Top Commander Expects Big Iraq Strikes

A logical attempt to belay the type of attacks Petraeus speaks of would be a series of attacks by the Americans at locations where they've detected insurgent Sunni forces building up.The ability of the U.S. to monitor above ground movements is superior to anything theinsurgents possess. On the other hand, it appears that the insurgents have enough "spies" close to the action of American military operations that they were able to warn al-Qaeda in Baquba to dispurse prior to that operation's launch. I'd guess Sunni and al-Qaeda insurgents will look at interesting measures to attack Americans. If they, for instance, were able to burrow under a street, in some possible bastion of insurgents, and rig the entire street with explosives, they could explode all the munitions when enough American vehicles got above the explosives, and perhaps take out a number of vehicles at one time. If Americans are really dismounting from HUMMERS and Bradleys to patrol, because IED and EFP explosions can kill entire crews, then I'd look for very deadly land mines to be the next approach to attacking Americans. In WW II, the Germans often lured a number of Americans into a mine field, which caused numerous casualties before a squad or platoon could extricate themselves. This would be worse if there were claymore type mines, which aren't buried per se, but are command detonated by a human waiting and watching for troops to enter a "kill zone." And, blowing as many bridges and overpasses that would create a box for Americans trapped inside that box would cause serious reinforcement problems for Americans. Any "spectacular" attack would, in my view, involve mines; IEDs or EFPs; heavy ground small arms fire; a huge amount of RPGs and other rockets; mortar fire interdicting reinforcement routes; blowing of bridges and highway overpasses; and finally, as many anti-aircraft weapons firing at helicopter reinforcement as possible. That would mean a concentration of forces, and that, of course, can be detected. But if operational security were maintained, the surprise of such an incident would be serious. Any such operation would, of course, be totally suicidal for insurgents. That's not a big deal to insurgents. Any pain inflicted on the Americans would show that the insurgents are in this for the long haul ... just the opposite of what Congress is about. There's no way the Americans can sustain the surge for very long without creating a hue and cry among soldiers and marines already deployed in country for multiple tours. Exhausting soldiers and marines, as well as their families, is a strategy, as is exhausting Congress' patience. Four or five more Republicans defecting the President will be enough to override any veto he puts in place. We should all let our congressional reps know that Americans should be withdrawn from the cities, onto bases, as reaction forces, not primary combat forces. It's gotta happen sooner or later. I'd guess Congress will push that to happen sooner.