September 14, 2005

Al Qaeda on the Run in Northern Iraq

Are things really all that bad in Iraq? Not according to those that are actually there. In a Pentagon press briefing today, a commander from Mosul, Iraq, described a much weakened al Qaeda presence in that region. At least 80% of al Qaeda fighters are dead or captured, and those fighting today are much less organized with far poorer training.

But how can things be getting better in Iraq when so much news--today's news--always seems so bad?

Flipping through the news this morning as I got ready for work, I noticed that CNN and Fox were reporting some very bad news from people who should know how things are going, reporters in Baghdad. However, one thing seemed rather odd to me--both reporters had the same background shot.

In fact, both reporters were at the same Baghdad hotel well inside the Green Zone. So, how are they getting their news? They are getting their news from the DOD just like I am, only they can broadcast their original news from Iraq and thus you get the feeling that they are more authoritative because they are, you know, there, even though there isn't really anywhere near where the stories are happening.

Journalists such as Michael Yon are the exception to the rule. He's embedded with military forces in Mosul, so when Yon reports that things are much better in Mosul today than last year, you better believe him. Yon is actually there where there is.

So, when Army Col. Robert B. Brown, commander of the 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division's Stryker Brigade Combat Team, reported from Mosul, Iraq, about conditions there you better listen, too. Remember, Yon is embedded with these guys. Stryker Brigade News has a great gallery of the men of the 1/25 here.

Here are some highlights from a DOD press release about Brown's conference. And by 'highlights', I mean pretty much the whole press release. But, as you read it, imagine that I am reporting from inside the Green Zone. I'm sure that will make it much more believable. Here's a visual, to help put you in the mood.

Brown notes that eighty percent of al Qaeda's network in northern Iraq "has been devastated" since January due to the capture or killing of key leaders and the outrage of Iraqi citizens.

The situation in Mosul is "improving on a daily basis," Brown said. "Normalcy has come back into the city."

That wasn't the case prior to the Iraqi elections held in January, Brown recalled, when his soldiers "faced a foreign fighter that was very well-trained." However, the situation has changed significantly since then, he said.

Several events caused the decline of terrorist influence in Mosul over the past year by, Brown said. For one, Mosul's citizens, who'd had enough of the murder of innocent women and children by al Qaeda-sponsored terrorists, began supporting their new government after the elections.

Carnage wrought by foreign terrorists also has caused Iraqis who used to favor the return of the defunct Saddam Hussein regime to change sides and support the new Iraqi government, Brown said.

Today, Mosul's citizens routinely identify insurgents and provide other information to U.S., coalition and Iraqi security forces, Brown said.

"People are fed up with the terrorists' acts," the colonel said, noting that Iraqis "want a brighter future."

Many key al Qaeda leaders in Iraq have been captured or killed in recent months, Brown said, affecting terrorist operations. Brown said enemy mortar attacks in his area have decreased to about six a month, compared to around 300 monthly prior to the January elections.

And "we have not seen well-trained foreign fighters" since the elections, Brown said. Foreign terrorists captured these days are poorly trained and "very young," he noted, ranging in age from 15 to 17 years old.

Al Qaeda is "clearly our biggest threat" in Iraq, Brown said. Of 550 terrorists killed during U.S.-coalition operations in northern Iraq during February and March, he estimated between 60 percent and 70 percent of enemy casualties were foreign fighters.

Brown said he's very proud of his hard-working soldiers. The brigade's victories against terrorists haven't come without cost, he noted, with 33 having lost their lives in Iraq over the past 11 months.

However, the brigade's trademark vehicle has "saved hundreds of my soldiers' lives," Brown asserted. He said 115 rocket-propelled-grenade rounds, as well as myriad machine-gun bullets, have failed to penetrate the Stryker's tough skin during his brigade's tour in Iraq.

The Stryker has "done a fantastic job here in Iraq," Brown said.

Check out Stryker Brigade News, which is very bloggy, for more info coming out of Northern Iraq.