Word: basra
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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That's not happening yet. The inadequacy of Iraqi forces has come under a harsh spotlight since March, when Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki launched an offensive in the southern city of Basra against Shi'ite militias loyal to the rebel cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. The operation, named Saulat al-Forsan (Charge of the Knights), was an opportunity for the Iraqi troops to show just how far they have come as an independent force. But barely a day into the offensive, al-Maliki had to call for backup as his troops ran into resistance from the militias. British and American...
...commanders continue to offer assurances that Iraqi forces are up to the challenge, emphasizing progress made over the recent setbacks. "As we look to [Basra] ... we see a much improved Iraqi security force," Lieut. General Lloyd Austin, the No. 2 military commander in Iraq, told journalists in Baghdad on April 23. But soldiers working with Iraqi units on the ground say the praise is exaggerated. In Hilla, a dusty town south of Baghdad where a bloody battle raged in the streets at the end of March, some soldiers of the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, say their efforts...
...military commanders in Iraq and the Iraqi government have been trumpeting the growing confidence and successes of the Iraqi army and police force, since Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki launched an offensive against Basra last month, with the aim of reclaiming control of the southern port city from the Mahdi Army militia of radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. Despite meeting powerful resistance from the Mahdi Army, and suffering the desertion of roughly 1,300 soldiers who refused to fight, the Iraqis' performance was commended by the U.S. as a show of their newfound competence. "Iraqi forces are taking the lead...
...police and army are pulled largely from the Badr Brigade - a militia tied to a Shi'ite political party, the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, which is the chief rival of Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army. A number of MPs in Baghdad even suspect that Maliki's Basra assault was a poorly disguised government campaign to wipe out Sadr's base of popularity before local elections in October. That's why it was no surprise, said Lieutenant Ryan Lawson, who is based in Hilla, that Brigadier General Abdul Amir's Badr-dominated forces in Hilla were "chomping...
...crisis appeared to remain stalemated, despite the fresh fighting and sharp rhetoric. The advance by Iraqi security forces on Sadr City seems to have stalled, and it remains unclear what picture will be revealed in Basra in the coming days following the supposed gains by Iraqi troopers. Iraqi security forces have yet to land a major blow against al-Sadr's militia, and reports of defection and retreats by Iraqi troopers fighting militiamen continue to circulate...