Attempted coup d'etat underway in Iraq right now

Instapundit ^ | April 05, 2004

[NativeNewYorker]

re: Your profile page...you know Pearl's widow has apparently forgotten him...she's sctupping the CNN turd who covered up for Saddam during the 90s.

As to your main point, alas, history has no counter-example to the Arab world being made reasonable and peaceful without inflicting savage losses on them.

[swarthyguy]

Safe to say sounds like the Shias are definitely hitting the proverbial fan.

Heard on the radio that the Basra town hall/police station was liberated by coalition troops.

[AntiGuv]

...let them kill each other and then we step in after the smoke clears and take control...

Umm.. In case you haven't noticed, people are capable of killing each other year after year for a very long time. It's a function of there being so many people, just about everywhere. Some insurrections have been simmering for as long as 20 years or more..

[John Jorsett]

The last paragraph was missing (had to go back to the source to get it)

Thanks. At the time I posted this, the original source's server had crashed from the sudden load and I couldn't get to it.

[LenS]

Boy, more proof of the stupidity of Arab muslims. Instead of waiting a year or two and attacking a less experienced Iraqi military/police, they launch their coup while the US military is just down the street. Even Saddam had better odds -- the US was based outside Iraq then. Now, our troops are right there with a lot of familiarity with the place (and we have even more experienced troops who could be rotated right back into Iraq in a matter of hours).

As Victor Davis Hanson pondered on his web site, did Saddam actually represent the natural result of Iraqi society?

[txradioguy]

" think the silent majority of Iraqis, like any other people in this world, just want to go to work, provide for their families, have clean drinking water, and be able to walk down the street without being killed by some lunatic probably armed and financed by another country."

Henry, you just hit the nail on the head. 80% of the people over there WANT us there. 10% of the ones who want us out are former Ba'ath Socialist Party members who had the good life under Saddam and the other 10% are foreign fighters.

[faithincowboys]

I think the blogger in question was reporting yesterday's events--isn't he on mideast time. I don't think that's happening as we speak. I have heard reporters say that it is generally calm now.

[optimistically_conservative]

Sadr is not Shiism in Iraq and I'm curious whether Sistani has/will approve of this. From what I've seen so far, I think not.

I do think this is a necessary growing pain for the Shia and democracy in Iraq.

In the end, we're likely to see Sadr end up in jail with Sistani stronger.

[johnfrink]

The difference was in those wars the political leadership actually sent enough troops to get the job done, whereas this time around guys like Rumsfeld believed they knew more than the soldiers and vetoed just about every request for more troops. And now we're stretched way too thin.

[Getsmart64]

We could destroy over 2/3's of an attacking force with just air power...and they know it...don't think armies will attack...would be interesting tho...

[MineralMan]

"Wipe them out. All of them."

Wipe all of whom out? All of whom? This doomsday nonsense is getting old. We aren't going to flatten Iraq. We're not even going to blow up a whole section of a single town.

That's not how this war will be wages, so please give it a rest.

[johnb838]

Yes, let us go to Saddam and say unto him "O Great al-Husseini, reincarnation of Nebuchudnezzar, Favored One of Allah (The Mightiest, The Most Merciful), we are miserable worms who cannot undo the sin we have wrought. Return to Thy Throne, O King, O Great Leader, and Quell the Insurrection that We Infidel Crusaders, We Dh'immi have wrought upon the Peaceful Nation of Iraq. May Mohammed (Peace Be Upon Him) Smile upon Your Return, O King."

[AmericanInTokyo]

Dont rely solely on US press. Often they have it wrong, or are just to lazy, or spin it in a certain way.

I can say this as of what I just read now:

Yomiuri Shimbun (Japan) news reporter Nakazu (last name) reports from Basra that a group of insurgents numbering approximately 1000 launched a lightning attack upon the Governor's Office/Residence for Basra State, and succeeded in capturing it. They are now presenting their demands, the GOVERNOR OF BASRA STATE ABDOLLATIF (spelling) is reported as now negotiating with the anti-Coalition forces. They are demanding the publisher of that Shiite weekly be released, etc. etc.

It is said (but I say that remains to be seen) that the so-called rebellion/coup d' etat is spreading to other Iraqi cities, that the Shiite Mafhdi Army has been assembled of 20,000 fighters demanding the re-instituion of the Al Hawza periodical--thus the seizure of the Governor's chancery in Basra. That scource was Mainichi Shimbun from Tokyo (with reporters in Iraq).

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Meanwhile:

No 'Plus-Up' Planned for Troop Levels in Iraq [w/ CENTCOM briefing transcript]

Of course that could change.

[konijn]

Not much better up North:

4 US soldiers killed in Iraq:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1111903/posts

[MineralMan]

"A well-placed nuke strike in Teheran will silence the instigators of this problem."

We are not going to do that. Ever.

[TheDon]

Yes, in Iraq, there are also the transnational terrorists. Add them to my list on the previous post.

[varon]

This could work to our advantage. Wipe them out. All of them.

Right on. They'll have our form of government even if we have to kill them all to do it ;-)

[cmsgop]

Thank You For Your Service, and thanks for the real skinny..:*)

[TomGuy]

Not good news:

DISTURBING: Sunni and Shia extremists may be joining forces