Explosion hits central Baghdad

[Judi Lynn]

Explosion hits central Baghdad
By Associated Press, 8/18/2004 05:27



BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) A large explosion hit central Baghad on Wednesday close to a convention center where a key national gathering of political, religious and civic leaders entered its final day.

The blast shook the convention center early in the afternoon as delegates worked to elect members to a national council. The explosion appeared to have hit Iraq's Foreign Ministry building, a few hundred yards from the convention center.

The cause was not immediately clear and casualties were unknown. The U.S. military had no immediate comment.
(snip/)

http://www.boston.com/dailynews/231/world/Explosion_hits_central_Baghdad:.shtml

[truthisfreedom]

1. i wonder how many years this will go on?

and if it will ever end?

[SoCalDem]

2. Lookee.. I found a silhouette of Bush.. the brown sky is real, too

[jmcgowanjm]

3. Months-the World cannot tolerate 0 Iraqi Oil exports

Iran's the key
Russia's the umpire

There is no way for US to come out
of Najaf w/ a victory.

And, according to Cole, the Marines on the ground seem to
be calling the shots in Najaf.

"The ignoramus Marines in Najaf clearly don't know all this"

http://www.juancole.com/

[bemildred]

4. NYT story says Negroponte approved the aggressive action

early on in the fighting. Not defending the ignoramus Marines,
but they are getting the shaft here, even if they deserve it a bit.

Al Sadr has them by the short hairs and seems to be shrewd enough
to hang on until he gets what he wants. It's a fascinating show.

[jmcgowanjm]

5. I was surprised when Cole called the Marines "ignoramus"

That's why I put the word in quotes.

I have cousins and friends who are Marines.

The point I'm making is that we've got the Marines
on the groung having to make geo-political,
realpolitik decisions that they're not capable
of making.

This whole thing is a Clusterfuck waitint for
disaster of monumental proportions.

The Marine's leaders are abdicating. Just
like they did in Fallujah in April.

[bemildred]

6. The comparison with Fallujah in the respect of local

commanders giving up on the chain of command and acting
independently - not something the US military is fond of
BTW - did occur to me too. What does a commander DO when
his instructions degenerate into gibberish?

[jmcgowanjm]

8. Sun Tzu says this:

If orders which are consistently effective are used in
instructing the
troops, they will be obedient. If orders which are
not consistently
effective are used in instructing them, they will
be disobedient.

50.
Chang Yu:... Therefore the Military Code says: 'The general
must be the
first in the toils and fatigues of the army. In the heat
of summer he
does not spread his parasol nor in the cold of winter
don thick clothing.
In dangerous places he must dismount and walk. He
waits until the army's
wells have been dug and only then drinks; until the
army's food is cooked
before he eats; until the army's fortifications have
been completed, to
shelter him.'
When orders are consistently trustworthy
and
observed,
the relationship
of
a commander with his
troops
is
satisfactory."

When the general is morally weak and his discipline not
strict, when his
instructions and guidance are not enlightened, when
there are no
consistent rules to guide the officers and men and when
the formations are
slovenly the army is in
disorder.

Chang Yu: ...Chaos self-induced."

http://www.geocities.com/kstremskyforpresidentusa/suntzutwo.txt

[bemildred]

9. Tres apropos. nt

[SOS]

7. Approved after it started, from today's NYT:

NAJAF, Iraq, Aug. 17 - Just five days after they arrived here to take over from Army units that had encircled Najaf since an earlier confrontation in the spring, new Marine commanders decided to smash guerrillas loyal to the rebel Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr.

Acting without the approval of the Pentagon or senior Iraqi officials, the Marine officers said in recent interviews, they turned a firefight with Mr. Sadr's forces on Thursday, Aug. 5, into a eight-day pitched battle, one fought out in deadly skirmishes in an ancient cemetery that brought them within rifle shot of the Imam Ali Mosque, Shiite Islam's holiest shrine.

"We just did it," said Maj. David Holahan, second in command of the Marine unit in Najaf.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/18/international/middleeast/18najaf.html