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US Army Major Carter Price meets with Brigadier General Sameed, the commander of the 22nd Battalion, 6th Iraqi Army Division, at the Office of the Martyr Sadr in the Shula neighborhood of northern Gazaliyah in Baghdad on May 15, 2008. The Office of the Martyr Sadr build was taken over by the Iraqi Army after the Mahdi Army used it to conduct and direct attacks. (US Army photo / Specialist Charles W. Gill) |
Less than one week after pushing into the northern two-thirds of Sadr City from the walled southern neighborhoods, the Iraqi Army is uncovering substantial weapons caches in the Mahdi Army stronghold. Iraqi and Coalition forces continue to press against the Mahdi Army in Baghdad as the New Baghdad district begins to heat up.
The Iraqi Army raided numerous Mahdi Army weapons caches in Sadr City May 22-23, Multinational Forces Iraq reported. The Mahdi Army has stockpiled weapons throughout the district. Eight of the armor-piercing, Iranian-made explosively formed projectiles have been found along with chlorine poison, eight roadside bombs, and large quantities of explosives, weapons, ammunition, and materials used to make bombs.
Iraqi troops raided a school in Sadr City on May 23 and uncovered a substantial weapons cache. “Two bottles of chlorine poison” were found along with a remote-controlled improvised explosive device, six 155 mm artillery rounds, an artillery warhead, five grenades, two PKC light machine guns and 450 rounds of PKC ammunition, a Katusha rocket launcher, and radios used to remotely detonate roadside bombs.
The largest cache was found by Iraqi soldiers on May 22. The cache consisted of “one explosively formed projectile; one homemade mine; more than 2000 7.62 mm rounds; 393 5.56 mm rounds; one 80 mm rocket-propelled grenade; RPG launchers, warheads and tails; one cannon ball; grenades; spools of wire; blasting caps; AK- 47 rifles; AK-47 and M-16 magazines; two body armor vests; a Kevlar helmet; two radios; and other assorted military equipment.”
Another significant cache seized by Iraqi troops on May 22 contained “seven explosively formed projectiles, five 60 mm mortar rounds, more than a dozen RPGs, hand grenades, a mortar sight, a BKC machine gun and 1,200 BKC rounds, a Kalashnikov rifle and five Kalashnikov magazines, igniters, indicators, command wire, charges, detonators, eight radios and four battery chargers.” A host of smaller caches were found and destroyed.
There has been no fighting reported in Sadr City over the past several days as the Iraqi Army takes up positions in strategic areas around Sadr City. On May 23, the Sadrist movement claimed the Iraqi Army was violating the truce and assaulting and mistreating Iraqis during clearing operations in Sadr City. The Associated Press repeated the claims of Mohannad al Gharawi, who is portrayed as a neutral person sent to Sadr City to monitor the truce. But Gharawi is in fact a senior member of the Sadrist movement.
Raids continue outside Sadr City
As the Iraqi security forces continue to work to secure Sadr City, US and Iraqi forces are pressuring the Mahdi Army in greater Baghdad and beyond. The Sadrist movement has accused the Iraqi military of rounding up more than 400 people during raids in the Amil and Bayaa neighborhoods in southwestern Baghdad.
Brigadier General Qassim Atta confirmed operations were conducted in these neighborhoods but did not indicate how many were detained. The Iraqi Army “arrested wanted suspects and seized several caches of arms and explosives,” Atta said.
Other operations and raids have been carried out in Baghdad over the past several days. Iraqi National Police detained four Mahdi Army fighters in New Baghdad on May 22 and uncovered a weapons cache. A brother of one of the detainees possessed an Iranian passport. On May 23, US troops killed five Mahdi Army fighters in the Shawra area of New Baghdad.
Multiple Mahdi Army weapons caches have been found outside of Sadr City, many of which included Iranian-made weapons. Iraqi troops found four explosively formed projectiles in a large weapons cache in the Bayaa area of the Rashid district on May 22. US troops found another EFP along with RPGs and other weapons the Diyala area of New Baghdad on May 23.
US troops found a large cache that contained “approximately 30 60 mm Iranian mortars with a manufacturing date of 2007,” and other mortars, tubes and bomb-making materials in the Kadamiyah district on May 23. On May 24, US soldiers found an Iranian-made 107 mm rocket in a cache that included 180 mortar rounds.
Outside of Baghdad, US and Iraqi troops captured five Mahdi Army operatives in separate operations. Iraqi Special Operations Forces captured a Special Groups financier and weapons smuggler in Az Zubayr, just north of Basrah on May 21. The operative smuggled weapons from Iran into Iraq.
