U.S. Prepares for Major Fallujah Operation

[Career Prole]

BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S. forces are gearing up for a major operation against the insurgent stronghold Fallujah, a U.S. general said Friday, as hundreds of British troops reached a base near Baghdad to free American forces to join the assault.

<snip>

U.S. officials have given no indication of the timing of a major attack. However, in a sign that the assault may be imminent, the first wave of troops from the Black Watch regiment has arrived at the base near Baghdad, the Defense Ministry in London.

The rest of the 850-strong battle group from the Black Watch regiment were to arrive over the weekend, the ministry said without specifying how many were in each wave. The base is located 20 miles west of Mahmoudiya, a town that has seen frequent insurgent attacks south of Baghdad, according to the report.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&e=2&u=/ap/20041029/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq

Rest of troops arriving over the weekend...a major battle to open the polls with, anyone?

[bif]

1. Hopefully this'll piss off the voters.

[Career Prole]

3. No doubt they aim to snag those voters who are confused over how

one bests "supports the troops".
Shrub "uses our military might" like my first wife used me. He has a different definition for "use" than most of his supporters do.

[atreides1]

5. Not if They Don't Attack Fallujah

Unless the Marines can take Fallujah by election day, with little to few casualities it isn't going to help. The more troops that die in this operation the worse for Bush.

And I read in an article in the UK Guardian that the troops of the Black Watch are not happy about having to clean up the Americans mess,
especially when the regiment was supposed to be home before Christmas.

I think that the US soldiers and marines are going to pay a high price for Fallujah, both in dead and wounded, and the Iraqi people there will pay a higher price. But in the end the US will take the city, or at least what's left of it.

[Career Prole]

8. "when the regiment was supposed to be home before Christmas"

True. I read a story today quoting a young private who said he was told four days before he was due to go home that he was being extended for thirty days for this move.
I don't believe they've been subjected to Shrub's "back-door draft" until now. I doubt it'll be very popular.

[lakeguy]

2. how many more have to die for Bush's reselection attempt?

[Career Prole]

4. Honest answer? As many as Rove figures it will take.

They're tooling our troops for political gain, and I feel nothing but contempt for shrub and everyone connected to him. He'd better hope he doesn't go killing off a bunch of the Black Watch troops because he has no support (except for Blair) over there.
Then pukes have the gall to say the British have no right to try to influence our election...the hell they don't! It's their kids too!
:grr:

[HereSince1628]

6. So how does this square with a leaner, faster, smarter army?

This sort of city seige isn't especially modern, particularly in philosophical approach. High tech bombs not withstanding the approach might as well be the seige of a citedal with catapults.

While the seige goes on killing innocent and devastating civilian property thus turning the indigenous population against the US, the insurgents slip through the cordone and live to fight another day with ever more support from an ever more pissed off populace.

[JSJ]

7. let the war crimes begin!