Syria or Bust
As you may know there has been a marked increase in terror attacks throughout the Sunni Triangle in Iraq. Hundreds of innocent Iraqi civilians have been murdered by terror bomb attacks designed to destabalize the nascent democratic government in Baghdad. US Forces have counterattacked with Operation Matador to seek and destroy the Islamic Mercinary Armies moving through the open desert from Syria into Iraq. This is from the AP:
Capitalizing on a lull in fighting Tuesday, hundreds of U.S. Marines pushed through a lawless region on the Syrian frontier after intense battles along the Euphrates River with well-armed militants fighting from basements, rooftops and sandbag bunkers.
The operation was launched after U.S. intelligence showed followers of Iraq's most wanted terrorist, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, took refuge in the remote desert region - a haven for smugglers and insurgent suppliers. The fighters were believed to have fled to Anbar Province after losses in Iraqi cities.
Hoshyar Zebari, the Iraqi foreign minister, said Syria, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Jordan and Turkey all could do more to keep foreign fighters from entering Iraq or to prevent the insurgents from obtaining funding.
"Generally, they (Iraq's neighbors) don't like what we are doing to build democracy in that part of the world," Zebari said on the sidelines of the first Summit of Southern American-Arab countries in Brasilia, Brazil. "There is some tolerance for these terror networks on the part of the neighboring countries."
At the Pentagon, Marine Lt. Gen. James T. Conway, director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters Tuesday that the assault in the northern Jazirah Desert had run into well-equipped and trained fighters.
"There are reports that these people are in uniforms, in some cases are wearing protective vests, and there's some suspicion that their training exceeds what we have seen with other engagements further east," he said.
Although the Iraqi Foreign Minister states that these mercenaries come from multiple countries on Iraq's Western Frontier, it is well known that Syria is the homebase for terror operations throughout Lebanon, Israel and Iraq. The very government itself is a Baathist Socialist ententity along the lines of Saddam's old regime. This is a regime with a long held relationship with Moscow and is heavily equipped with Soviet era weapons, technology and tactics marking the Damascene country as "easy" prey for the glorious Army of the Republic as fielded by the United States of America. It is unwise for Syria to continue their terror policy against the most powerful country on earth. The AP report continues:
Marine commanders in the field told The Chicago Tribune that militants put up an unexpectedly intense fight in villages dotting the Euphrates as it snakes across the desert toward the Syrian border.
As troops erected a pontoon bridge Sunday, mortar fire began to fall on them from the nearby town of Obeidi, 185 miles west of Baghdad, the Tribune said.
Navy and Marine F/A-18 Hornet strike jets strafed the tree line and Marine Cobra attack helicopters fired rockets into insurgent hideouts, the Tribune said.
When Marines entered the town Sunday, they found insurgents prepared for battle. Sandbag bunkers stood in front of some houses, and other gunmen fired from rooftops and balconies, according to a Los Angeles Times reporter also embedded with the troops. As fighting continued into Monday, the insurgents used boats to ferry weapons across the river.
Syria has said it is arresting would-be infiltrators and doing what it can to control the border with Iraq.
I wonder when Syria will realize they have lost the war? Will they holdout to the bitter end much like Hitler's Nazis in Berlin? Perhaps a visit of B-52's or B-2's will persuade them to stand down and to cease and desist from their rather weak position internationally? I honestly believe, that Syria is a paper tiger that only needs to be blown over by a quick offensive manuever which would collapse the Assad regime and bring in a new goverment more friendly to our agenda in the Middle East. The War on Terror continues.
Capitalizing on a lull in fighting Tuesday, hundreds of U.S. Marines pushed through a lawless region on the Syrian frontier after intense battles along the Euphrates River with well-armed militants fighting from basements, rooftops and sandbag bunkers.
The operation was launched after U.S. intelligence showed followers of Iraq's most wanted terrorist, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, took refuge in the remote desert region - a haven for smugglers and insurgent suppliers. The fighters were believed to have fled to Anbar Province after losses in Iraqi cities.
Hoshyar Zebari, the Iraqi foreign minister, said Syria, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Jordan and Turkey all could do more to keep foreign fighters from entering Iraq or to prevent the insurgents from obtaining funding.
"Generally, they (Iraq's neighbors) don't like what we are doing to build democracy in that part of the world," Zebari said on the sidelines of the first Summit of Southern American-Arab countries in Brasilia, Brazil. "There is some tolerance for these terror networks on the part of the neighboring countries."
At the Pentagon, Marine Lt. Gen. James T. Conway, director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters Tuesday that the assault in the northern Jazirah Desert had run into well-equipped and trained fighters.
"There are reports that these people are in uniforms, in some cases are wearing protective vests, and there's some suspicion that their training exceeds what we have seen with other engagements further east," he said.
Although the Iraqi Foreign Minister states that these mercenaries come from multiple countries on Iraq's Western Frontier, it is well known that Syria is the homebase for terror operations throughout Lebanon, Israel and Iraq. The very government itself is a Baathist Socialist ententity along the lines of Saddam's old regime. This is a regime with a long held relationship with Moscow and is heavily equipped with Soviet era weapons, technology and tactics marking the Damascene country as "easy" prey for the glorious Army of the Republic as fielded by the United States of America. It is unwise for Syria to continue their terror policy against the most powerful country on earth. The AP report continues:
Marine commanders in the field told The Chicago Tribune that militants put up an unexpectedly intense fight in villages dotting the Euphrates as it snakes across the desert toward the Syrian border.
As troops erected a pontoon bridge Sunday, mortar fire began to fall on them from the nearby town of Obeidi, 185 miles west of Baghdad, the Tribune said.
Navy and Marine F/A-18 Hornet strike jets strafed the tree line and Marine Cobra attack helicopters fired rockets into insurgent hideouts, the Tribune said.
When Marines entered the town Sunday, they found insurgents prepared for battle. Sandbag bunkers stood in front of some houses, and other gunmen fired from rooftops and balconies, according to a Los Angeles Times reporter also embedded with the troops. As fighting continued into Monday, the insurgents used boats to ferry weapons across the river.
Syria has said it is arresting would-be infiltrators and doing what it can to control the border with Iraq.
I wonder when Syria will realize they have lost the war? Will they holdout to the bitter end much like Hitler's Nazis in Berlin? Perhaps a visit of B-52's or B-2's will persuade them to stand down and to cease and desist from their rather weak position internationally? I honestly believe, that Syria is a paper tiger that only needs to be blown over by a quick offensive manuever which would collapse the Assad regime and bring in a new goverment more friendly to our agenda in the Middle East. The War on Terror continues.
posted by Bruce R. McConnell | 10:49 PM
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