Coalition Special Operations Forces captured four Special Groups operatives in Rashadiyah on May 23. The target was a “Special Groups weapons smuggler accused of bringing explosively-formed penetrators, rockets and other weapons into Diyala Province from Iran” who was also “responsible for multiple attacks on Iraqi Security and Coalition forces using EFPs, rocket-propelled grenades and sniper fire in the Husayniyah area.”
29 Comments
The dismantling continues….
Pressure is being applied on many fronts, after the “cease-fire” was signed, the IA continues to conduct meaningful operations and degrade the Mahdi Armies capability. This is refreshing news, although it wont get reported.
The dominant narrative at the MSM press is that the Mahdi Army has gone underground to strengthen and come back another day to claim its rights.
Every time a Sadrist commander cries of “unleashing the fires of hell”, the MSM press is more than happy to echo that and claim one more time the powerlessness of the IA and the US forces.
Of course once it becomes abundantly clear that Mahdi is finished for good, the MSM will rechannel the narrative and this time put the credit to the IA, and amplify any disagreement between the IA and the US army – and will claim the US is preventing the IA from acting independently.
The postcolonial narrative has to come back against the US somehow. It does not matter who is opposing the US, whether the US is winning or losing, or if Iraqis gain security at long last.
What matters is that the US is always at fault and must appear defeated, if not defeated. The rest is just incidental to the narrative.
Hemidreza,
“The dominant narrative at the MSM press is that the Mahdi Army has gone underground to strengthen and come back another day to claim its rights.”
So I see that we are deep in Sadr City proper now. How much of the district is under control now? Are there any hot spots left in Baghdad province?
It is seeming like short of an Iranian armored push, things are becoming very sustainable.
Bill – Thanks for the invaluable coverage of Iraq for the past many years. Looks like the work is now coming to fruition at long last.
If you don’t mind I would like to add that your role in this conflict – to bring a truly informed and supportive angle to the conflict has been immensely valuable at the home front, and in many respects is at par with the valiance we have seen from our Marines and troops – not to mention that it fills a gap in the information war that was so clearly missing.
And I would like to add that it was Bill Roggio who first noticed the “Awakening” phenomena in Iraq – back in March 2005 (yes, over 3 years ago) when he was reporting on the Marines assault on AQI in al-Qaim – the western end of the Euphrates in Anbar province.
It was here that we were first told of locals banding together and asking for US help to keep their community free of Al-Qaeda. Finally after 2.5 years of Bill’s first report, the Awakening movement has been noticed grudgingly by the postcolonial press.
Thanks again Bill for your service throughout the years.
Hamidreza
Neo, it can be called the great vanishing act by a collective 60,000 strong group.
The comeback theme gets developed everytime the Mahdi army rears its ugly head and is smacked – losing ground each time notwithstanding.
What bothers me is what qualities do these reporters and editors from NYT, McClatchy, Reuters, and AP see in a band of thugs that they lend so much credence to – and at the risk of endangering their professionalism.
In how many possible ways can one whitewash a group of religio-political thugs whose popularity among a small religio-ethnic minority, if any, can only be traced to the size of the guns and grenades they carry?
The Iranian ruling elite see their own future in the crystal ball of iraq and to how well Sadr or pro-Iranian Mahdi does in gaining power. Any fundamentalist and anti-western regime in Iraq, even one by anti-Shiite AQI or Wahhabis in Iraq would have been preferred to an open democracy, especially one backed up by the west. The existential threat to the Iranian regime is immense the way things are going. As you say, they have lost their footing – and wish to respond to failure by more adventurism – hence Hezbolla’s assault in Lebanon.
I agree with Neo, there are some media that want us to loose (and maybe they make too much noise for their size) but I’m guessing the bulk just don’t know what’s going on. Whether that’s from lack of critical analysis skills or just no understanding of history, I don’t know. Let’s hear it for DJ and Bill.
This is off topic but Monday is Memorial Day and maybe part of the problem is most people need to learn what it’s like to win a long hard war. Who’s left to say what it was like 1940-1944? I mean really tell us how hard it was. How much disagreement was there? How many people in 1940 said we can wait, this isn’t serious? Who’s to tell us you just have to hope the generals can figure it out? There were plenty of horrible days but were the good days any better than just hoping it will be over soon? And that in the end we have no choice, but rather an obligation, to do the right thing because no other country will?
Well, I’m going to go bring my flag in and give some thanks for those that gave their all.
