Baghdad Operation Turns Up Little As US, Iraqi Commanders Clash

Associated Press February 10, 2007 08:48 AM

Iraqi commanders are urging the Americans to go after Sunni targets as the first focus of the military push to secure Baghdad, displaying a sectarian tilt that is delaying full implementation of the plan to drive gunmen from the streets, U.S. officers say.

American officers, interviewed at the sprawling Camp Victory base at the western edge of the capital, also acknowledge they are finding little in their initial searches of Baghdad neighborhoods _ suggesting either they received faulty intelligence or that the massive publicity that preceded the operation gave militants time to slip away.

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New Iraq Commander: Nation "Doomed" If Baghdad Push Fails

Reuters February 10, 2007 08:44 AM

"The prospects for success are good," he said, referring to a new crackdown to curb sectarian violence in Baghdad. "Failing that, Iraq will be doomed to continuing violence and civil strife and surely that is a prospect all must strive to avoid."

"The stakes are very high," he said, after taking over command of America's 130,000 troops in the country from General George Casey.

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