In this never ending game of whack a mole, CENTCOM is planning to bring the hammer down on Mosul, again. In the 2nd or 3rd pacification of Mosul, in what is becoming a annual rite of spring the Army is trying to "get out the good news".
Iraqi political and military leaders and U.S. military commanders have traveled to the northern Iraqi city of Mosul ahead of a planned offensive on al Qaeda in Iraq loyalists, according to a senior U.S. military source.
Saturday's meeting portends a major confrontation between U.S. and Iraqi troops and al Qaeda in Iraq militants, who have a strong presence in the diverse, sprawling city of Mosul, the capital of Nineveh province -- a region long beset by conflict. -- CNN February 2008
I look forward to the CENTCOM spin selling us on how having to launch a new ground offensive in Mosul is part of the decrease in violence in Iraq.
"We are seeing a more stable environment," said Lt. Col. Michael Gibler, commander of the 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, which operates in eastern Mosul. "Have we made a turn yet? No, but we're really close to it."
The military attributes the decline to several factors, including Iraqis' increased willingness to provide information about insurgents and the growing presence of the new Iraqi security forces throughout the country. -- WAPO April 2005
Same as it ever was.
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