Operation Iron Fist has commenced
BAGHDAD, October 2 – The U.S. army has decided to pick up the glove and hit back hard to the Iraqi insurgents. Operation Iron Fist, a part of the bigger Operation Hunter, is meant to sweep several towns that are controlled by the insurgents and provide a safe gateway from Syria for new fighters and funds.
Around 1,000 marines, soldiers and sailors have started this offensive in the small town of Sadah, near Qaim where a previous face off four months ago took place. At least eight insurgents have been killed in gunfights and an unknown number injured. The town was ghostly empty when the troops arrived because the citizens were warned in advance and left the town quickly. Sadah is near the border with Syria and apart of the chain of small towns which Al-Zarqawi control to ensure new blood and money can flow into the country without any problems.
Operation Hunter, of which this operation is a smaller part, is meant to stabilize the entire Euphrates River Valley before the referendum begins on October 15th. Insurgents have sworn to disrupt the referendum. International experts disagree on the plans to stabilize these regions, many agree that the offensives are just a start and presence must be maintained to reach a degree of success. The amount of troops is far too low to establish this so the only way to do this would be to increase the number of troops in Iraq. The U.S. can’t do this because the Iraqi’s would oppose so it would have to be U.N., Islamic or European troops. All of these options seem slim since there is almost no support for the war at all.
