Iraq IV
Jack Kelly has some interesting comments over at RCP about media reporting on the war in Iraq. He writes on media coverage of "Operation Swarmer,"

"Operation Swarmer, a joint U.S.-Iraqi offensive around the northern Iraqi city of Samarra went into its fourth day Sunday with very little to verify why it has been described as the largest assault operation since the American-led invasion of Iraq three years ago," wrote UPI correspondent Sana Abdallah.

"Contrary to what many television networks erroneously reported, the operation was by no means the largest use of air power since the start of the war," said Time magazine.

A journalist friend of former paratrooper W. Thomas Smith wanted to know: "Why are we launching a massive bombing campaign in Iraq?"

The dimwits have confused an air assault (where infantry is moved by helicopter into contested territory to conduct an operation) with an air strike (where fighter-bombers blow up something) or a ground assault.

That Operation Swarmer has so far been bloodless by no means indicates it is a failure or "overblown," Smith said. Dozens of suspected terrorists -- including one thought to be a ringleader of the bombing of the Golden Mosque in Samarra last month -- have been captured, and several large caches of weapons have been seized.

It's also significant that Operation Swarmer was conceived by, and largely planned and executed by, the Iraqi army. An air assault is the second most difficult tactical maneuver for ground forces (only crossing a river under fire is more difficult), one which requires meticulous planning. That this one was pulled off essentially without a hitch indicates how far the Iraqi army (which, for all practical purposes, didn't exist a little more than a year ago) has come in a very short time.

- posted by Base10 @ 10:29 AM