In case you haven't noticed, the Iraqi insurgency is loosing. The best example of this is their two attacks on Abu Ghraib prison. The prison is of no strategic value whatsoever. The insurgents have largely given up attacking American targets, as these are heavily defended. They are hungry for headlines, the Tet Offensive option, as some cyberinterloculors are styling it. See the Austin Bay Blog for a summary. Tip of the hat to Powerline.
Saddam’s holdout henchmen are always desperate for headlines. While car bomb attacks on unarmed Iraqi civilians are low-risk (and they continue, particularly against Shiites), public opinion now matters in Iraq, and the thugs’ public slaughters have killed too many Iraqis. With support dwindling day by day, the Sunni thugs are once more seeking “freedom fighter” media status by “playing the Abu Ghraib” card.
Abu Ghraib has now been attacked twice in a three-day period. Attacks occurred on April 2 and today, April 4. US forces took 44 casualties (most wounds were minor).
US forces, however, are hard targets and the Abu Ghraib complex is heavily fortified. Wire reports conclude the terrorists took 50 casualties (out of an attacking force estimated at 60 gunmen). Their attack did trigger s “quick reaction force” (QRF) of Apache helicopters.
The April 4 car bomb also took Iraqi civilian lives. While the mere mention of Abu Ghraib may inflame the Guardian and the DailyKos, for everyone else—particularly Iraqis– January 30th’s seismic political shift dramatically changed the debate and the media focus. The selection of Hajim al-Hassani (a Sunni Arab) as parliament speaker is another political knock for the terrorists.
If you are interested in this, The Belmont Club is a good blog to check on.
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