Iraqi councilman kills U.S. soldiers.....

[Neurotoxin]

with friends like these.......

NT



BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- A member of an Iraqi city council shot at U.S. forces Monday outside Baghdad, killing at least three soldiers, two Iraqi Interior Ministry officials said.

The Iraqi official fired an AK-47 at U.S. troops after they entered the City Council building in al-Madaen, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) southeast of Baghdad, according to one Interior Ministry official. The councilman killed at least three people and wounded four, a ministry official said.

U.S. forces returned fire, killing the councilman, according to two Interior Ministry officials.

The shooting happened after U.S. soldiers and local officials had attended a ceremony to open a park in al-Madaen, also known as Salman Pak, an Interior Ministry official said.

[headhuntersix]

Yeah...well I sat througha days worth of the latest and greatest from Irq and will be doing so all week. We got an hour and ahlf with P4 via Video teleconfrence....AQI is done. Stick a fork in em.

[240 is Back]

Yeah...well I sat througha days worth of the latest and greatest from Irq and will be doing so all week. We got an hour and ahlf with P4 via Video teleconfrence....AQI is done. Stick a fork in em.

Official declaration:  October

[headhuntersix]

Dude...we are never leaving. We have em worn out and about done. The next big challenge is that they are going after the money guys behind the violence. They have to separate the traditional curruption that has always been part of Iraqi life and what is AQI influenced. We were told it looks alot like the American mafia and they've called in the FBI to help roll up some of their operations. The foreign fighter pipeline from Syria is all but closed. They had to close down altogether for 70 plus days to figure out who they had left running people into Iraq. Mosul is shaping up to be the last gasp and if they roll up more of the money men ..it will be more a wimper thena bang. Iran has had to pull out alot of their special groups.

[240 is Back]

Dude...we are never leaving. We have em worn out and about done. The next big challenge is that they are going after the money guys behind the violence. They have to separate the traditional curruption that has always been part of Iraqi life and what is AQI influenced. We were told it looks alot like the American mafia and they've called in the FBI to help roll up some of their operations. The foreign fighter pipeline from Syria is all but closed. They had to close down altogether for 70 plus days to figure out who they had left running people into Iraq. Mosul is shaping up to be the last gasp and if they roll up more of the money men ..it will be more a wimper thena bang. Iran has had to pull out alot of their special groups.

oh, i'm well aware with 58 bases that we're never leaving.

I"m just saying that we'll probably see Bush in baghdad in october shouting mission accomplished from the green zone, and it'll bump mccain in the polls.

[headhuntersix]

Maybe....I also know that Obama ani't pulling us out either. Its never going to happen. We will be down to 1 div by 2011 as per the new SOFA coming out..could be a bit later. Thats it.

[240 is Back]

Maybe....I also know that Obama ani't pulling us out either. Its never going to happen. We will be down to 1 div by 2011 as per the new SOFA coming out..could be a bit later. Thats it.

yeah, obviously obama is full of shit on the withdrawal thing... he might reduce combat forces, but I'd bet my last jelly donut that he'll publicly defer to the generals, who obviously are going to say we need enough men to man and defend the 58 bases.  Just cut back on the combat forces, throw big parades and make a big deal of all the units he's brinign home, maybe use a lot of the 160k contractors to do the bases as well...

most/many of the troops are home, the rest are staying based on general's orders... easy call there.

[headhuntersix]

Yep except that his platform is to pull out..begin within 90 days..all but 1 surge bde is out. The SOFA will be done before the elections and mcCain needs to articulate the timeline so the American people understand what we're doing. By the end of next year we won't be leaving our bases unless asked....I will have more as the week goes by. Petreus is a pretty smart dude...he won't let Obama steal this one away.

[240 is Back]

Yep except that his platform is to pull out..begin within 90 days..all but 1 surge bde is out. The SOFA will be done before the elections and mcCain needs to articulate the timeline so the American people understand what we're doing. By the end of next year we won't be leaving our bases unless asked....I will have more as the week goes by. Petreus is a pretty smart dude...he won't let Obama steal this one away.

obama's just trying to get all the anti-war types to donate now, and donate big.
now that he's won the nomination, he switched all 'winning' resources to 'collections' and he's working donors big time.  the more vague his position, the better for donations.  the minute he was CLEAR on taxes, he got his ass beat in the press by independent types.  so he'll bring war positino to the center once he gets their $