time as you do, because it appears you spend much of your day online making comments about issues that you know nothing about.
It was almost instantaneously destroyed by 20 kilotons of high explosives dropped by the US military in 10 minutes.
5 kilotons more than the nuclear weapon dropped on Hiroshima.
At this time no one knows how many of its population of 120,000 men, women, and children, were murdered by America.
On a whim.
But don''t worry, we found the WMDs.
We have them. And will use them whenever, and against whomever, we wish.
ST
"Predators are defined by the weakest of their victims."
SearingTruth
A Future of the Brave - www.searingtruth.com
It was almost instantaneously destroyed by 20 kilotons of high explosives dropped by the US military in 10 minutes.
At this time no one knows how many of its population of 120,000 men, women, and children, were murdered by America.
On a whim.
Posted by SearingTruth at 06:59 AM
SearingStupid - you may hate America, but nobody is asking you to stay here. Please leave immediately. You say we dropped bombs ''on a whim'' and we ''murdered'' their population. Are you really that stupid? Arab Jabour was a safe haven for Al Queda - and now it no longer is. Arab Jabour was a place where Al Queda had the ability to regroup and plan attacks to kill our hero soldiers - and now it is no longer. Face it - Al Queda is on the run, and they will keep trying to regroup, and we will keep pursuing them until Iraq is safe and free of terrorism.
You liberal Democrats always have this mentality of ''blame America first'' -- you want to say we are the evil-doers, we are the ones who ''murder'' and we are the ones who ''kill in cold blood'' (John Murtha) and we are the ones who ''terrorize Iraqi women and children in the cold of night'' (John Kerry).
Instead of hating America and wishing we would just be nicer to the terrorists, why not support our military? Why not rejoice when they destroy our enemies?
The way I see it, we either kill Al Queda or they kill us. When we kill them, you liberals can call our troops murderers -- I will call them heroes.
Seriously.
Who''s the biggest coward.
Ask yourself.
I thought the Bhutto killing was a cowardice act.
Is this worse?
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,233178,00.html
Since they aren''t standing up, is there any political progress yet either? No.
It''s too bad we can''t ask the 9 men we recently lost over there if they thought the insurgency was in it''s last throes.
Let us examine, first, Bush lied about WMDs, then about yellowcake, next, he said that the Iraqis would "welcome the liberators" then the 100 days lie, then about January 10 lie, then there was the "mission accomplished" BS, followed by the June 30 deadline, which got pushed back to August, then it became "wait for the betray-us report, in late September, then it became, 2009, now they talk of permanent bases...
Boy, you must really worship Bush, I don''t think you should trust your own wife if she lied to you that many times.
At this point, it looks like the fact that the Iraqis have never attacked us means nothing to you, you just enjoy the thought of killing innocent people, maybe you even wish you had the stones to do some of it yourself...
Instead of hating America and wishing we would just be nicer to the terrorists, why not support our military? Why not rejoice when they destroy our enemies?
The way I see it, we either kill Al Queda or they kill us. When we kill them, you liberals can call our troops murderers -- I will call them heroes.
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Posted by bobmarisol at 07:15 AM : Jan 10, 2008
+ report abuse
Have you been living on another PLANET? Iraq WAS NOT a threat to this nation when Bush attacked it. Iraq DID NOT have any weapons to us against us PERIOD!! It was a lie!! The Enemy? The people who ordered the attack against this nation are NOT in Iraq. You fascist have got to stop with this "I''m superior" so let''s ignore the facts or we will continue to loose this fight. The Enemy has completely rebuilt USING Iraq to recruit. They are in the Mountains of PAKISTAN and are attacking there as we speak. Pakistan, unlike Iraq, ACTUALLY does have nukes. Put down the Swastika, you are NOT superior!! Sieg Heil Bush!!
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Posted by bobmarisol at 07:54 AM : Jan 10, 2008
+ report abuse
Sir I defy you to find me ONE, just ONE, independent Political Scientist Professor who does NOT agree that YOU are a fascist. IT''s not name calling it''s FACT. Sieg Heil Bush!!
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Posted by MCVet at 07:56 AM : Jan 10, 2008
+ report abuse
Yep Sarge is on the mark here. A fascist is someone who puts everyone who will not agree to the Party Line in a box and target them with hatred. To this man it''s "liberal''s". Now of course everyone on this board is not a "liberal" as defined in the dictionary but that never matters to a fascist. Then they attack the messenger, the person raising the issue. The purpose of that, as defined by the Third Reich in Germany, is you do NOT want to discuss issues with them for in doing so you may find yourself in agreement on some points. THAT defeats the Superior Nature of the Parties Views. To this poster anyone who does not follow Bush and his Administration and ignore ALL the failures of that Administration, they aren''t American. After WW II many could not understand why German''s went all the way to the Bunker with Hitler. Later studies revealed that it was the lack of opinions in that society leading up to that even. They were brought up to believe that if it was the German Governments View it could not be wrong.
