US military predicts surge in violence in Iraq

[sabra]

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L28208668.htm

US military predicts surge in violence in Iraq

BAGHDAD, Nov 28 (Reuters) - The U.S. military on Tuesday predicted a surge in sectarian fighting in Iraq in the coming weeks -- tit-for-tat revenge killings triggered by last week's devastating bombings in a Shi'ite stronghold in Baghdad.

But U.S. military spokesman Major General William Caldwell said the violence did not yet meet the military's definition of civil war, despite what he called a "dramatic spike" in killings and "violence raging in Baghdad's streets".

...

"We expect to see elevated levels of violence in the next couple of weeks ... al Qaeda, foreign terrorists and extremists do not want to let Iraqis decide their own future," Caldwell told a briefing in Baghdad.

He said the military had already noted an increase in the number of mortar and rocket attacks between militant groups on both sides of the Tigris River, which cuts through Baghdad.

[acmavm]

1. Major General William Caldwell is a complete lying ass.

[Itchinjim]

2. Itchinjim declares.....

Pope Catholic!

[Barrett808]

3. Another one? But there's no US election to sway... n/t

[sabra]

4. I guess AQ is gearing up early for 2008?

:sarcasm:

[Barrett808]

5. Of course!

How could I have missed that?

[catnhatnh]

6. Wow, Nostradamus....

...you mean with over 200 killed last Thursday alone that they haven't even kicked in the turbochargers yet??? Care to give us a hint of just what the "military definition" of a frikken' civil war LOOKS LIKE????

[Texifornia]

9. I predict the Mets to win the '69 Series...

n/t

[EnviroBat]

11. That's "Nostril-Dumbass"...

[jdlh8894]

7. Maybe this is a good sign

Everything else the military has predicted has gone the opposite.JMO

[GliderGuider]

8. New government study determines that water is wet

They sure have a hard time with reality, don't they?

[Lexingtonian]

10. 'the military's definition of civil war'...

What do the sides have to do to meet that- kill off Maliki and his government? The present situation isn't close enough to that?