Yes, to echo some of Hamidreza’s thoughts above, it seems the Iranians were compelled to take a big gamble in Lebanon in order to refurbish their image in the M.E. after their proxies in Iraq have taken such a beating. Nibras Kazimi over at Talisman Gate has some very interesting insights about Iran’s shifting strategy in Iraq and how it came to be that the shrewd Iranians have suffered such a set-back. Expect the Iranians to turn up the heat further in Lebanon in order to take public attention away from the growing stability and successes in Iraq. And, ironically enough, expect AQ to do the very same thing for the very same reason.
I would echo Neo’s comments about Iran as well with the amplification that Iran has been pursuing a hegemonic program in the M.E. since 1979. Short of regime change, nothing is going to stop the Iranians from fomenting the worst kinds of violence throughout the region.
It’s been a long hard five years in Iraq. I honor those who gave their lives and those who spilled blood on these battlefields this weekend.
Thank you, troops.
Speaking of biases. I think I will get off the bandwagon here. The views expressed about the media are a much too simplistic and tend toward gross overgeneralization. The mainstream media is hardly a monolithic force. Careful that we don’t create a prejudicial caricature of our own!
I might remind others that this isn’t exactly the best venue for venting general grievances about how the war is being covered. We have been over this subject before recently, so lets not get too carried away. I realize it’s the political season and a certain amount of this is inevitable.
Neo, of course that the leading press is not monolithic. But you are losing sight of the forest for its trees, branches, and leaves. Just to claim that some phenomena is not monolithic and that it contains cross currents and forces, is not a sufficient argument against the existence of mainstream dominating forces, at least in certain sectors of the media. All phenomena consist of first, secondary, tertiary, etc. moments. Lets not dwell on the secondaries, and fail to observe the first orders.
There are certain first order ideological moments that drive the actions of the leading media. It is no generalization crime in order to identify such moments.
For example, I can easily predict what Allisa Rubin or Hamza Hindawi will write in their next dispatch, despite the facts. Give me the facts, and I will predict you tomorrow’s headlines on the articles they write, in lieu of the facts. And I will assure you that a quantifiable bias does exist.
The predictive power of first order analysis cannot be dismissed merely by stating a phenomena is too complex for observation. Of course no empirical phenomena is fully predictive (no one can say that the sun will certainly rise tomorrow) and that is why the obsever should provide a statistical interval of confidence.
A complex phenomena such as how US actions in Iraq is reported by certain segments is a valid subject and quite interesting in its own rights as it does point to underlying often obscured first order moments that are more than particular, and do generally apply to some other phenomena. However must agree – as you say it is not the venue for this blog.
TS A. – AQ seems to already changed its tune due to failure of its onslaught in Iraq. Looks like the last two pronouncements put out by OBL fails to cover Iraq seriously and revisits Palestine/Israel.
Iran’s failure in Iraq is not total, but enough to propel it to push the nuclear angle more intensely and harden its position in Lebanon.
This makes it ever so important to bomb the nuclear production sites, including civilian Bushehr (which the Russians should like, as it means more contracts). Depending on the effectiveness of the strike, the Iranians may discontinue enrichment.
However, the ruling elite as a class will most probably get strengthened domestically due to the strike, and that is one reason enrichment for them is perceived to be a win-win proposition.
I don’t want to be in certain parts of Iran’s ruling elite at the moment. They will have a hard time explaining the failure. How the Iraqi failure plays out in Tehran and Qom can be the subject of some interesting PhD thesis!
Sorry but I think the MSM has lost all credibility in the way they have covered the war, particularly since Mid-March. First we got the story of the IA falling apart and being humiliated in Basra, and Iran graciously stepping in to broker a truce begged by Iraq. There was open ridicule of the IA and Maliki, and praise for the “restraint” shown by Iran and Mehdis in multiple stories along with this completely fictitious narrative.
This established a pattern that has held throughout April and May. Virtually every single story I have read from MSM sources has contained almost no acknowledgement of progress, and virtually parotted the Sadrist line — dead civilians, terrified civilians, unfair treatment of Mehdi troops complying with the cease fire to prevent bloodshed and on and on. Always the “spectre of doom” stories, with “growing fears”, “deepening concerns” and the like about the powerful Sadr going on the offensive. This culminated in the recent attempt to drive a wedge between the US and Sistani with the flimsy story about Sistani issuing edicts to kill US troops. Now we have AFP trying to pass off a Sadrist official as “the man” who was observing operations in Sadr City, implying he was neutral.
