The Coalition effort to interdict, deny and destroy the insurgent’s capabilities in the Western regions of Iraq bordering Syria is dubbed Operation Matador. Colonel Bob Chase, the chief of operations for the Second Marine Division, reports that insurgents are standing their ground and fighting, and all the better:
“When we get there, they are deciding to fight, and as such they are dying As marines we’d rather engage them that way than through an I.E.D The enemy honestly felt that they had a sense of security up there It had been a safe haven, and a lot of folks up there were former Baathists. Now it is no longer a safe haven, and it will never be a safe haven again We are going to continue this for a number of days The objective is to totally disrupt the safe havens and rat lines that have allowed them to bring those materials across the border. This had been a very secure area for the insurgents.”
The importance of these enemy strongholds leaves the insurgents little choice but to stand and fight, as this is the rear area and critical supply line of the insurgency, without which their effectiveness would be diminished.
Operation Matador in the Western desert is the natural progression of operations designed to sweep through Iraq to engage the insurgency region by region. The operations began late last summer in the Southern Shiites areas surrounding Najaf, then moved to Fallujah and the Sunni Triangle in the fall, and to Mosul in the North, the Triangle of Death south of Baghdad and along the Euphrates River west of Baghdad throughout the winter.
As the regions obtain a measure of Coalition presence and the Iraqi government takes greater responsibility for security, the next logical step is to cut off the flow of weapons, finances and fighters from outside the country. A focus is shifting to secure the borders with Iraqi border guards:
Hoping to clamp down on the smuggling of people and weapons, the United States is paying for the rebuilding of 190 Iraqi border forts, including 58 already completed, according to American officials involved in training new Iraqi forces.
A senior American commander familiar with the border situation said effective control of infiltration by foreign fighters was still “some months away.” But he added that border control was crucial to Iraq’s security because foreign fighters were believed to make up a large percentage of suicide bombers. “It’s not Iraqis who are blowing themselves up,” he said.
Arthur Chrenkoff reports that the appointment of a Sunni as Minister of Defense has caused the “dam to break” , and Sunnis are now flocking to join the military:
“Iraqi Arab Sunnis started heading for the army enlisting centers to join the new Iraqi Army. This was evident by the long lines and large crowds of young men outside these centers in the largely Sunni area of Baghdad. This is the main reason for the increase in the terrorist activities in and around these centers
Ahmend Mahmud, age 30, from Aathamiah came to the enlisting office to join the new Iraqi military. “I came because I desire to join in protecting the peace and my country,” he said. Adnan Hussein from Meqdadieh who was in the old Army said; “Since the fall of the old regime I had no employment to feed my kids, thus I decided to join the new military, which pays a decent wage, and I heard a number of (Sunni) religious leaders call for us to join the new army”. Luaai Ahmed from Aathamiah said, “I voluntarily enlisted in the new military because I wanted to and upon advise from my relatives”.
We are seeing the evolution of progress in Iraq: persistent military operations to destroy the enemy and his capabilities; political wrangling between the Iraqi parties to create a unified and inclusive government; attempts to split the Sunnis from the insurgency; improved capabilities of the Iraqi security services; participation of the Iraqi people with fighting the insurgency and joining the military; and the direct engagements with al Qaeda in their self declared homelands. The fight is far from over and even further from being lost, but the terrorists will only become more desperate as their prospects for victory diminishes.
Also Read:
Belmont Club has more details of Operation Matador.
22 Comments
There is a news report out (link below) that gunmen have just kidnapped the mayor of Al Qaim. Since he was also the mayor during Saddam’s reign, he is at least Baathist approved. Has anyone heard if the kidnappers are Baathist or Al Qaeda related?
If they are Al Qaeda related, it could be another piece of the wedge needed to drive the two factions apart.
http://www.620ktar.com/?nid=46&sid=46792
Rat Hunt
Insurgents Fight Back in Western Iraq – Yahoo! News As many as 100 militants have been killed since Operation Matador,…
I love it when a plan comes together. From your New York Times link: “American officials said that the offensive had been a long time coming but that it was spurred by a fresh batch of intelligence gleaned from Iraqis who live in the area as well as interrogations of newly captured aides to Mr. Zarqawi, the most wanted terrorist in Iraq.” Turning on the insurgency by the Iraqi people has been the subject of discussion more and more recently. The Syrian border is their last safe haven – or was. Operation Matador – taking the bull by the horns.
