Fresh Fighting Erupts in Iraq's Najaf -Witness

[cal04]

Fresh fighting broke out in Iraq (news - web sites)'s Najaf on Tuesday, with explosions and gunfire coming from the heart of the holy city where militiamen loyal to a radical Shi'ite Muslim cleric are dug in, a Reuters witness said.


He said U.S. warplanes were flying overhead while smoke was rising from near the city's ancient cemetery, a haven for fighters from Moqtada al-Sadr's Mehdi Army who have been battling American marines since last Thursday.

The clashes erupted just after 8.00 a.m. (12 a.m. EDT) following a night of intermittent gunfire.

Sadr on Monday defied demands from Iraq's interim government that his militia pull out of Najaf.

U.S. marines say they have killed 360 of Sadr's loyalists in the city since last Thursday. The fighting is part of a radical Shi'ite uprising that has hit several other Iraqi cities, including a predominantly Shi'ite district of Baghdad.


http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=578&e=1&u=/nm/20040810/ts_nm/iraq_najaf_dc

[PurityOfEssence]

1. 8 straight days of fighting, we've killed 360, and lost just a couple?

Something's a little out of whack there.

Sad.

[Wright Patman]

2. It may be 360,

but not all of them were "fighters," unless you are by definition considered a "fighter" just because you were born an Iraqi. It's been a long time since I've even heard the term "collateral damage" used. I think our forces are so barbaric that they just don't care anymore and we've reached the stage where "the only good Iraqi is a dead Iraqi."

As for the low death toll on our side, I tend to believe that. We are doing the same thing Saddam did in 1991 that was considered such a crime against humanity at the time.

Recall that right after the cease-fire of Gulf War I, he suppressed with helicopter gunships the Shi'ite rebellion caused by GHW Bush's plea to them over the Voice of America to rise up and overthrow Saddam. Schwarzkopf wouldn't let him use fixed-wing aircraft, but he didn't need to. That's the only difference. We are using aircraft along with the helicopters.

[sattahipdeep]

3. The Najaf genocide