US push opposed in Washington, not Baghdad

Uh, the SURGE™ is working great because the insurgents aren't out there. Duh!

Does Bush and the military think the insurgents are as stupid as they think Americans are?

A US and Iraqi drive to wrest back control of Baghdad from illegal militias was meeting little resistance on the ground, but the war plan faced a barrage of opposition in Washington.

On the first weekly day of Muslim prayers since the operation was launched, American and Iraqi police and military units were Friday pushing into central city districts that have been the scene of recent sectarian carnage.

The operation started making headway just as lawmakers in the US House of Representatives prepared to vote on a motion to criticise President George W. Bush for sending extra American troops to carry it out.

This non-binding resolution will not prevent the White House from pushing ahead with its "surge" strategy of increasing US troop levels by 21,500, but could pave the way for tougher legislation down the line.

The vote was to take place later Friday.

In Baghdad, there was no sign of organised resistance, although one Iraqi unit was hit by a roadside bomb on the Mohammed al-Qasim highway, leaving one officer dead and a soldier wounded, a defence ministry official said.

"We've got no large scale attacks today, there have been some sporadic small arms fire engagements," said US military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Scott Bleichwehl, confirming troops had not faced major opposition.

A column of US armoured vehicles accompanied by Iraqi police headed into an administrative area of Rusafa near the Shorja market, where on Monday more than 70 people were killed by a devastating series of car bombs.

Bleichwehl said patrols would be on the look out for more car bombs in Rusafa, Baghdad's central commercial area, and carry out weapons searches further north in Sunni and Shiite neighbourhoods of the Adhamiyah district.

"We have operations ongoing in the majority of the security districts, with a focus in Adhamiyah and Rusafa," he told AFP. "I don't have the number of individual patrols but it's in the thousands."

International analysts said it seems Shiite militia and Sunni insurgent groups had decided to keep to the shadows and prepare their next move during the sweep, which was announced in detail two months ago.

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