In my opinion most of the news we are getting out of the MSM is on the level of Tokyo Rose covering the Mariannas Campaign. Not only is it consistently antagonistic to US interests, it is often blatantly incorrect. This does not involve a “conspiracy” of some sort, but the fact that there is a congruence of antiwar/antiUS values in the rarified upper reaches of the news apparatus. Once a few major players set the theme, the rest fall into line. That’s human nature.
Let me again point out that US KIAs in Iraq/day in May 2008 are down over 500% compared to those in May 2007. Now someone find that story in a major news outlet please. I’m pretty sure you won’t.
Outstanding job as always from Mr. Roggio.When my nephew was in fallujah(marines) they expressed their disappointment in the news coverage of the clearing.I was getting my info from the milbloggrs.They were dead on on the reporting.So from 04-06 I depended on Bill and others to get the true story out of Fallujah.My nephew did 2 tours in fallujah and not once do I remmember MSM getting anything right..My nephew got out in 07,got married, graduates from college in aug.Well so we all thought;hes been recalled as his entire co.now they get a free trip to the mountains in Afghan.So thank you bill and I will be depending on your reporting once again.God Bless our fallen brothers,My prayers go out to all who serve this great country and their families.Semper Fi
DaMav – very well put sir. Completely agree with your comments, and thanks.
I think Irans role in Iraq must be counterbalanced by considering Iraqs influence in Iran. The next door birth of a majority Shite democracy that respects religious and ethnic minorities and is not under the boot of hardline religious leaders will be a major boost to the anti-mulla movement.
Also to keep in mind is that the ruling elite of Iran is not of a uniform mind. There are at least 4 major trends there, often at odds, and countless minor trends. I believe the Badr are supported by a trend that is different from those supporting the Special Groups or al-Sadr.
The Iraqi failure of Iran will get reflected in the domestic tug-of-war inside Iran. The counter-influence on Iranian minorities (Kurds, Azaris, Arabs, Lors, etc.) will actually be quite strong, and should be utilized by the US.
As economic production increases in Iraq, it will become less dependent on the Iranians.
My own feeling is that US should worry less about Iranian domestic hearts and minds, and show more of force and strength towards Iranians. That is, listen less to the CIA and the State, and more towards the military establishment. The first rule of foreign policy is that you have to speak from a position of strength. 30 years of dictatorship in Iran means that there is a huge potential Awakening in Iran ready to go. Civilian casualties must be minimized, but economic infrastructure (in particular electricity and petroleum facilities is fair game). Any damage to economic infrastructure will be blamed on Ahmadinejad first.
Attitudes and allegiances are quite fickle in the ME and it is wrong to think that a pinpoint strike on Iran will turn Iranians against the west.
Motown 12:09 pm
I was surprised by your comment that Iran supplies fuel to Iraq. I thought Iran lacked refineries and had to ration fuel. Do they actually send bulk shipments over the border from Iran?
DaMav at 6:51
You are absolutely spot on. The only thing you left out was their line that “tensions are growing” even when the fighting in an area is over and life is returning to near normal. I do not buy into any MSM story until I see some independent attestation to it elsewhere.
We need to get more traffic to LWJ to get a broader set of information out there.
Motown67 – China is more than happy to sell directly to the Iraqis, and the Iranian middleman will be cut out. That is the first rule of free markets.
Protectionism is a hugely bad idea as it will create a monster of corruption, racketeering, freeloading, bureaucracy, and smuggling which is going to eat at the democratic fabric.
Iran has a shortage of petroleum products. There is so much that it can send to Iraq, when Iraq’s per capita oil reserves are 3 times that of Iran. Iraq needs time to increase production and it will have far more petroleum products that it knows what to do with it. I cannot believe that Iran is officially sending oil to Iraq at subsidized prices. It must just be a case of smuggling, and it can easily be interdicted.
Iraqi production can be strictly in the oil and energy sectors. Iraqis dont need to compete with China. Besides, most production/services are inherently local, and cannot be supplied by Iran or China.
Iran’s pull with the Iraqi Shiites is quite limited and has passed the days where they could nurture an opposition (to Saddam, or to the Americans). With a democratic Iraq that is economically prosperous, there is little room for Iranian non-mercinary machinations. That is the central reason why Iran wants instability and strife in Iraq at any cost – including having an AQI government. In fact Iranians were arming AQI in Iraq and indirectly killin Shiites – even though AQI is sworn to fight Shiites. The Askari mosque bombing and Baqir Hakim assassination were certainly the work of Qods.