The West has made it a sport to kill Muslims since before nine eleven. Remember operation kill ***. The US has killed more Iraqis than Holaco would have dreamt to do, yet the US president is in a trip to bring peace to the region.
The president trip to the Middle East will not bring peace to the region. As the Arabic proverb goes:
%u0641%u0627%u0642%u062F %u0627%u0644%u0634%u064A%u0621 %u0644%u0627 %u064A%u0639%u0637%u064A%u0647
Or "if you do not have it, you can pass it on"
The question remains: How many Arab and Muslim countries will the West destroy and try to destroy for the sake of oil and for the sake of five million illegal settlers.
http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/
http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/
Posted by MCVet at 07:54 AM
MCRETARD - you say Iraq had no weapons - you are wrong. We did not find nuclear weapons, but we did find hundreds of chemical weapons that could (and did) kill thousands of people instantaneously. Did you want one of those dropped over here? You say that there is nobody in Iraq that planned 9/11 - did you forget that Al Queda is in Iraq? Al Queda attacked us, so what are you talking about? They are in Iraq, they are trying to establish a terrorist nation there, and we will stop them, whether or not you liberal Democrats like it.
You say Al Queda is using Iraq to recruit new terrorists - fact is that 2/3 of Al Queda leadership has been killed or captured since 9/11, and no attacks have been made on our soil. We must be doing something right!
You want to attack Pakistan - fact is Pakistan and England have been our best allies in the war on terror. Pakistan has killed and/or captured over 700 individuals in Al Queda''s leadership.
You ''defy'' me to find a political scientist that agrees with me - fact is that I dont need to (although I could) since I have facts, and all you have is uneducated and uninformed liberal opinions.
Fascism, and I do not use the term lightly, is a governmental system characterized by an authoritarian, freedom-suppressing administration that exist for the benefit of a elite class of wealthy industrialists, and that uses its power to suppress dissent and resistance to the control of the country''s resources by those wealthy industrialists. For example, under German fascism, the industrialists such as Krupp, IG Farben, and the other German giants of the day were favored by governmental policies while a lockstep attitude among the populace was imposed by force--heavy gun control, suppression of alternative parties, and the like. Same with Italian fascism. German fascism was also characterized by other attributes such as white supremacy and anti-Jewish bigotry, but those are not necessary attributes of a fascist government.
Now, sir, what the f*ck do you know about anything?
"I''m still a little bit shocked by it all, but I''m gratified and glad that General Rowe saw it for what it really is," Jordan said. "I don''t know if any officer needed to be held accountable, but I obviously don''t believe it should have been me."
At one time, Jordan faced a potential sentence of 16 1/2 years in prison amid allegations of detainee abuse and failing to properly supervise soldiers who committed abuse. Early in the Abu Ghraib investigation, Jordan was identified by the military as a potentially major player in the case, but prosecutors were unable to link him to any of the photographs of abuse that depicted detainees in hoods, shackled in painful positions and stacked naked in human pyramids.
Jordan and his attorneys have long maintained his innocence and said that he was neither involved with aggressive interrogation policies, nor did he supervise the handful of low-ranking soldiers who have been convicted. Prosecutors had long suggested that the case be concluded as an administrative matter, but senior commanders ignored that advice and pushed ahead with a public court-martial.
"In light of the offense Lt. Col Jordan has been found guilty of committing, and the substantial evidence in mitigation presented at the trail and in post-trial matters submitted by defense counsel, Maj. Gen. Rowe determined that an administrative reprimand was a fair and appropriate disposition of the matter," Yonts said last night.
In a memo submitted to Rowe on Saturday, Jordan''s attorney wrote that a federal criminal conviction would be "unjust" and urged Rowe to reduce it to an administrative punishment.
"It was a long struggle, but in the end he was vindicated," said Maj. Kris Poppe, one of Jordan''s attorneys. "In the end, there was a recognition that this was a superb officer and leader and he did the best he could under the circumstances he was in and didn''t commit any crimes."
Jordan said yesterday that the Army "finally got it right" and that this will let him "move back on with my life."
(cont)
Maj. Gen. Richard J. Rowe, commanding general of the Military District of Washington, wrote a short letter to Jordan''s attorney on Tuesday night explaining that the criminal charge would be dismissed. "The finding of guilty and the sentence are disapproved," Rowe wrote. "The charges are dismissed."
Col. James Yonts, a spokesman for the Military District of Washington, said last night that Rowe has issued Jordan an administrative reprimand that clears Jordan of criminal responsibility but still questions his decision to disobey Fay''s order. Rowe''s action means that Jordan will have no record of a criminal conviction and will continue to serve as an active-duty officer at Fort Belvoir until his retirement.
