Operation Sinbad: Ongoing and then some

We're not surprised when American outlets drop the ball on the British operation in Iraq that's termed "Operation Sinbad." We are surprised when journalists for British publications drop the ball. Writing in The Independent of London, Raymond Whittaker runs down the latest on Operation Sinbad, tells you that it's not gone well, tells you that started on September 27th.

September 27th?

The episodic British incursions into central Basra became more frequent and prolonged, and the troops also began to inch in from the periphery, establishing a camp just inside a key bridge over the Shatt al Basra waterway. On Sunday, April 6, U.K. forces undertook yet another of these in-and-out bursts, this one code-named Operation Sinbad (the legendary Sinbad of 1,001 Nights fame had been from Basra). On this occasion, two convoys (each comprising 28 tanks, 28 other armed vehicles, and 1,500 soldiers) followed distinct routes into the heart of the city, converging at the College of Literature. To their surprise, the U.K. forces encountered significantly less resistance than usual, and on the spur of the moment, they decided to stay, rather than to beat the customary hasty retreat to the suburbs. A substantial British force of 10,000 then quickly followed the incursion, occupying critical portions of the city.

Try April 6th. Try April 6, 2003. The above is from David A. Koplow's "Tangled up in Khaki and Blue: Lethal and Non-Lethal Weapons In Recent Confrontations" (Georgetown Journal of International Law, Spring 2005).

Same operation, same 'goal,' same name, same area. The same battles are being fought over and over. That's the reality on the ground.