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To: MSI who wrote (17111)	11/21/2003 9:59:12 PM
From: Sully-	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 793717

Again, you keep shying away from the assertions I questioned you about. Why is that? You said, regarding Iraq, "What we DO know is the lack of success, and the relentlessly increasing terrorism, with reports from CIA and others that it shows no signs of abating." I asked you, "Is that actually a quantifiable, verifiable claim?" Nothing in any reply yet has begun to substantiate those assertions. Oh & regarding Operation Iron Hammer..... the Battle of the Bulge was not part of any relentlessly increased German resistance. It was one of the last gasps of a dying war machine, but for a while it certainly appeared otherwise. Whether Iron Hammer is bringing out the last vestiges of the Iraqi/terrorist resistance will be determined weeks or months from now. In any event, the recent death toll of our troops & the attacks by Iraqi's & terrorists is not evidence of "relentlessly increasing terrorism"..... with "no signs of abating". Consider this from the field....... .....Meanwhile in Baghdad, U.S. Army Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt, deputy director for operations for the Combined Joint Task Force-7 briefed local reporters on November 21 about the most recent attacks in the capital. He said between nine and 14 rocket-propelled grenade launchers mounted on donkey carts were aimed at the Iraqi Ministry of Oil and the Palestine Hotel. A few of the rockets thought to be destined for the Palestine Hotel went awry and hit the nearby Sheraton Hotel, he added. Other rigged donkey carts aimed at the University Law building and the Kurdish Democratic Party were discovered later in the day. "This is an adaptive enemy" who is also inventive and ingenious, Kimmitt said. It is an enemy trying to "break our will," he said, and capture headlines. "But these attacks, with the exception of a seriously injured civilian," Kimmitt said, "have had, frankly, no tactical value, and they're militarily insignificant." Asked about the psychological impact, the military officer said the terrorists are trying to promote fear, but the facts on the ground indicate that Iraq "is a relatively stable country." Ultimately, the enemy will fail, Kimmitt said, "because our will is unaffected by these attacks." A reporter asked the briefing official if he still believes that Iraq is 90 percent safe, secure and stable as the Coalition Provisional Authority maintains. "Absolutely," he replied, adding that there were only "two rocket attacks in the space of one day in a very small area," and "about 90 percent of the districts in Baghdad are safe." Kimmitt said his forces continue to work on creating "a safe and secure environment" there while simultaneously "getting on with the process of providing essential services, restoring the economy and passing governance to the people of Iraq." iwar.org.uk