(cont)
The real cowards of America are the Neoconscum who have put the chikenshit Darth Bushit regime in power. So many of these fascists are themselves draft dodgers and deserters, like George Bushit. They are the fat and safe crowd that is happy to let the Nigras and the Po-Boys do their fighting for them while they hide behind a rapidly conceived pregnancy (5-deferments Cheney), cower in the Texas Air Guard prior to deserting (Bushit), get their rich powerful daddy to certify them as a Mormon preacher man (Romney), and on and on for Rumsfeld, Sean Hannity, and the rest of the crowd.
The Neoconscum are the ones who spinelessly demand the repeal of the Bill of Rights so they can fuel their 6 mpg SUVs in fat comfort.
We all know who the real cowards are around here!
Army Officer Is Cleared in Abu Ghraib Scandal
By Josh White%u2028Washington Post Staff Writer%u2028Thursday, January 10, 2008; A06
The only Army officer charged with a crime as a result of the abuses at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq has been cleared of all criminal responsibility in the case after a general this week dismissed the one conviction against him and wiped away the sentence.
Lt. Col. Steven L. Jordan was convicted last year on one charge of disobeying an order when a jury found that he spoke to others about the Abu Ghraib investigation after he was ordered not to do so.
Though Jordan was exonerated at trial of any connection to the abuse of Iraqi detainees in 2003, he was issued a criminal reprimand for his failure to obey Maj. Gen. George Fay, who led the most significant investigation into the abuses after they were discovered.
(cont)
bobmarisol,
What I hear you saying is:
Iraq, weapons, nuclear weapons, chemical weapons, kill thousands of people instantaneously, Iraq, 9/11, Al Queda, Iraq, Al Queda, Iraq, terrorist, liberal Democrats, Al Queda, Iraq, terrorists, Al Queda, 9/11, attacks, soil, attack Pakistan, Al Queda'', liberal...
Does that about sum it up??
Collateral damage?--the US military "doesn''t do body counts".
And these heros whine and whimper because a few Iranian motorboats buzz U.S. nuke-equipped, cruise-missile armed warships. The ayatollahs may be vermin, but you must admire the nerve of the Iranian sailors on that one. They don''t fight a war like playing a video game with war-bots and remote kills.
Oh this is good. Out of the 600,000 dead people, they can only find enough people left who can attest to 151,000 deaths. Now that makes sense.
The Bush administration''s new propaganda against how they genocided the Iraqi people.
Posted by liberalssuc1
Excuse me?? It isn''t "liberals" that are cowering in their shoes over what might be.
%u201CAny society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both.%u201D
Benjamin Franklin
http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/
What I hear you saying is:
Iraq, weapons, nuclear weapons, chemical weapons, kill thousands of people instantaneously, Iraq, 9/11, Al Queda, Iraq, Al Queda, Iraq, terrorist, liberal Democrats, Al Queda, Iraq, terrorists, Al Queda, 9/11, attacks, soil, attack Pakistan, Al Queda'''', liberal...
Does that about sum it up??
Posted by FeelFree1
Feelfree1, you just condensed two hours of Rush Limbaugh''s show down to 5 lines.
On one hand we have suicide bombers defending their people''s right to exist, who willingly and instantly pay the ultimate price for the lives of the innocent people killed in their misdeeds.
On the other we have someone who sits behind a desk, orders the deaths of innocents for personal gain, calling those of the first part, who are defending themselves "terrorists", then tries every trick in the book, and some not even in the book, to avoid responsibility.
Thirdly we have those who support the one behind the desk, mainly because they themselves are not at risk, who enjoy the manifestation of nationalistic military might, and delight in the news of death and misery brought by their "side" onto the other on TV and the web.
Numbers two and three are cowards.
http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/
Now listen neo con, there were no WMD of any kind none what part of that don''t you understand. Of course they had them years ago remember the ones that we the Regan / Bush / and so on administration sold them.
Furthermore, for you idiots out there that can''t understand this either. This administration has kept a lie going that is completely false not even a shred of truth. The UN inspectors were in Iraq 3 days DID YOU GET THAT 3 DAYS before we bombed them back to the beginning of time. A lie is a lie and this type of lie that leads to even 1 death is murder nothing less.
Take you Rush and Bill and Anne and what ever else propaganda somewhere else. Maybe you can find a place where the sun doesn''t shine.
The boy who cried wolf.
So I take it you agree with the Bush approach, kill the innocent people who just happen to claim the same religion, leaving the alleged perpetrators to remain untouched, and able do TV every so often? To steal trillions of dollars from the country''s future and jack it into the pockets of his "associates"?
http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/
http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/
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