Should Republicans go ahead and add Supreme Court Justices to head off Democrats

Bombing the Qaim train station

AP via Washington Post:

U.S. Marine jets destroyed a train station in a town near the Syrian border Thursday because insurgents were storing weapons there, the U.S. military said. There was no report of casualties from the attack _ the third day of strikes in the area in a week.

Marine F/A-18 jets dropped precision-guided 500 pound bombs on the target after "numerous reliable sources" saw about 50 al-Qaida-linked insurgents using the facility, the statement said.

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They said the building was destroyed but had no information on casualties because of military activity in the area.

U.S. aircraft launched attacks against suspected insurgent safe houses in the same area Saturday and again Wednesday.

See also Roggio's post on this attack.

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The air strikes and tribal combat in Qaim and Husaybah is another operation in the Anbar Campaign (details), except this unnamed operation has a twist. The Albu Mahal tribe is acting as the ground forces, which by nature are permanently stationed in the area. If the Coalition is careful in its approach, and provides combat support, follow up reconstruction aid, and government support, the Qaim region can be the first instance of a clear and hold operation on the Syrian border - without the need for U.S. Marines to provide for the main brunt of the combat power.

The work with the local Sunni tribe reminds me of how effective US airpower was when teamed with the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan. While this is on a much smaller scale it appears to have the same win-win effect for those who are fighting al Qaeda.