In Najaf, human shields and militants await tanks

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L16256053.htm

NAJAF, Iraq, Aug 16 (Reuters) - With his militants and human shields holed up inside one of Shi'ite Islam's most sacred shrines, radical Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr is playing a shrewd waiting game before an expected American-led offensive.

Sadr's militiamen were inside the Imam Ali shrine and positioned along alleyways and on rooftops with a seemingly endless supply of AK-47 rifles and rocket-propelled grenades intermittently fired at U.S. troops in a nearby cemetery.

But it was about 2,000 impassioned Iraqi civilian "volunteers" cheering Sadr in the marble-floored courtyard of the mosque who made the biggest show of force on Monday.

Travelling to Najaf from across Iraq, they are swelling the ranks of Sadr's supporters and could be another reason why U.S. troops may think twice before storming the shrine.

more

[Dhalgren]

1. We are thugs! We are about to pull a Tiananmen Square

in Najaf! But the American public will never know about it, because the "news" wont carry it and the Democrats in Washington wont make a stink about it! The only way the truth can get out (if at all) is if some lawmaker, somewhere, makes a big deal out of it! And it doesn't look like any of them are going to. Najaf is going to be one of America's typical massacres, but with the whole world watching (except for America). This is hellish!

[truthisfreedom]

2. we are NOT thugs. our country has been highjacked. Kerry would never

let this happen. he's seen the dark side of war... he would never repeat it.

[Dhalgren]

3. Americans are doing this.

Americans are killing Iraqis by the hundreds, daily, because America wants Iraq. Now, you can say "It's not America, but a gang of criminals" if it makes you feel better, but it isn't the truth. The truth is that even John Kerry won't condemn this war, because if he did the American public would not elect him - that means that the American public supports the actions taking place in Iraq. The Bush criminals are there and prospering because the American public has either agreed with or simply acquiessed to the committment of these horrible crimes. Look in the mirror and see the reflection seen by Iraqis - it isn't pretty.

[truthisfreedom]

5. we all know that Kerry's silence on certain issues is temporary, until he

gets elected. and it's not that America supports the war... it's that Americans can't smell the carnage from here. you can't blame people for being uninformed when the media is being manipulated for political ends.

[Aidoneus]

7. his is not silence

but rather, in the rare event he makes a clear statement on the matter, it is in support. I do not see any reason to see this as temporary.

[Aidoneus]

4. oh bullshit..

so when his fellow volunteers were throwing people out of helicopters, was it "hijacked" then too? When, in this self-comforting delusion, was it not such?

[truthisfreedom]

6. i don't get what you're saying. i said he wouldn't repeat it... are you

saying that he would?

i personally believe in the man.

[Aidoneus]

8. What I am saying..

is that I don't believe he could do anything about it--even if he would attempt to, which I do not foresee. Just "beating Bush" is one thing, and I believe he is entirely capable of that and probably will, but out of the blue putting a stop to a dozen (or more) decades of typical and established policy?--far beyond him in ability and interest, which is exactly why I think he can "Beat Bush".

[truthisfreedom]

9. you can't discount the fact that he took such a strong stand against the

atrocities after he got back from vietnam. i think he might have a bit more fight against the evils of war left inside his somewhat-less-idealistic and a bit more crusty exterior.

[IndianaGreen]

10. We have murdered people under Democratic and Republican Administrations

Bush only happens to be the most extreme manifestation of American imperialism, the only difference is that Bush never bothered to use the Vaseline to screw the world in the ass.

[Dhalgren]

11. I agree.

The solgan for Kerry shold be something like "Vote for Kerry because he isn't an idiot". Everyone who is functioning above "brain-stem" level will vote for Kerry in November, because it is a vote against the fool currently in office, but that does not mean that this country has changed in any way. The main reason Dean and Kucinich were so roundly beaten in the primaries is because this nation is an imperialistic one. America is divided right now over who can best serve as commander in chief, not as president! If America was as benign and peace-loving as some would like you to believe, then Bush would not as close to reacquiring the WH as he appears to be. Kerry has to be bellicose or he won't get elected - that is because Americans are that way.

[Hidebo]

12. So.... now Americans are exactly acting like Saddam

Only difference is that Saddam had committed those atrocities for his own sake, but Americans have been doing them for establishing democracy in Iraq.

[MARALE]

13. We are not establishing a democracy

We are establishing a territory. We have not done anything to make life better for most Iraqis, most are worse off now. That is why the are fighting us and begging us to get out.

[Barrett808]

14. So George: to massacre or not to massacre? n/t

[Geo55]

16. Listen to mom....it's a no-brainer

," Barbara Bush said on ABC's "Good Morning America" on March 18, 2003. "Oh, I mean, it's not relevant. So why should I waste my beautiful mind on something like that?"


Why , indeed?

[freemarketer]

15. Have you seen this masterpiece?

http://www.axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/article_10888.shtml