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When Operation LIGHTNING kicked off, as Iraqi troops swept through Baghdad rounding up "insurgents", headlines across America touted the power of the terrorist forces they opposed. The Boston Globe's coverage was typical: Insurgents kill 38, wound dozens in attacks. Elsewhere headlines like Military sweeps in Baghdad fiercely resisted were about the best the Iraqi troops and their American allies could hope for. By June 3rd NBC virtually claimed victory for the terrorists - or at least had declared the Iraqi effort a failure. Under the headline Operation Lightning packs little thunder their bottom line was that "this operation, sold by the government as a bolt of lightning, is, so far, packing little punch."
This week the Iraq government announced that thus far there have been 900 Suspected Militants Arrested In Baghdad Sweep, as today's USA Today duly notes. It's usually hard to argue against measured success, but immediately after that report from the Iraqi government the LA Times found a way to do it:
Other Iraq Hot Spots May FlareTo recap: yesterday's news was the failure of Operation LIGHTNING. This morning's news was that the success of Operation LIGHTNING was just causing problems in places like Tal Afar - we don't have enough troops, you see.As Iraqi commanders have deployed about 40,000 troops for a security crackdown in Baghdad, violence elsewhere has raised concern that other trouble spots have been left more vulnerable to insurgent attacks.
Assaults in Mosul during the last five days have claimed the lives of 11 people and wounded another 11. In the latest attack in the northern city, insurgents fired mortar rounds at a police station Monday, killing at least one civilian.
In nearby Tall Afar, Iraqi police shot and killed two insurgents who had attacked their compound with rocket-propelled grenades. On Sunday, five people were killed in a mortar attack in the city, including two women and two children, the U.S. military said.
But here's this afternoon's story
U.S., Iraqi troops launch Tal Afar offensiveOf course, it's doomed to fail, as tomorrows news will no doubt make clear.Iraq (CNN) -- U.S. and Iraqi troops on Tuesday launched an offensive against insurgents in the northwestern city of Tal Afar -- not far from the Syrian border.
"Dozens of tanks, Bradley fighting vehicles and Apache helicopters have moved in to a neighborhood in the town which is thought to be a stronghold of insurgents," said senior Baghdad correspondent Jane Arraf, who is embedded with U.S. troops.
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Some 4,000 U.S. troops moved into the Tal Afar area in recent weeks.
Meanwhile, Al Jazeera.com notes:
American media no longer accept Bushs war lies"Usually" - but not this year. The Baltimore Sun, Chicago Tribune, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, and Minneapolis Star-Tribune were singled out for special praise.A strange phenomenon is occurring in national American papers, with many editors beginning to condemn the war in Iraq, when previously many of them "accepted" it.
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Last week was Memorial Day in the U.S. and it seemed to bring out the anger in some editorial writers, who usually, especially during such a celebration, are afraid to say anything about a current conflict that might seem to slight the sacrifices of men and women, past and present.
