Najaf emerges from weeks of battle

[leftchick]

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/08/28/iraq.main/

<snip>
U.S. Marines remain in Najaf and neighboring Kufa "in a position to provide immediate assistance if requested by the government," according to 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit spokeswoman Capt. Carrie Batson.

Al-Sadr and influential Shiite leader Grand Ali Ayatollah al-Sistani hammered out a truce Thursday in a face-to-face meeting that ended three weeks of raging battles in Najaf.

Top Shiite clerical leaders Sayid Mohammed al-Hakim, Sheik Bashir al-Najafi and Sheik Ishac al-Sayada met with al-Sistani in Najaf Saturday and offered their respects to the ayatollah.

Sporadic gunfire could be heard Saturday in the Old City, but that did not stop crews from continuing to clear debris from the devastated area. Residents returned to their shops and houses to survey the damage.

[ze_dscherman]

1. CNN journ-ho's reporting

They are lying through their teeth:

" The shrine was the flashpoint for violence between Iraqi forces, backed by U.S. troops, and fighters loyal to Shiite radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr."

WRONG - it was U.S. troops fighting (2000-3000 marines), backed by planes, with a small number of Iraqi troops that were sent into battle only in the last few days.

"If the peace agreement holds, it would be a triumph for the interim government, which is urging al-Sadr and his movement and Mehdi Army to join the country's nascent democratic political process."

BWAHAHA - what a sound analysis of the power situation in Iraq! This actually is a big defeat for Allawi's puppet government, and a triumph for Sistani.

[leftchick]

2. I saw video fotage of the damage to Najaf on BBC....

and NWI. It is absolutely devastating and very obvious to me, an average Jill, that the damage was done by US BOMBING with 500 to 2000 lb bombs.

You are correct, this is a huge loss for the US backed dictator/puppet Allawi.

[jayfish]

3. Either Lying Or Incompetent. (Najaf Reports Inside)

I was waiting for a transcript of this before I posted about it in it's own thread, but I'll just do it here.


Lou Dobbs Tonight 08/26/04

<SNIP>
PILGRIM: General Grange, Iraqi forces will now patrol these cities. Foreign forces will not be allowed in. Do you think they're up to the job?

GRANGE: I think they're getting pretty close. This last assault, they were doing much better than they have in the past. Some very good units trained, Iraqi units that are trained, both National Guard and police, with U.S. advisers.

I think there are plans in place for the U.S. to back them up and go in again if the prime minister asks for assistance if, in fact, those forces are attacked by insurgents.
</SNIP>


But that BS doesn't jive with reports from the ground.


Iraq gives rebels hours to give up, battle rages 08/25/04

<SNIP>
Iraq warned Shi'ite rebels besieged in a shrine in Najaf to surrender or face an attack that would "wipe them out", as government forces entered the battle zone for the first time.
</SNIP>


Or this


U.S. troops advance on Iraqi shrine 08/25/04

<SNIP>
Asked what Iraqi forces who entered the battle zone for the first time on Tuesday would do, Throckmortan said: "We hope that they are the first ones to set foot inside (the shrine)."

Iraqi Defence Minister Hazim al-Shalaan had warned the Mehdi fighters loyal to radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr they would be wiped out if they did not leave the mosque by Tuesday evening.

U.S. and Iraqi officials have said only Iraqi forces would storm the mosque.

Asked about reports some militia had fled the shrine, Throckmortan said: "I've seen no evidence they are leaving."

Iraqi troops came within 400 metres (yards) of the shrine on Tuesday, and roads around it were sealed off. The combined forces advanced slightly closer on Wednesday.

Around 500 Iraqi troops have been deployed around the mosque, the first time government forces had entered the battle zone in a conflict that has undermined Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's authority only two months after he took over from U.S.-led occupiers.
</SNIP>


Or This


Iraqi forces advance on Najaf shrine, battle rages 08/25/04

<SNIP>
Addressing Iraqi National Guard troops in Najaf, Defense Minister Hazem Shaalan said Iraqi troops would head toward the shrine to await the signal for a raid or the capitulation of the militants.

"When your brothers approach the holy shrine compound, they will direct calls of mercy to those (militants) to surrender," Shaalan said. "They have hours to surrender ... If they do not, we will wipe them out."

A commander of one unit said that around 500 Iraqi troops had been deployed to the area around the Imam Ali mosque, the first time government forces have entered the battle zone.
</SNIP>

EDITED TO ADD & CORRECT STORY DATES



Jay