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The Tacoma News Tribune has a story that may sound familiar to regular readers here:
It didn't get much media coverage, but troops from the Fort Lewis-based Stryker brigade say fighting last Wednesday in Mosul was the heaviest and most sustained combat they've seen in their nine months in Iraq.<...>
In an interview Monday, Hyneman said the fighting took place on the east and west sides of the Tigris River, which bisects the city, and at a hotel near the northernmost of the city's five major bridges. The insurgents also attacked a hospital and a power plant, and ambushed Stryker convoys as they rolled past multistory buildings on the way to the fight, according to other sources.
Hotels, hospitals, power plants... all the usual targets. But in spite of that "so what else is new" line the real familiarity should set in with these graphs:
One soldier described what it was like on his Web log on the Internet. The soldier, who identifies himself as CBFTW, is attracting readers with his absorbing, personal account of Army life in Mosul."We were driving there on that main street, when all of the sudden all hell came down all around on us, all these guys wearing all black ... a couple dozen on each side of the street, on rooftops, alleys, edge of buildings, out of windows, everywhere just came out of ... nowhere and started firing RPGs and AK-47s at us," he wrote.
Sadly, Scripps-Howard version of the story fails to provide a link or even a url for Fear and Loathing, even though the original story did (see here). Unfortunately, though done with good intentions, interviews with his command might have indirectly led to this post on F&L:
So today I'm walking back from chow, and my Plt Sgt is outside my door waiting for me and he said, The Col. wants to see you, hurry up and go shave, I'll be back in 15 to take you down there. My heart sank. Shit. I know exactly what this one is about.<...>
This might be my last entry, I haven't decided yet to end this, or continue this. I don't know what to make of all this yet.
You may want to add your comments to the discussion on his blog.
Update: This post has been corrected, as Michael Gilbert, author of the original article, has brought inaccuracies to my attention. Thanks sir, and thanks for telling the Stryker's story. I note there are over 180 comments on CBFTW's last post - looks like he's got a few fans.
