BBC: Middle East Newspapers Lambaste Najaf Bloodbath

[stickdog]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3561322.stm

Papers urge end to Najaf 'bloodbath'

With the spotlight in Iraq on the holy city of Najaf, the regional press warns of dire consequences unless the fighting there is stopped. Several papers blame US forces for choosing the military option. One daily speaks of an impending 'humanitarian disaster'.

There are indications that Iraq will in the coming days or hours experience a bloodbath, the effect of which will not be limited only to the situation in Iraq, but will affect the outside world as well...

It is incumbent on the wise men of Muslim nations, the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Conference to move fast and stop this genocide, which is taking the lives of innocent civilian who have no links with politics.

Jordan - Editorial in Al-Dustur


*****


Let this bloodbath, this cheap death end... It is unacceptable to remain silent on what is happening in the holy city of Najaf and its environs, the killing and the bloodshed... because Najaf is not an ordinary city.

Jordan - Editorial in Al-Ra'y


much more ...

[opihimoimoi]

1. Osama told us a long time ago to leave Saudi and we did not listen

he became enraged and began to hate America.

We ar breeding more Osamas

[physioex]

2. Najaf is going to be very difficult to bring under control...

Saddam knew this....Too bad we can't say the same thing about the PNAC morans....

[opihimoimoi]

3. American Arrogance is beyond description.....

[AZCat]

4. The Guardian had an interesting Op-Ed also

Those They Can't Co-opt, They Destroy
Najaf proves that the US will never allow democracy to flourish in Iraq

Kamil Mahdi
Saturday August 14, 2004
The Guardian

The US military offensive against Najaf is a dangerous and ill-judged escalation, revealing the violent reality of an occupation that has undergone only cosmetic change since the supposed handover of power to an interim Iraqi administration in June.

For more than a week, an aggressive foreign power has addressed an essentially domestic political question by means of tanks, helicopter gunships and F16s.

There had been a ceasefire in place between the US forces and their main opponents around Najaf, and mediation efforts had been effective in containing tension.

The current violence in the vicinity of one of Islam's most sacred sites appears to be a result of the failure of this mediation to co-opt Moqtada al-Sadr and his movement into a national conference, which the US had hoped would bestow a stamp of approval on the interim government.
</snip>

more at link...

[allemand]

5. Bush busy "winning hearts and minds"... n/t