I was able to answer my own question. It was an Al Qaeda based group that kidnapped the mayor. Ostensibly, because his clan had previously kidnapped some of Zarqawi’s followers. Once the mayor releases his hostages then they’ll release him. Things are not going well in the Islamist / Baathist marriage of convenience.
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=YSSCYMMHRDVB2CRBAEKSFFA?type=topNews&storyID=8444981§ion=news
Blog Roundup
Susan DiPlacido’s new blog is up and looking smoove. She plans to start profiling writers on a weekly basis, using an interview format. I think that’s a bad idea, actually. Writers are boring. Vegas, though, now that’s some cool shit….
Of course, if you’re going to clean out largely foreign insurgents holed up right against the Syrian border it would be a good idea beforehand to orchestrate maximum political pressure on the Syrian regime, to dissuade them from providing a safe haven for fleeing fighters.
I suggest that this is part of what we have been seeing lately.
This has been a systematic operation of successively allowing the insurgents a “safe haven” until they have adequately consolidated their forces to the point that retreat is a strategic impossibility followed by decisively crushishing that haven. It happened in Najaf, Falluja, Sadr City, in progress in Mosel and the TOD and now as part of OM.
Get some, Devil Dawgs!
Bill,
I have been waiting (and expecting) this kind of news for months. This Canadian’s thoughts and prayers are with the fighting men and women of America. I am in awe and grateful for what you are doing to make the world a better and safer place. God bless.
KEEP AN EYE ON OPERATION MATADOR
“Good people sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.”
I’m really curious what the Syrians think about this. However, as long as those warriors are blocking the border, not allowing the fighters to escape into Syria, I guess it does not really matter. We need to tell Syria to go pound sand.
Great stuff, thanks for sharing.
Toro, Toro, Toro!: Operation Matador Kills 100 Terrorists
Raiding a terrorist stronghold used to transport men and material across the Syrian border to the US, Marines have blocked the most likely avenues of escapde and forced the cowards into a stand-up fight. It’s the biggest offensive since last…
Toro, Toro, Toro!: Operation Matador Kills 100 Terrorists
Raiding a terrorist stronghold used to transport men and material across the Syrian border to the US, Marines have blocked the most likely avenues of escapde and forced the cowards into a stand-up fight. It’s the biggest offensive since last…
Operation Matador in Northern Iraq
As most of you know, allied forces are sweeping through the north of Iraq near the Syrian border, and finding it surprisingly well fortified as they chew through their objectives. We have the roundup.
Operation Matador in Northern Iraq
As most of you know, allied forces are sweeping through the north of Iraq near the Syrian border, and finding it surprisingly well fortified as they chew through their objectives. We have the roundup.
For those of you who aren’t as er… proficient in Spanish as me, you might be happy to know that Matador simply means killer. Not bullfighter, killer. Thus endeth Prof dooley’s lesson.
Operation Matador: Media Invisibility
In what is an inarguably major operation and major step towards pacification of Iraq, the Marines have engaged in Operaton Matador near the Syrian border, attacking insurgent strongholds that are key elements in their supply infrastructure. Others (Bil…
Where Do We Get Such Men?
From the Associated Press and WAVE 3 News: (LOUISVILLE) — A sailor from Louisville died last week in Iraq in what military officials say was a firefight. It followed a suicide bombing near a hospital in western Iraq. Thirty-two-year-old Petty…
Stuff from the war
A few links to some interesting war related stuff, from Fallujah to today.
Operation Matador in Northern Iraq
As most of you know, allied forces are sweeping through the north of Iraq near the Syrian border, and finding it surprisingly well fortified as they chew through their objectives. We have the roundup.
Operation Matador in Northern Iraq
As most of you know, allied forces are sweeping through the north of Iraq near the Syrian border, and finding it surprisingly well fortified as they chew through their objectives. We have the roundup.
Bill you have this shizz on lock! Good show!