In Tikrit, Saddam Hussien’s hometown in northern Iraq, U.S.
forces launched Operation Ivy Cyclone, described as a massive
offensive against insurgent guerrilla groups in the north.
Artillery from U.S. ground forces, U.S. jets and U.S.
fighter-bombers and Apache helicopter gunships struck several
targets in and around the northern city throughout Monday and
sporadically through the night into Tuesday.

The U.S. Army’s 4th Infantry Division launched the offensive
against Saddam loyalists, foreign fighters and other extremist
elements as a means of responding to recent insurgent attacks
against U.S. and coalition forces in northern Iraq. Two U.S.
soldiers from the 4th Infantry and one civilian contractor were
killed on Monday when a homemade bomb killed one soldier and a
patrol was attacked by small arms and rocket propelled grenades,
killing another soldier. Six insurgents were killed and 99 were
detained during sweeps through towns.

Near Baqouba (30 miles northeast of Baghdad), the United States
led aerial attacks against insurgents, dropping 500-pound bombs and
gunfire from jets and Apache choppers. Tanks fired at suspected
ambush sites along a road frequently attacked by guerrilla and
insurgent forces with rocket propelled grenades, known as RPG
Alley.

The strikes targeted houses of individuals believed to be
involved with the Nov. 7 downing of a Black Hawk helicopter,
including Izzat Ibrahim, a former Saddam deputy believed to be the
coordinator of several insurgency attacks.

On Saturday, 17 soldiers from the Army’s 101st Airborne Division
were killed when two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters collided over
Mosul at approximately 6:30 p.m. (10:30 a.m. EST). Five soldiers
survived and were flown to Landstuhl, Germany, for treatment.

The cause of the collision is still under investigation, but CNN
reports that a military source told reporters that an initial
report of the incident indicated that the first chopper ascended to
avoid ground fire, causing the rotor of the helicopter to strike
the second Black Hawk. U.S. civilian administrator in Iraq, L. Paul
Bremer, said the two helicopters were flying separate missions, and
not in formation.

“Helicopters fly in predictable patterns, usually from base to
base,” said political science Chair Timothy Lomperis, Ph.D.
“Mujahideen may have figured out that plan. They would have to
stake them out for a long time and learn the patterns. Most of the
helicopters have been moving troops; they begin to operate like an
airline with scheduled flights. They are rarely shot down in
combat.”

One of the 17 casualties from the crash was Spc. William D.
Dusenbery, 30, of Fairview Heights, Ill. Dusenbery was a member of
the 4th Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment.

The crash of the two Black Hawks marks the downing of the third
and fourth U.S. helicopters in less than three weeks, after a Black
Hawk helicopter was gunned down on Nov. 7 and the Nov. 2 Chinook
crash.

“If this becomes a trend, it is going to be very serious,”
Lomperis said. “The Army relies on helicopters. That’s how you
avoid ambushes on the ground.”

Fox News reported that an Iraqi militant group called Muhammad’s
Army claimed responsibility for the Nov. 2 downing of the Chinook
helicopter and issued a warning that U.S. forces would be subject
to more attacks if forces do not withdraw in 15 days. According to
Fox News, there is no way to independently verify these claims.

Also on Saturday, the Iraqi governing council voted to establish
a provisional government in Iraq with full sovereign powers by the
end of June 2004. The provisional government is expected to write a
constitution by the end of 2005, said council member Ahmed
Chalabi.

Bremer said the U.S. would have preferred a constitution be
drafted before the provisional government is enacted, but supports
a sovereign Iraqi government.

In order to establish the provisional government, council
leaders will write a law for the basic parameters of the new
government by February, said eight council members in a press
conference. The law is expected to include provisions of separation
of powers of the executive, legislative and judicial branches. The
law will begin the process of returning control of Iraq to the
Iraqis over the course of six months.

“Political dates are good. They didn’t say anything about troops
coming out, because if they did, then Saddam would just hunker down
and wait for the troops to leave … and then start a resurgence,”
Lomperis said.

A national election is slated to be held at the end of 2005,
which worries some Sunni Muslims. However, leading Shiite parties
are trying to quell the fears of some Sunnis and say that the
council does not want to create an Iranian-style Islamic state or a
rigid theocracy like Saudi Arabia.

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld stated that the
establishment of the Iraqi government will not lead to immediate
withdrawal of U.S. forces in Iraq. President George W. Bush said
the U.S. will not spend “years and years” as an occupier and plans
to cede power to the new government quickly.

The White House said that with the new sovereign government,
U.S. military occupation will formally end, but U.S. forces are
likely to remain in Iraq after the occupation. This month’s
president of the Iraqi governing council, Jalal Talabani, echoed
these sentiments and said that the occupation will end, but foreign
troops will stay by invitation.