Operation Swarmer is a RUSE! It's a Rovian ploy to "prove" success!

[Roland99]

Watching some highlights of the "major operation" on the local news. The reporter was saying little resistance was encountered.

Some military commander was giving a press conference and saying that "we found what we expected to find".

Troop levels for the operation have already been reduced and it's expected to wrap up in a few days.


Now, add in that NO independent media were allowed and the writing is on the wall:


The operation near Samarra was NOT about rounding up insurgents. It was touted as being Iraqi-led but it was US hardware being used. No resistance encountered but they found what they expected to find? I'm sure they did!


This is a PLOY! It's a RUSE!


The GOP and the M$M will now start touting this as PROOF that not only are the Iraqi security forces gaining ground in their training but that the insurgency is weakening and the US is WINNING!!


And this isn't the first time this administration played politics with military operations. The assault on Falluja was held off until a week after the general election in 2004.

[Virginia Dare]

1. Was there ever any doubt?

This has gone way beyond wag the dog.

[IndyOp]

4. I thought it was Fallujah, Part 2 -- I thought it was real.

:shrug:

[Virginia Dare]

11. I don't know that they have the fire power for that over there anymore..

:shrug:

[IndyOp]

I thought they had some huge stockpiles at bases in Iraq... (n/t)

:shrug:

[Avalux]

2. Of course it is.

Hopefully at this point, Americans will see it as such. Nothing more than an attempt to sway public opinion.

[IndyOp]

3. I pray you are right -- I would SOOOOO much prefer a 'staged'

battle to a real one. No deaths!

[Vincardog]

5. Where were the Iraqi troops? They can't even do a fake show well

[bluedog]

30. DOD had a picture of troops on plane and

it showed 1 man who (maybe) they thought was Iraqi...to me he could have been Hispanic .........that was the only man I seen who looked "different"

[the other one]

6. Thanks Roland99. I like the way you think. nt

[Dr. Jones]

7. Aw, don't be so hard on poor Bushie.

His widdle poll numbers were sinking and he was losing support at home, and he had a widdle pout on his lips. Rovie advised widdle Bushie to just drop some bombs in the middle of the desert and air it on the government-controlled media. Then everyone would know he is rounding up the terrorists and aware of what needs to be done.

Funny thing is, the news reported that Bush was not even AWARE of this new military action! But isn't Bush supposed to be the Commander in Chief of our Armed Forces? Then why was he not aware of this? Is he out of touch?

Poor Bushie, he can't win!
:sarcasm:

[bushmeister0]

8. Where's Rummy?

Last night Jay Leno joked that this offensive would last as long as it took to get Bush's poll numbers up to around 40% and I think there might be some truth to that. I noticed a distinct lack of Rummy in the press and a whole lot of Scott McClellan. When the White House press secretary is giving the blow by blows on a military operation, you have to wonder.

I seem to remember that U.S. launched another big offensive on Samarra almost to the minute that W. and John Kerry started their first debate back in October, which was supposed to flush the insurgents out of there for good. Whatever happened with that?


see the rest of what I think about this at http://bushmeister0.tripod.com/bushmeister0 , I don't want to bore you all with my rambling unless you really want to be.

[The_Casual_Observer]

9. The news footage was stock stuff of some training exercise

someplace like 29 Palms. My guess is that there wasn't any "operation" anything. The US military is holed up on their permanent bases and dare not venture out.

[Roland99]

10. Oh, they showed some actual video of the "operation".

This was on my local NBC affiliate.

There were a few tracer bullets visible in the night sky but the daytime footage showed some troops milling about outside a house or some building.

Look like a few Iraqi soldiers in another scene filing by a US military commander.


Looked VERY staged.

[tridim]

12. They're really bad at propaganda but good a catapulting it..

Unfortunately lots of people don't care, even bad propaganda works on mushy brains.

[katmondoo]

14. I was wondering since yesterday how could the insurgents could

hide in the sand? Why are the forces lined up to fire when there is nothing to see but sand?

[Roland99]

34. They were lying next to some buried MiGs.

:hide:

[FSogol]

13. The average American does not know anything about Operation Swarm.

I walked around my office asking people yesterday. No one heard about it. Did * think everyone would be glued to their TVs watching it, ala Desert Storm? If this was a distraction, it barely had an effect.

[Norquist Nemesis]

15. Oh, come on! Rove's plate is overflowing

It was the Dynamic Duo of Dick and Don that put the propaganda film out there.

