Michael J. Totten provides a new look at the war in Iraq.
War
Basketball and Beer
If you haven’t noticed, I did not post much this past weekend. Although the war seems to be going pretty well, I need a break from it all. The death of Michael Kelly was absolutely awful, the loss of David Bloom equally so (go read Jarvis’s letter to his Bloom’s beautiful little girls). Every time I see a picture of Bloom I get upset, because it was just so clear to me that he was having the time of his life. MSNBC is my cable channel of choice, so I had grown accustomed to seeing him, and I always thought you would be hard-pressed to find a guy who enjoyed his job more. I am consoled only by the fact that he was doing something he loved when he died- and he was doing it well. Maybe I am a sentimental sap, but I won’t recover from this loss for awhile- hell- hockey night on ESPN has sucked for me since Tom Mees drowned tragically 6-7 years ago. Every time I turn it on I think, jeebus- these guys just can’t compare. And so life goes on.
Just like every life cut off too short in this war, it is just a damned shame. God damn Hussein.
I am going to go watch basketball and drink beer.
Arab Street?
Charlie Company Task Force 1-64 of the 3rd ID faces the feared ‘Arab Street’ in downtown BAGHDAD.
Maybe the fear-mongerers and those saying the war was going poorly were talking about something else.
Command Post
Remember, the authoritative source for war information and links is the Command Post, the best web collaborative available.
Democracy, Whiskey, and Sexy
Via Sullivan, this quote in the NY Times:
In the giddy spirit of the day, nothing could quite top the wish list bellowed out by one man in the throng of people greeting American troops from the 101st Airborne Division who marched into town today. What, the man was asked, did he hope to see now that the Baath Party had been driven from power in his town? What would the Americans bring? “Democracy,” the man said, his voice rising to lift each word to greater prominence. “Whiskey. And sexy!”
Works for me.
The ‘Elite’ Republican Guard
From Reuters and IOL:
United States Marines seized a key bridge over the Tigris river in central Iraq on Wednesday and took control of the main Highway 6 from Kut to Baghdad, a senior Marine officer said.
“That’s the last big bridge we needed for an advance on Baghdad,” the officer told Reuters correspondent Sean Maguire near Kut. “This was the plan. It’s been successful.”
“Today’s action is a major move. There’s still tank battles continuing,” the officer added, saying the Baghdad Division of Iraq’s Republican Guard, based at Kut, was now “irrelevant”.
(Cross-posted on the only war resource you need, The Command Post)
Was Franks Right?
From the Toronto Star, with the headline:
Franks’ military plan becoming clear: Phase 1 completed as general intended
Blocked by Turkey’s refusal to allow American troops to attack Iraq from its soil, Franks decided that Phase 1 of his campaign would be a bold thrust across the Kuwaiti border with his main combat power focused on getting as far into Iraq as possible before resting and resupplying his troops prior to taking on Baghdad’s defenders.
In the coming days, it might be that the only thing retreating faster than the Republican Guard will be ‘unnamed’ Pentagon sources and NY Times and WaPo ‘news’ writers.
(Cross-posted on the only war resource you need, the Command Post)