About 1,000 U.S. troops stormed through the western Iraqi town of Sadah near the Syrian border early Saturday morning, battling foreign fighters loyal to al Qaeda, the military said in a statement.
A joint force of Marines, soldiers and sailors took part in the assault, which the military dubbed "Operation Kabda Bil Hadid, " or Iron Fist. The operation aimed to "root out al Qaeda in Iraq terrorists operating in the area and to disrupt terrorist support systems in and around the city," according to the military.
This sounds like countless other military press releases. The same broad statements, the same inflammatory phrases, and no doubt, the same end result.
We are always storming into some western Iraqi town. We are always fighting foreign fighters or Al Qaeda, and we always declare victory a couple of days later.
What never seems to be mentioned is the vast majority of fighters we face are not foreign, but Iraqi, that Al Qaeda was not in Iraq till 18 months after we invaded, that for every fighter we kill, we seem to kill two or three women and children, and that as soon as we leave the city, the insurgents come back.
The US needs to admit that we are fighting against Iraqis, that the only reason Al Qaeda is in Iraq is because we are there, and that as soon as this operation is over, this city will again be in insurgent hands.
Just another day at war in Iraq.
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