I Want Some of What He's Smoking

In a case of better late than never, the Government of Sock Puppet, Allawi will allowhumanitarian releif into the city of Fallujah. At the same time a military mouthpiece says that we have "broken the back" of the resistance. Riiiiiiiiiiiight.

Iraq's interim government has said it will send food and medical teams into the city of Falluja.

The move follows an appeal by the Red Cross, which said it feared for the plight of civilians after the US-led assault against insurgents.

US-led forces continue to encounter fierce displays of resistance in southern zones of Falluja.

But a top US commander says the offensive there has "broken the back of the insurgency" across Iraq.

Lt Gen John Sattler said the operation had "taken away this safe haven" which he alleged was used as a base for the nationwide Iraqi rebellion.

Yup, they have taken away "A" safe haven, for as long as they decide to stick around in the city of 300,000. While some might argue that most of the people fled in advance, no matter how you pack it in, thats got to be a lot of real estate to keep on top of, so color me a bit skeptical.

The total US death toll in the offensive, which began on 7 November, stands at 51. About 425 American troops were wounded in action. Eight Iraqi soldiers have died.

Lt Gen Sattler said reports of 1,200 fighters killed was "probably a safe number". The number of civilians killed is unknown.

Lt Gen's assessment of the impact of the Falluja offensive was more optimistic than that of marine intelligence officials, AP news agency reported.

1,200 bodies, 1,200 fighters, I pray that we aren't doing the "body-count tango". And one has to wonder when the pentagon is going to get it's mouthpieces on the same page. Meanwhile in other parts of the Sunni Triangle, various shades of hell are breaking loose.

Violence has flared once again across Iraq's Sunni Muslim heartland.

In the worst incident, in the town of Baiji north of the capital Baghdad, a suicide bomb targeting a US military convoy killed 14 Iraqis.

In the city of Ramadi, to the west of Baghdad, clashes erupted between insurgents and US troops.
...........
Oil city

Baiji, the site of the country's largest oil refinery and a major power station, saw a suicide car bomber ram his vehicle into a US military convoy, causing a huge explosion.

The attack took place near a market close to the centre of the town, which lies some 250km (155 miles) north of Baghdad. An estimated 22 Iraqis were wounded in the incident and a US military spokesman said three soldiers were also hurt.

That sounds like the smell of success. I guess the trouble with evil is that it seems to multiply faster than our troops can stamp it out, maybe it is related to the old saw about lies traveling half way round the world before truth can get it's shoes on. In any case someone should have told Dubbyah, or Furious D, or Fallujah Daddy. Elsewhere, to the north somewhat, a major offensive continues in Mosul.

US forces have swept through parts of the northern Iraqi city of Mosul in an operation to flush out insurgents and retake captured police stations.

More than 1,000 soldiers are advancing through the city from west to east, meeting little resistance, the US says.

An overnight curfew is in force and the city's five bridges have been closed.

Mosul, Iraq's third largest city, descended into lawlessness last week as US forces began a major operation to take control of the city of Falluja.

Insurgents stepped up attacks in Mosul, seizing or destroying several police stations. They also looted police uniforms and vehicles, making it even harder for the Americans to know friend from foe.

Ok now I am having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that in a city of well over a million residents, that our force consists of only 1000 troops or thereabouts. Is it just me or does this number seem woefully inadequate for the task. Pretty much like everything else involved in the theatre. This is just sick, and the Whack-a-Mole War Profiteers continue to Hoover the treasury into offshore accounts, and the war floggers scream louder for nuclear retribitude.