U.S. military "frustrated by their inability to defeat intimidation"

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

We're winning! We're losing! We're winning! We're losing! We're winning! We're losing! We're winning! We're losing! We're winning! We're losing! We're winning! We're losing! We're winning! We're losing! etc. etc. etc.

U.S. generals see gains from Iraq offensives
As election nears, insurgents expected to adopt new tactics



"Mourners carry the body of a member of the Iraqi Muslim's Clerics Association who was gunned down by insurgents in Mosul on Nov. 22. While citing progress in battling the insurgency, U.S. military commanders remain wary of an escalating campaign of intimidation."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6656848/

The dispersion and guerrilla tactics of the militants, U.S. officers say, will draw U.S. forces into more classic counterinsurgency operations characterized by focused raids, along the lines of the recent sweep through the northern part of Babil province led by U.S. Marines. Such troop-intensive operations are the reason behind the decision announced last week to boost U.S. forces in Iraq to 150,000.

But while the U.S. military has plans to pursue militants as they attempt to regroup, commanders appear frustrated by their inability to defeat the intimidation. An internal assessment of the U.S. strategy in Iraq, prepared for Army Gen. George W. Casey Jr., the top U.S. commander in Iraq, concluded last week that "no silver bullet" exists for this problem.

The intimidation effort is blamed for undermining the development of effective Iraqi security forces, particularly local police, as well as inhibiting Iraq's interim government, restricting economic development and generally fueling perceptions of insecurity.

A total of 338 Iraqis associated with the new governing structures or with the Americans have been assassinated since Oct. 1, according to U.S. military figures. This includes 35 police chiefs, mayors and middle-ranking officials. In Mosul, where 136 bodies have been found in the past month, U.S. officers suspect a particularly brutal and extensive campaign by fighters from the once-ruling Baath Party to target members of the Iraqi security forces.