IRAQ STANDS ON THE BRINK OF ALL OUT WAR

From Fallujah To Diyala, The Target Has Shifted

Posted: 29 Jul 2008 02:36 PM CDT
http://www.vetvoice.com/

I have previously written here concerning the Diyala province heating up.

More recently, it has gotten even worse.

There has been escalating violence and corruption at various levels of the Iraqi government.

There have been reports that the Diyala Operations Commander, Staff General Abdul-Kareem al-Rubaee, has been dismissed, and the MNF arrested the Diyala Deputy Governor. Now, the US military is planning a full assault on the Diyala province.

U.S. military commanders are liaising with top Iraqi brass on a fresh large-scale offensive to subdue the restive Province of Diyala to be launched early in August. The attack will be the second major military operation in less than six months targeting Diyala. The province of which the city of Baaquba is the capital has hardly recovered from the devastation the troops incurred in the previous offensive.

As I have recently mentioned, many of the Sunni Awakening groups are holding out for more money, and threatening to rejoin the ranks of their previous insurgent groups, including AQI and the 1920's Revolutionary Brigade. Our own Alex Horton wrote an insightful post about this here. It seems now that this unrest may be a sign of more to come in Diyala.

The province is predominantly Arab Sunni but sizeable communities of Sunni Kurds and Arab and Kurdish Shiites live there.

So how big of an offensive are we talking about?

Thousands of U.S. troops as well as armored vehicles and helicopter gun ships are reportedly deployed to take part in the operation. Tens of thousands of residents are said to have fled the province in anticipation of the attack. The multi-ethnic and sectarian nature of the province is mirrored in the composition of Iraqi troops and security forces. Units with Shiite majority are feared more than U.S. troops in mainly Sunni areas and there have stories of oppression and massive human rights abuses.

In protest, the U.S.-sponsored Sunni militia in the province known as Sahwa or awakening has been disintegrating with tribal leaders resigning or simply refusing to press ahead with fighting al-Qaeda.

If the Awakening groups fall apart, violence will escalate. Sunni groups are appealing to the IIP and the Sunni Accordance Front in an effort to promote some stability.