This is very significant. No, not the fact that there will be a military offensive in Mosul, Iraq but that the Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, made the announcement. Although I could never be accused of being anything close to a mil-type blogger, I do follow the Iraq War fairly closely and this is the first time I have seen the Iraqi government make this time of announcement ahead of U.S. commanders. And it is a tremendously good signal.
Mosul has been deemed by U.S. command as the single most dangerous city in Iraq right now and this is how al-Maliki described the new offensive:
"Today, the troops have moved to Mosul ... and the fight there will be decisive,"
Now, as with most politicians, there were very few tactical details about the offensive but that should come out today from U.S. military sources. I've never been a big fan of these pre-announcements about offensive and giving al Qaeda two weeks notice to get ready or to retreat out into the hinterlands, but it is refreshing to see the Iraq government show such determination.
Full story is here.
Mosul has been deemed by U.S. command as the single most dangerous city in Iraq right now and this is how al-Maliki described the new offensive:
"Today, the troops have moved to Mosul ... and the fight there will be decisive,"
Now, as with most politicians, there were very few tactical details about the offensive but that should come out today from U.S. military sources. I've never been a big fan of these pre-announcements about offensive and giving al Qaeda two weeks notice to get ready or to retreat out into the hinterlands, but it is refreshing to see the Iraq government show such determination.
Full story is here.
Jan 25, 5:32 AM EST
Iraqi PM Announces Offensive in Mosul
By KIM GAMEL
Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD (AP) -- Iraq's prime minister announced Friday that the government was launching a major offensive against al-Qaida in the northern city of Mosul after two days of deadly bombings that killed nearly 40 people.
He promised the fight "will be decisive."
The announcement by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki came after warnings by the U.S. military that Mosul was the last major city where al-Qaida maintains a strong presence after largely being driven from Baghdad and other major population centers.
Al-Maliki said the government was sending troops to Mosul and an operations room had been established to fight the insurgents.
"Today, the troops have moved to Mosul ... and the fight there will be decisive," al-Maliki said during an address in the Shiite holy city of Karbala.
He did not say how many troops were being sent or provide more details in his wide-ranging speech, an apparent attempt to show his beleaguered administration was assuming control of the situation in Mosul with the U.S. military in the background.
Residents reported no immediate sign of stepped up security in the area and it was unclear when the offensive would begin.
The recent violence in Mosul, 225 miles northwest of Baghdad, began Wednesday when an abandoned apartment building believed to be used as a bomb-making factory exploded after the Iraqi army arrived to investigate tips about a weapons cache.
At least 34 people were killed and 224 wounded when the blast tore through surrounding houses in the Zanjili neighborhood, a poverty-ridden district on the west bank of the Tigris River.
Residents reportedly back al-Qaida as a firewall against Kurdish influence in the city and the ineffective provincial government.
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