Posted on 04/01/2008 11:17:05 AM PDT by tobyhill
BAGHDAD (AP) — Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, returning from the southern city of Basra, claimed Tuesday that a week-old operation against Shiite militias has been a "success" despite a cease-fire that did not disarm the gunmen and left him politically battered.
The Shiite leader stopped short of declaring an end to the offensive that began a week ago Tuesday in Basra, sparking retaliatory clashes in Baghdad and other southern cities, and criticism that his government was unprepared for the fierce backlash.
Militia leader Muqtada al-Sadr, meanwhile, thanked his fighters for "defending your people, your land and your honor."
Sporadic fighting continued in Baghdad and Basra, but the cities otherwise were calm two days after the radical Shiite cleric called on his fighters to stand down in a bid to end the widening conflict.
A U.S. helicopter fired a missile at gunmen attacking ground forces in the Baghdad militia stronghold of Sadr City, killing six militants, the military said. Iraqi police and witnesses said three civilians were killed in the strike.
Amid the tensions, Britain's Defense Secretary Des Browne said a plan to withdraw around 1,500 troops based mainly around Basra has been postponed. Browne said it would be "prudent" to pause any further reductions while the situation was unfolding.
Ground forces called for the airstrike in Sadr City after gunmen fired at a tank and rolled a burning tire in their direction, said Maj. Mark Cheadle, a military spokesman in Baghdad.
Iraqi police said U.S. troops opened fire them hours later in Sadr City, killing three unarmed men and wounding six people, including two children. Cheadle denied U.S. forces were involved in such an incident.
Al-Maliki insisted in the statement issued by his office that the operation had achieved "security, stability and success" in Basra.
(Excerpt) Read more at ap.google.com ...
“Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki ... claimed that a week-old operation against Shiite militias has been a “success” despite a cease-fire that did not disarm the gunmen and left him politically battered. ... Militia leader Muqtada al-Sadr, meanwhile, thanked his fighters for “defending your people, your land and your honor.”
Could these idiot reporters be any more partisan or clueless?
They’re reporting from a preprinted template. There was never any question that those that didn’t get killed, wounded or captured weren’t going to voluntarily hand over their weapons.
Pinging... I predicted yesterday Maliki would stop short.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1994459/posts?page=13#13
Iraq is like a 3-legged stool. You can’t cut off 1 leg & expect to be able to sit on it. Though Maliki is Shia & can brook no organized opposition form his own, he can’t go all the way against them. He may need their support in the future.
I don’t dispute your analogy, BTW. In fact it is a pretty good one.
No bias with the AP....none.... /s
If Sadr Won, Where Is The Dancing And Cheering In The Streets?
Maliki: "Security operations in Basra will continue"
By Bill RoggioMarch 31, 2008 3:08 PM
One day after Muqtada al Sadr, the leader of the Mahdi Army, called for his fighters to abandon combat, the fighting in Basrah has come to a near-halt, and the Iraqi security forces are patrolling the streets. While Sadr spokesman said the Iraqi government agreed to Sadr's terms for the cease-fire, Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki has said the security forces will continue operations in Basrah in the South. Meanwhile, the Mahdi Army took heavy casualties in Basrah, Nasiriyah, Babil, and Baghdad over the weekend, despite Sadr's call for the end of fighting.
Maliki was clear that operations would continue in the South. "The armed groups who refuse al Sadr's announcement and the pardon we offered will be targets, especially those in possession of heavy weapons," Maliki said, referring to the 10-day amnesty period for militias to turn in heavy and medium weapons. "Security operations in Basra will continue to stop all the terrorist and criminal activities along with the organized gangs targeting people."
That is an excellent analogy.
Sadr loyalists warn of end to cease-fire
*************************EXCERPT**************************
By Tina Susman, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
8:31 AM PDT, April 1, 2008
They are ‘negotiating’ — which is to say their supporters are butting heads on the streets while Maliki & Sadr make public statements.
Monday, March 31, 2008--- After the Surge
******************EXCERPT*****************
About three days ago, when the clash between the Iraqi Army and the Madhi army was in its fourth day, I asked a senior officer returned from Iraq after his presentation whether Maliki would go all the way against Sadr. He said he didn't know, but added that militias were a problem that had to be eventually addressed. Another questioner asked about the quality of the Iraqi Armed forces, and on this point the answer was more definite. The quality was uneven. Many parts of it were rudimentary; some parts of it were extraordinarily good.
But the subject of the talk that night on the strategic history of the campaign in Iraq provided the perfect background to understand how the fight with the Mahdi Army might develop. Maliki's campaign against the Mahdi Army carries many echoes of the two Battles of Fallujah; with the First Fallujah bearing an extraordinary superficial resemblance to the events -- so far. Like the First Fallujah, Maliki's campaign against the Mahdi Army appears to have begun suddenly, just as the plan to reduce that city was sparked by the unanticipated massacre of a contractor convoy by Sunni insurgents. Like the First Fallujah, the campaign against Sadr has reached a non-binding truce, with Moqtada al-Sadr ordering his men to stop operations. Like the First Fallujah, the truce is really a sham. A half dozen mortar rounds fell again on the Green Zone right after the so-called "truce" was declared. Like the First Fallujah the enemy is claiming political victory, with the New York Times in particular claiming glowing Sadrist victories against US troops who "opened fire randomly in a crazy way and shot many people". Yet like the First Fallujah the current operations are likely to have been a military disaster for enemy forces. Bill Roggio reports that Sadr's men have been decimated by operations, which have been conducted largely by the Iraqi Army. But the similarities to the First Fallujah, go even deeper. Both operations against were conducted against an enemy in an "unshaped battlefield", meaning one which had not been previously emptied of civilians. The extraordinary interaction between political and military events in Iraq was captured in the adage around MNF-I (according to the senior officer's presentation) to 'fight to the politics'. ******************************* More at the link...
********************EXCERPTS**********************
by Norvell B. De Atkine
Middle East Quarterly
December 1999
Translations of this item: * Hungarian Norvell De Atkine, a U.S. Army retired colonel with eight years residence in Lebanon, Jordan, and Egypt, and a graduate degree in Arab studies from the American University of Beirut, is currently instructing U.S. Army personnel assigned to Middle Eastern areas. The opinions expressed here are strictly his own.
************************snip*******************
See the link....
Al Sadr, Iran, and the Mahdi army have been humiliated.
So now, the propaganda media steps in to try to restore the powerful image of these defeated groups.
They lost, Iraq won.
Propaganda will not change that. Hundreds of Mahdi militia men died. And this can happen again as many times as they care to bring it to the streets. Eventually, they will accept the rule of law or be detained or killed.
Anybody inclined to send up a prayer for the good guys in the fight that is going on right now this is a good time.
Consider it done ...
Done!
Thanks for the live-action report. :-)
Keep yer head down. OK?
**Police confirmed an operation was underway against the Mahdi Army in Basra while the Sadr movement said it was ready to negotiate a ceasefire.**
***A spokesman for Sadr's office in Basra, Harith al-Athari, told AFP the Sadrists wanted to end the stand-off.***
***”The situation is bad and we regret the fighting. We are ready for negotiations and want to calm things,” he said.***
***”The Sadr movement has called for an urgent meeting of their leaders to consider all the available choices and we will announce the outcome when we finish the meeting.”***
http://www.aina.org/news/20080325041418.htm
This doesn't sound like someone with a formidable militia ready for battle. All Sadr did was save face for his MSM pals.
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