[stillcool]

16. I had my doubts about this story...

actually any story that is put out by the Administration, the Pentagon, or any other government entity. So much of the 'horrific scenes' from Iraq never make it to the corporate media. It's hard for me to understand what good they think comes from a false statement of assertion of power. I would think they would push the opposite....although there's always the need for justification of our presence.

[NanceGreggs]

17. It may seem like this is all 'for show', but it does have ...

... it's purpose, and it's contained in an article right here:

http://news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060317/NEWS01/603170416/1075

It's headed: "GAS PRICES SOAR AS ASSAULT STARTS"

Once again, MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!!

[jrw14125]

18. CBS affiliate in DC last night said... wait for it...

That they had already rounded up "40 al qaida members or associates" in the operation.

OK, think about this, folks. We've got people sitting in Gitmo for several years just for being caught on a battlefield, or turned over by people with an axe to grind, only to be released as harmless after lots of turture (aka: "Hazing") of course, several years later.

Yet somehow, the military, intelligence, commanders on the field, or just the pundits, were able to discern that these guys were "Al Qaida members or associates." And keep in mind these guys were rounded up in a Sunni/Sadaam stronghold.

Obviously, just being an insurgent in Iraq, no matter which ground you're with, now qualifies you for "Al Qaida memer or associate" status.

Or maybe they were just muslim, or turbaned, or bearded, or spoke Arablic, or possessed ak-47s, or wore tan clothing, or just happened to be an adolescent or adult male?

"Channel 9 news, keeping you misinformed for decades."

[RaleighNCDUer]

21. And at least one of those Al Queda members will turn out to be

an Iranian intelligence agent, there to deliver weapons and IEDs to the terrorists. With a laptop of incriminating evidence.

Any bets?

[Roland99]

29. HA!

I laugh, but you're probably right.

[oasis]

19. MSNBC's Craig Crawford voiced his doubts about the newsworthiness

of "Operation Swarm" this morning. He then got into a heated debate with Pat Buchannan who accused him of being "too cynical". Crawford immediated cited a laundry list of past Bush non-events that were used for political cover.

[Roland99]

20. How long until he's Banfielded?

[Little Star]

23. Is Banfield that cute little lady reporter?

I really liked her and poof she was gone. Is that who you are referring to? If so, what happened?

[Roland99]

28. She got canned from MSNBC for bring critical during Shock and Awe

and afterward.

In particular, some speech she gave at one point was very critical of the war and of the media's coverage.

[Little Star]

32. Ashley, that's her first name.

My whole family loved her and wondered what happened to her. Guess I wasn't lurking on DU then. Thanks.

[Roland99]

33. Here's an article on her >>>>>>>

http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=32250

Sorry for the source. :)

[oasis]

36. I've seen her doing some "on location" stuff. I forgot which network.

:shrug:

[OnceUponTimeOnTheNet]

25. What ever happened to her?

I always liked her reporting.

[Roland99]

22. BBC sorta catching on >>>>>>>>>>

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4817762.stm

Attack and assault aircraft were providing "aerial weapons support" for 1,500 US and Iraqi commandos were moving in to clear "a suspected insurgent operating area north-east of Samarra".

...

They detained 48 people, of whom 17 were freed without delay. Officials said they did not believe they had captured any significant insurgent leaders.

"Any leaders there must have seen the forces coming and escaped," said one senior Iraqi security source.

By the middle of Day Two, the operation had already been scaled down to 900 men.

Gotta love that comment from that senior Iraqi security source.

[Little Star]

24. Daryn Kagan did a fact check on this this morning.

She said it was not the largest bombing attack nor was it the biggest number of troops dropped in it was the largest number of troops from the 101st to be used on the same operation. Something like that any way. I'm not good on military lingo but thats what I gathered from her report.

[bigtree]

26. It's also a show of force to try and intimidate Iran

[RaleighNCDUer]

31. Twenty years ago the Iranians were throwing waves of tens of

thousands against entrenched Iraqi positions and lost better then a half million men in a decade long war.

I'm sure this really intimidates them.

[LeaveIraqNow]

27. Be carefull.

Never know if this is a reverse ploy by Rove that is meant to get this reaction from democrats to make us look bad. Rove wouldn't do something so transparent unless he meant to do it.

[oasis]

35. Rove is so desperate that he can no longer think straight. If you look

at some of the more questionable moves of this White House, most of them have been just as lame. Bush's disapproval numbers have finally dropped to a level in which commentators are comfortable enough to call him on his bullshit.