:-)
First they crow about the success of the Iraqi army and how independent they are, and then... well, read for yourself:
"Iraqi Military Extends Control in Northern City
MOSUL, Iraq — The recent successes in quieting violence in Basra and Sadr City appear to be stretching to the long-rebellious Sunni Arab district here in Mosul, raising hopes that the Iraqi Army may soon have tenuous control over all three of Iraq’s major cities.
In this city, never subdued by the increase of American troops in Iraq last year, weekly figures on attacks are down by half since May 10, when the Iraqi military began intensified operations here with the backing of the American military. Iraqi soldiers searching house to house, within American tank cordons, have arrested more than 1,000 people suspected of insurgent activity.
The Iraqi soldiers “are heady from the Basra experience,” Brig. Gen. Raymond A. Thomas III, the commander of American forces in Mosul, said in an interview. “They have learned the right lessons.”
The crucial lesson, in fact, over the past month appears to be that all sides — the Iraqi military as well as various insurgent groups — prefer, at the moment, not to fight. Rather, as in Basra and Sadr City, the huge Shiite enclave in Baghdad, the Iraqi military appears to have allowed many insurgents to slip out of Mosul, after scores of negotiations with militias and their leaders.
This approach could make any gains temporary: The insurgents, here as elsewhere, are alive to fight another day. And little progress has been made on political reconciliation among rival sects and ethnic groups that could help reduce violence in the long term.
But the negotiations have allowed the military to expand both its area of control and the government’s zone of sovereignty, burnishing the once-poor reputations of the Iraqi military and Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki. While the American military was never far away — it offered air support and additional firepower — the operation here was largely led by Iraqis....
Remember the Times reported that for later, readers.
The recent operation was necessary after northern Iraq, an area about the size of Georgia, with seven provinces and bordering three countries, became what the American military called an “economy of force” region as troops were diverted to Baghdad during the surge....
For the past several months, American and Iraqi forces have been slowly applying pressure on the city. The operation, named Lion’s Roar, began officially on May 10. In it, the Iraqis have relied on significant American military assistance, after similar and tentatively successful assaults in Basra and Sadr City.
Excuse me? What did they just say above?
Pffffftttt!!
Sick of the fucking lies, but DOES IT HAVE TO BE in the SAME ARTICLE, Times??!!!
Aaaaaaarrrrgggghhhh!!!!!!
American tanks have formed cordons while Iraqi soldiers have searched house to house.... In all, 83 percent of the military action had a majority of Iraqi troops participating....
Had a "MAJORITY of Iraqi troops participating."
Does that mean Iraqis made up the majority of the 83% of the actions -- but WITH AMERICAN HELP?!?
Or that the majority of their troops participated in the operations, but might not have been a majority in the attack unit?
See how craftily the Times writes the propaganda? They are REAL GOOD at it.
And WHAT ABOUT the remaining 17%, readers?
Oh, I think we know whom they are!!!!
In the Abi Tamam neighborhood on a blistering midmorning in May, Lt. Rusty Morris parked his convoy of armored Humvees beside a reeking field of garbage to begin a mission to show the American presence and speak with residents. Some cows picked around the piles of refuse, while children ran up to the trucks. Two helicopters buzzed overhead.
Yeah, Iraq is so much better since Bush's invasion! Pffffttt!
Lieutenant Morris sidled up to one resident, who introduced himself as Muhammad Ahmed. The man was standing in an alley. Looking bewildered and nodding obsequiously to the American lieutenant, Mr. Ahmed said nervously that he knew of no insurgents still operating in the neighborhood. He explained that he had three wives and six children, and no time to watch for insurgents...."
Insurgents means anyone who resists U.S. domination, for those who don't know.
And is this guy a Mormon or a Muslim?
And how about those liars at the New York Times, huh, readers?
All I can do is pfffffffffttttt!
