Richard Beeston, Diplomatic Editor of The Times (left), says today's air assault appears politically opportune for both the Bush Administration and the fledgling Iraqi government in Baghdad.

"Today's offensive seems to have mixture of motives, both in Iraq and in the United States.

"From the point of view of the White House, President Bush has never had such low approval ratings and there is widespread criticism of his handling of the war. The last time he was under such pressure, shortly before Christmas, he responded by giving a national lecture tour.

"A powerful airstrike and raids against insurgents will only help his cause because they show that American forces are doing what they are supposed to doing, namely, taking the fight to the enemy and exerting their control over the country.

"If there are more local political motives, they are that it is important to show Iraqis that the Americans and the new Iraqi administration are in charge in the country. So much of the recent talk about Iraq has been about the imminent withdrawal of coalition forces. There is no doubt that is a show of US strength.

"A second motive will be to demonstrate that Iraqi troops, who are playing a significant part in the operation, are able to conduct this kind of mission. Iraqis will be encouraged to see that after all the bloodletting and sectarian violence that followed the bombing of the shrine in Samarra last month.

"Samarra itself is an interesting location for the operation. The town has been at the centre of a long power struggle between local Iraqi insurgents and foreign fighters. Last year, Iocal raqi insurgents took a stand against al-Qaeda after foreign extremists killed a local cleric.

"Given the recent bombing of the shrine and the degree of control that insurgents have enjoyed over the area, Samarra may have made suggested itself to American and Iraqi commanders as a place to demonstrate that that they, in fact, are in charge.

"It's also worth pointing out that that this is not the first time US forces have gone into Samarra. In late 2004, American troops secured the town and subsequently handed it over to local Iraqi forces, after which it slid back into the control of insurgents. The nature of the war in Iraq is that it keeps circling the country. Once the Americans crush the insurgents and al-Qaeda in one area, they tend to pop up somewhere else."

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