Hamidreza, Perhaps you need to distinguish between oil and refined gasoline so that you last post will be clear.
as far as media coverage is concerned, it is as biased towards a negative perception as possible. while not monolithic, they are jealous of both their reps and prestige.
my brother was back on leave from iraq two Easter’s ago. he was absolutely stunned by the coverage in the stateside media. he was convinced that the mischaracterization of events was intentional.
i can’t remember the name of the hotel now, but there is one in Baghdad where all the reporters hang out. he said they all would congregate there, get drunk and exchange ideas and agree on whatever the new meme was to be. he frequented the place too and constantly invited those he talked with to accompany him on his patrols. none ever accepted.
he said as a general rule, the smaller the organization the more open the individual would be to listen to him. the larger the organization the more condescending.
he said as a general rule, the smaller the organization the more open the individual would be to listen to him. the larger the organization the more condescending.
bubarooni, Very interesting. The smaller organization is more entrepreneurial and knows that pulling wool over the reader’s eyes will come back to bite him.
The larger ones have some monopoly power on their locality or in the market, so they are at more liberty to inject bias into the feed and manipulate it for their own ideological or opportunistic ends.
The internet will work against these larger entities most effectively. No wonder the NYT is losing readership fast and firing its journalists.
Whether this would be corrective, I tend to doubt. I think a biased entity is unable to see its own bias and will have to become irrelevant. Self-correction is not so easy.
motown67 – items like building material, furniture, and food are items that a locality has a comparative advantage. Shipping and distribution, and production costs is always lower in a locality for such items.
Then there is cost of labor. Iran runs a socialistic system where labor costs are actually quite high (fed by a huge oil-based bureaucracy), and the quality of products are dismal. The Iraqis have a huge advantage here in labor costs.
So I am not worried about foreign competition in production, especially from Iran. Then there is the service industry which can only be done locally and Iranians have no role.
Finally, if Iraq produces 6 mbd of oil, which it easily can do in a secure environment, and the government agrees to set aside 1/3 of the revenue as direct royalty payment to Iraqi families – then each Iraqi family will receive $20,000 a year in such royalties. This will wipe out destitution and provide a secure source of income and spur investment.
The issue is not whether Iraq has resources. It does. The issue is corruption and freeloading such as rentiership which is endemic to the culture of that part of the world.
In a free trade situation, Iran knows that its trading interest with Iraq does not easily translate into control. If Iran tries to pull strings via its trades, then it will only encourage Iraqi competition to its exports.
$2b of Iranian goods export to Iraq is relatively peanuts. Iraq is making $100b in oil and that will be ramped up to $200b a year in the near future.
Take air conditioners for example which Iranians may have an edge. The demand for them is so huge in a prosperous Iraq, that even Iran cannot satisfy that demand. There will always be a vibrant local industry if production is encouraged and the bureaucracy and the freeloaders, such as the monopolizing militia, do not parasite on that.
Thanks Motown
I guess those people calling for a gasoline embargo of Iran as a sanction may have to think about Iraq’s dependence on them.
Good discussion. How nice the problems are moving towards the economy and away from security….
Iraq’s highest production ever was 3.5mbd, it’s currently improved to back to around 2.4 just about where it was prior to march 2003 (2.5\2.6). Getting to 6mbd is certainly possible given the reserves, however getting there any time soon is not realistic, it will take many years of continued investment both in oil and electric infrastructure not to mention security to get to and maintain a level of 6mbd, or even numbers above it’s prior records in my opinion.
motown,
“I’m not sure your average Iranian sees Iraq as a possible model. I would think they’d see a country still in a lot of chaos with a lot of American soldiers keeping it together.”
Im not sure thats true, especially now with violence down so much. Plus which, many areas of Iraq never experienced much violence, particularly the Kurdish region which has a lot of ties to Iran. Many Iranians probly know that much of the violence in Iraq is due to meddling by their own hated theocracy and not Iraqs new democratic system. If you were an Iranian sick of the weak economy and 30 years of theocratic dictatorship the democracy of Iraq might look very good. Young Iranians are increasingly pro western and the US troops in Iraq might be a plus for them.
I predict a large exodus of Iranian dissidents to Iran in the future and the growth of a Iranian democracy movement in Iraq.
“The Associated Press repeated the claims of Mohannad al Gharawi, who is portrayed as a neutral person sent to Sadr City to monitor the truce.”
I love the arrogant liberal press. What business does an alledged neutral person have involving themselves in any way in the conduct of the legitimately elected government of Iraq in enforcing the laws of its country and asserting its right as the only legal authority to do so. And who maintains they have the right or authority to “send” a “neutral” person anyway. It would seem that AP thinks that free-lance militias have a legitimate claim to asserting their rule over Iraqi communities.