Exclusive: Major Upcoming U.S. Offensive in Diyala, Iraq
March 27, 2007
Last Friday, House Democrats voted to withdraw all U.S. troops from Iraq by September 2008--or even earlier if the Iraqi government doesn't meet certain benchmarks. Predictably, this has caused a political firestorm in Washington. President Bush is promising to veto the bill. Vice President Cheney says it undermines the troops. The Democrats, meanwhile, say their actions have nothing to do with politics.
This latest Capitol Hill brouhaha comes just as U.S. troops are starting to make some progress in Iraq. Violence in Baghdad has gradually decreased. Muqtada al-Sadr is thumbing his prayer beads somewhere in Iran. And his once fearsome al-Mahdi Army has been weakened by internal bickering and U.S. pressure.
But here's the kicker: military plans are currently on the table that could help cripple al-Qaeda in Iraq. Watch my exclusive report as it aired on CBN News last week.
High level military intelligence sources tell me the offensive would target the Iraqi province of Diyala. It's located just northeast of Baghdad, along the Iranian border. many of al-Qaeda's forces in Baghdad moved there when the new troop surge was announced in January. Sure enough, there's already reports of sharia courts across the region. More importantly, it's become a major launching pad for al-Qaeda suicide bombings in other parts of the country.
Sources say the coming Diyala offensive will be even bigger than the U.S. operation in Fallujah back in 2004--which cleared out a city that had been a major insurgent stronghold. There's two reasons for that: number one, the Diyala operation will take place over a broader geographical area. Number two, this offensive isn't limited to clearing out a single city. Instead, U.S. forces intend to drive al-Qaeda fighters in Diyala out of the country entirely.
The initial plans involve three distinct strikes from three different directions. U.S forces-supported by heavy airpower--will look to destroy enemy training facilities and prevent al-Qaeda forces from escaping. The insurgents are left with two choices--either to stand and fight or to retreat into Iran.
Al-Qaeda's leader in Iraq, Abu Ayyub al-Masri, is already preparing for the coming offensive. If the U.S. attacks, he wants to create a Stalingrad-type situation that causes heavy U.S. casualties To that end, al-Qaeda has been laying mines and positioning anti-aircraft batteries in Diyala. There's also a real concern that al-Qaeda will use chemical weapons. We've already seen a number of chlorine bomb attacks against U.S. troops. In Diyala, military sources say al-Masri may use chlorine and any other chemicals he can get his hands on. But al-Masri is betting the U.S. won't attack--first, because Diyala is so well- fortified. And secondly, because the political winds in the U.S. have turned against the Iraq war. He thinks the U.S. is a paper tiger. And that's where the White House comes in. The Diyala operation hinges on General David Petraeus's request for up to 3,000 additional troops. It's up to the Bush administration to give the go ahead. the operation can't go forward until Petraus receives those additional troops. Their job will be to help secure Baghdad while the battle for Diyala gets underway, so this doesn't become a game of "whack-a-mole."
Remember: after Fallujah, it took several months before the U.S. undertook another major military operation in Iraq. In 2006, there were none. I'm not saying Diyala is a magic elixir for our problems in Iraq. But after four years of war, a potentially crippling assault on al-Qaeda seems worth the risk.
For more on the coming Diyala offensive, watch my report at Hot Air.com and read this post at the Counterterrorism Blog by CBN News consultant Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, who played a crucial role in helping develop this story.
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