"President Bush: Success in Tal Afar Shows Evidence Iraqi Strategy Working
By Donna Miles, American Forces Press Service.
WASHINGTON - President Bush today pointed to the dramatic turnaround in Tal Afar, Iraq -- a city once gripped by terrorist oppression that's now undergoing a vibrant revitalization -- as concrete evidence that the national strategy for victory in Iraq is working.
[SNIP]
Calling the northern Iraqi city with its diverse population "a microcosm of Iraq," the president said its example "gives me confidence in our strategy."
Tal Afar's 200,000 residents lived under the intimidation of insurgents who were using the city as a base to organize, train and equip terror cells.
U.S. and Iraqi forces drove out the insurgents in "Operation Restore Rights," in fall 2005. Government forces are now rebuilding housing, schools and other facilities.
[SNIP]
Bush said it's understandable how U.S. citizens who see horrific news images from Iraq but never hear of successes like the one in Tal Afar might question the U.S. mission there. "I understand how Americans have had their confidence shaken," he said."
Source: Michnews.com (Michnews' slogan is: "Most In-depth, Conservative, Honest News & Commentary")
North Iraq blast kills 17 people
A car bomb has killed at least 17 people and injured 35 in the northern Iraqi town of Talafar, police say.
The bomb in a pick-up truck exploded on Tuesday at a market in the town, 150km (90 miles) from the Syrian border.
[SNIP]
The hospital director was quoted as saying the final casualty toll was 20 dead and 70 injured.
Talafar has seen fighting between militants and US-led forces, who regained control last year.
[SNIP]
Source: BBC (The BBC's slogan is: "Nation Shall Speak Peace Unto Nation")
Car bombings down in Iraq, military says
Updated 5/9/2006 4:59 AM ET By Rick Jervis, USA TODAY
BAGHDAD — The number of deadly car bomb attacks in Iraq has dropped by nearly 20% this year, despite a recent wave of bombings, according to the U.S. military.
The decline is largely the result of U.S. and Iraqi offensives that have disrupted routes used to smuggle foreign suicide bombers into Iraq and raids on car bomb factories, said Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, the chief U.S. military spokesman.
[SNIP]
The recent spike in car bombings doesn't necessarily mean the downward trend has been reversed, Lynch said.
Car bombs and other large attacks occur in waves, said Ben Venzke, chief executive officer of Washington-based IntelCenter, which monitors terrorist groups and their activities. The time between attacks is used to construct bombs, train and gather people to launch them, he said.
The different number of insurgent groups launching car bomb attacks in Iraq makes it difficult to effectively break up car bomb networks, [Venzke - MFI] he said.
[SNIP]
Car bombings and other suicide attacks are largely the work of foreign fighters who are smuggled into Iraq, Lynch said. They are generally mass-casualty bombings aimed at civilians or Iraqi recruits at army or police bases.
The U.S. military points to several trends that show a reduction in foreign fighters and car bombings:
• The number of foreign fighters captured entering Iraq dropped from 44 in November to 28 in February and 20 in March, Lynch said.
• U.S. and Iraqi troops killed or captured 115 bomb makers last year and an additional 26 through March of this year.
• Suicide attacks, which include car bombings and individuals wrapped with explosives, have declined by two-thirds, from an average of 75 per month last year to 25 per month so far this year, Lynch said. Not all car bombings are suicide attacks; some vehicles are remotely detonated.
Source: USA Today I neither know nor care what USA Today's slogan is.
I remember Tal-Afar do you? Maybe this or the next one in the sequence will refresh your memory.
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