Residents in the targeted area said there was a heavy U.S. and Iraqi troop presence in the area and large explosions could be heard in the distance. It was unclear if the blasts were due to fighting.
The military termed the operation the largest air assault since the 2003 invasion, but it was not clear if any U.S. aircraft opened fire during the operation or if there had been any insurgent resistance.
"More than 1,500 Iraqi and Coalition troops, over 200 tactical vehicles, and more than 50 aircraft participated in the operation," the military statement said.
Does this sound like a milestone of progress? Almost on the third anniversary (March 20) of the invasion, the insurgency is still strong enough to require this size operations.
To clarify, this involves airlifting troops into the area to fight rather than bombing runs:
In its description of the operation, the 101st Airborne Division used the term "air assault," which refers to the use of attack and transport helicopters to move infantry soldiers to a ground target or group of targets. It does not generally include fixed-wing warplanes like fighter jets or bombers, and there was no early indication that such planes played a predominant role in the assault.
The use of helicopters to transport troops swiftly is an advantage in this type of war. But the US' ability to use helicopters has been severely restricted by the insurgents' ability to shoot them down.
The military operation, residents said, appeared to be concentrated near four villages - Jillam, Mamlaha, Banat Hassan and Bukaddou - about 20 miles north of Samarra. The villages are near the highway leading from Samarra to the city of Adwar.
Waqas al-Juwanya, a spokesman for Iraq's joint coordination center in nearby Dowr, said "unknown gunmen exist in this area, killing and kidnapping policemen, soldiers and civilians."
So, another victory in the Iraq War. Victory after victory. And we can keep on with this endless string of victories for years. Unless things deteriorate to the point that Gary Hart's nightmare scenario comes true:
Recently one of Islamic Shi'ites' most revered sites, the golden mosque in Baghdad, was destroyed by sectarian enemies. By this act and the reprisals that followed, Iraq moved a substantial step closer to civil war. Though a remote, but real, possibility, an Iraqi civil war could cost the United States its army.
Hopefully, leaders are planning for this possibility. If sectarian violence escalates further, US troops must be withdrawn from patrol and confined to their barracks and garrisons. Mass transport must be mustered for rapid withdrawal of those troops from volatile cities in the explosive central region of Iraq. Intensive diplomatic efforts must be focused on preventing an Iraqi civil war from spreading to Iran, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Syria. Such a potential could make the greater Middle East a tinder box for years, if not decades, to come.
But the first concern must be the safety of US forces. It is strange to contemplate the possibility that the greatest army in world history could be slaughtered in a Middle East conflagration. But prudent commanders have no choice but to plan for this danger.
In greatest danger are the units in the Sunni central region cities. They are in real jeopardy if tens of thousands of angry Sunni and Shi'ite citizens, supported by their sectarian militias, surround and then overrun those units before they can be withdrawn.
To paraphrase a cynical saying, with victories like these, who needs defeats?
Meanwhile, back at CENTCOM, Our friends there just have Good News coming out the wazoo. A check of the current press releases there just has more good news than you can shake a stick at: Iraqi forces discover bomb at school! Afghan forces eradicating poppies! Terrorists caught red-handed! Arms cache discovered! Terrorist "suspects" seized! Four hundred pounds of explosives discovered! Detainee at Abu Ghuraib dies - but of "apparent natural causes "!
