The insurgents still managed a platoon-sized attack on our forces at Abu Ghraib:
At least 40 militants fired rocket-propelled grenades and set off two car bombs at the infamous prison as darkness fell, 1st Lt. Adam Rondeau said. Soldiers and Marines stationed at the detention facility responded, and the resulting clash and gunfight lasted about 40 minutes.
"This was obviously a very well-organized attack and a very big attack," Rondeau said.
Officials have said that overall attacks have been declining in Iraq, but they also have noted that insurgents seem to be focusing their efforts on bigger, better organized operations.
The actual fighters appear willing to keep fighting--at least some. But without the help of passive Sunnis who look the other way and low level supporters who don't fight but provide information, supplies, and hiding places for the shooters, the insurgent fighters will lack the ability to recruit replacements and will lose freedom of movement leading to higher losses.
That the insurgents are taking the time to carry out big attacks is a break from the past when they attacked a lot but avoided massing to provide big targets when going after US forces. Are they trying to attract media attention by scraping up big attacks on hard American targets that the insurgents hope will lead to propaganda victories? Are these attacks essentially recruiting campaigns to reverse the growing image of Baathist defeat?
No word on insurgent casualties in the latest attack. When they mass, we must make the enemy pay a high price.
How long will the insurgents be able to scrape up forces for such attacks?
UPDATE: Interestingly enough, al Qaeda claims responsibility and says they killed dozens of soldiers, destroyed 15 vehicles, and shot down an Apache. When they fail they just make it up.
But most interesting is this:
"Your brothers in the al Qaeda Organization (for Holy War) in Iraq launched a well-planned attack on Abu Ghraib prison, where Muslim women and men are held," the group said in another statement.
It said the battle, which also involved missile strikes, lasted most of the night.
"Columns of smoke were seen rising from the crusaders' bases," the statement said. "This battle is part of a series of raids ... which began yesterday across the land of Mesopotamia."
The group said it would provide a film of the attack soon. [emphasis added]
They really do need recruiting films. I can't believe this is a good sign from the insurgent point of view. They are losing. They know it. And they are desperate to do something that can convince recruits to come to Iraq and join their fight.
Still, we only killed one of the attackers. Obviously, had the attack really lasted most of the night we would have killed the whole lot.
If they show the film, how will they explain their own retreat when they say they accomplished so much?
