A link from Wretchard a few days ago alerted me to this very good site for background info from Iraq –
So to sum up, if I am Joe Insurgent in Fallujah, and have news access (probably via shortwave radio), I know that:
Bush has won a resounding victory the British are united behind him and will participate in the attack against me the Arab media will mainly be embedded with the Americans, and will give accurate stories of their prowess, not the dreck I feed them
All of these things have a psychological effect on the enemy combatants. If there is any chance at all for a peace settlement, the US’ blatant unity behind the president will further deepen existing discord between the sheiks and the foreign fighters.
I would put all of these events, together with the unrelenting airstrikes, under the battle phase of “shaping the battlefield,” wherein we have not yet committed ground troops, but it’s the next step, and we are doing all possible right down to the wire to make them successful.
Read the rest of the post at Adventures Of Chester if you have any intentions of watching/reading news about Fallujah in the coming days.
If I were a smart insurgent, I’d be packing my bags and taking a month long vacation in Sunny Basra, or anywhere else.
If I were a dumb insurgent, I’d be booby trapping everything within sight, setting up “clever plans” and getting ready to give the ‘mericans a right warm welcome. You know, get the american’s to take a nice tactical position somewhere, get them nicely bunkered in, and detonate a couple of 500lb bombs you buried last week under their infidel posterior…
I don’t understand this obvious telegraphing by the Marines of their intentions and timing.
I thought the usual plan was to shut up, and just show up one morning at 3 AM with all your toys.