Another failed operation-in-the-making in Samara, Iraq

SALAH AL DIN/BAGHDAD, 27 September (IRIN) - Hundreds of families have started to flee the Iraqi city of Samara, some 120km north of the capital, Baghdad, following a recent Ministry of Defense announcement that preparations had started for an offensive by Coalition forces against insurgents holed up there, officials said. Hamad al-Kashty, governor of Salah al-Din province, said on Monday that nearly 500 families had so far fled the city. Many were presently in the outskirts, particularly around al-Dur, al-Salam, Baghdad and within empty schools and government buildings near the city of Tikrit. ....A spokesperson at the Iraqi Ministry of Interior said such operations would continue to rid the country of insurgents. ....However, the Iraq Red Crescent Society (IRCS) urged the Iraq government not to proceed with their operation, saying the last offensive against insurgents in Talafar had forced nearly 5,000 families to flee the city....

What a horrible waste. Soldiers and innocent people will get killed. If we know it's going to happen, then the "insurgents" know and will prepare accordingly. When will this madness end? When will we rid our government of this Mad Cowboy Disease?