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December Offensive Announced
From the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) :
US and Iraqi security forces are planning a major offensive in December to claim back insurgent strongholds such as Fallujah, Ramadi and Samarra.
The new security plan has been drafted by the top US general in Iraq, George Casey, and the Iraqi Interim Government.
December is the earliest that the new Iraqi security forces will be fully trained and operational and it falls between the November presidential elections in the United States and the planned Iraqi elections in January.
Brigadier General Nigel Alwn-Foster who works on training the new Iraqi Army, told reporters that a December offensive bore risks but the risk would be less then than now because there would be more Iraqi forces available.
He said chances for a victory would be high in December.
By then more than 7,000 members of Iraqs elite intervention force would be ready to push into so-called no go areas like Fallujah which is seen as a source of suicide bombings and a hideout for Al Qaeda linked terrorists like Abu Mussab al Zarqawi.
7,000 Elite troops? Where did they come from?
From Centcom back on 1st August :
August 1, 2004
Release Number: 04-08-03
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
IRAQI INTERVENTION FORCE ASSUMES MISSION
BAGHDAD - The Iraqi Intervention Force formally took responsibility for part of the 1st Cavalry Divisions area of operation of Abu Dashir of the Al Rashid district in Baghdad July 31.
This is the first time that an IIF unit has taken control of a sector.
The IIF will take on missions that are beyond the capabilities of the Iraqi National Guard, including arresting high profile terrorist, or large cordon-and-search operations.
TCP first reported on plans for the Iraqi Intervention Force on July 20 but the significance of it was not noted (by me, anyway).
Photos of the IIF in Live Fire training with the USMC are even available online.
A quick Google reveals what we should have reported earlier.
Like this :
two Iraqi army battalions, each with a separate mission, deployed to Baghdad. The Iraqi Intervention Forces 4th Battalion was deployed to the southern part of the city for stability and support operations.
Its a significant development, said the Coalition Military Training Assistance Team chief of staff, Army Col. Jim Mulvenna. This is now one of three Iraqi battalions being employed in the Baghdad area of operations.
The unit had previously spent several months at the Taji Military Training Base north of Baghdad in special military operations and urban terrain training. The Intervention Force is the branch of the army specifically trained in counterinsurgency operations.
Lead elements of the Iraqi armys 5th Battalion deployed to a base in the western portion of the city for force protection operations.
This unit had previously trained at the Kirkush Military Training Base east of Baghdad. It joins two Intervention Force battalions there since July, and will work with coalition forces at the base in force protection, perimeter security and security operations outside the post.
Theyre here to continue the forward movement of trained battalions and provide security for those units coming to train, Mulvenna said. Iraqi forces are providing the lions share of force protection to Iraqi bases, enabling the ongoing, effective generation of well-trained Iraqi battalions.
Or even this :
The United States Project and Contracting Organization (PCO), on behalf of the Iraqi Minister of Interior, has awarded a contract, valued at $50 million, to Textron Marine & Land, to manufacture additional Armored Security Vehicles (ASVs).
Textron Marine & Land, an operating unit of Textron Systems, will produce 43 ASVs for the newly formed Iraqi Civil Intervention Force and will be employed in the ongoing effort to provide security and stability in Iraq.
Or especially this :
BAGHDAD, Iraq, July 1, 2004 : Lead elements of the Iraqi Intervention Forces 2nd Battalion began operations here June 28, in coordination with Multi-national Forces, in an undisclosed area of the city as one of the first directions of the Iraqi Ministry of Defense, according to Office of Security Transition officials.
The battalion is the Iraqi armys first deployed and operational battalion. The unit will conduct security patrols in the city as part of the Iraqi security forces continuing mission to provide security to the citizens of Iraq.
