Today in Iraq

War News for December 2, 2003 Bring 'em on: More ambushes reported near Samarra. One US soldier killed. Bring ‘em on: Turkish oil truck bombed in Arbil. US troops launch raid in Kirkuk. Conflicting accounts of yesterday’s firefight in Samarra. CENTCOM press release. Local reaction. “But Sheikh Qahtan Hajj Salem of the town's tribal council warned that the violence of the response would backfire against US troops. ‘It is the first time that the town has been attacked with such violence," he said. "The US reponse to this attack can only strengthen the resistance.’” No insurgent KIA recovered after Samarra firefight. “Challenged about what had happened to the bodies, Gen Kimmitt said: ‘I would suspect that the enemy would have carried them away and brought them back to where their initial base was.’” Base? Does this mean the insurgents have a fixed operational support structure? How the hell do you haul off 54 bodies with a militarily insignificant force? What about insurgent wounded? Obviously if the insurgents had standing orders to evacuate their dead and wounded it means lots of them got away to a pre-arranged rally point by way of pre-arranged escape routes. Which would indicate that the insurgency is far more organized and much more militarily significant than the Bushies would have us believe. Evolving insurgent tactics. Insurgents are adapting their tactics while their objectives remain constant. On the other hand, the Bushies are retaining the same tactics while their objectives change weekly. Iraqi insurgency has central command and control, and can field 8 – 12 company-sized units in the area Baghdad. A combat officer's perspective. "As one would expect from using our overwhelming firepower, much of Samarra is fairly well shot up. The tanks and brads rolled over parked cars and fired up buildings where we believed the enemy was. This must be expected considering the field of vision is limited in an armored vehicle and while the crews are protected, they also will use recon by fire to suppress the enemy. Not all the people in this town were hostile, but we did see many people firing from rooftops or alleys that looked like average civilians, not the Feddayeen reported in the press. I even saw Iraqi people throwing stones at us, I told my soldiers to hold their fire unless they could indentfy a real weapon, but I still can't understand why somebody would throw a stone at a tank, in the middle of a firefight." Analysis: Insurgency spreads north. Rummy says situation in Iraq is stabilizing. Patrolling in Mosul. Patrolling in Tikrit. Coalition of the Wobbly: Thailand may withdraw troops from Iraq. Florida Guardsman punished, discharged for marrying Iraqi doctor. Gas shortages continue for Iraqi civilians. Some creative spin on the fuel shortage from those wacky jokers at the CPA. Iraqi clerics filling political vacuum in Iraq. Commentary Letter to the Editor: “I am a registered Republican. I contributed financially to George W. Bush’s presidential campaign and I voted for him. I made a mistake. I sincerely apologize for my error…” Opinion: Bush’s foreign policy quagmires. “Mr. Reagan saw democracy as the wave of the future, but he wasn't inclined to go to war for it. As a president, he had plenty of faults. But in the realm of foreign policy, what Mr. Bush rejects are Mr. Reagan's virtues.” Casualty Reports Local story: North Dakota soldier wounded in Iraq. Local story: California soldier killed in Iraq. Local story: Iowa soldier wounded in Iraq.