US forces 'tighten Najaf noose'

[cal04]

American tanks and Iraqi soldiers are reported to be moving into position closer to the Imam Ali shrine in the holy Iraqi city of Najaf. The mosque complex is occupied by supporters of the rebellious Shia cleric, Moqtada Sadr. News agencies say heavy gunfire can be heard in streets around the shrine.

The interim Iraqi Defence Minister, Hazim Shalaan, is quoted as saying government troops intend to reach the doors of the shrine by this evening.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/3593832.stm

Iraq's interim Defence Minister has warned Shiite rebels besieged in Najaf's Imam Ali shrine to surrender or face an attack later today that would "wipe them out".The ultimatum is the latest in a series of threats by the US-backed Government to the Mehdi Army militia loyal to radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.The militia has been fighting US marines around the shrine for three weeks.Defence Minister Hazim al-Shalaan has told a news conference at a US military base outside Najaf that Iraqi forces would reach the doors of the shrine this evening and control it.He says if the Mehdi Army do not throw down their weapons, they would be wiped out.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200408/s1184275.htm

[jeff30997]

1. It will be a major bloodbath...

And if they are dumb enough to damage the shrine there will be a massive uprising.

[Disturbed]

2. The Puppet Govt.

It seems that they are bent upon crushing the resistance. If they don't it will be the end for them because sooner or later the forces that will not be subdued to US colonization will overthrow the puppets and kill as many as they can. This is a fight to the death for both forces. The US Military is backing this all the way. The resistance must be destroyed before the US election.

[seventhson]

10. It already is and they already have

it is FUBAR and unless Kerry isd elected to roll back this insanity the world will NEVER know peace again.

[xchrom]

3. so what? like there will be no iraqis

with extreme anti american sentiments willing to fight american occupiers if they drive the insurgents from the mosque?
oy -- the stupidity of this war never ceases to underwhelm.

[jmcgowanjm]

4. US intent on keeping aid convoys out of Najaf

Jaysh al-Mahdi destroys six US tanks Sunday morning outside an-Najaf
to let in humanitarian supplies blocked by the Americans.

Late Sunday night the local correspondent of Mafkarat al-
Islam
reported that the Jaysh al-Mahdi destroyed six American
tanks on the
highway between al-Kufah and an-Najaf Sunday morning.
The
correspondent wrote that the six tanks had been blocking
a supply
line needed by the Jaysh al-Mahdi on the road to an-Najaf.
After the
American tanks were taken out, all the supplies were able to
get in
to the city's defenders and population safely, having
been prevented
from doing so by the US
aggressors.

Jaysh al-Mahdi forces completely control the city of al-Kufah,
but US
troops encircle an-Najaf completely and prevent any sort
of
humanitarian assistance from getting in to the
city.

And from various sources, tanks were supposed to be w/in 400 yrds of Mosque. So what was that explosion and continuous
fire the IHA feed was showing at a distance from Mosque.

[jmcgowanjm]

5. Oh, &BTW, the Occupying force is responsible for everything

And notice no man in the street interviews from
the Most Trusted Name in News.

[jayfish]

9. There Is No Occupying Force.

Remember, the Iraqi's are sovereign now. :eyes: And we all know ¹"sovereignty means that. It's sovereign. You're a
… you're a ... you've been given sovereignty and you're viewed as a
sovereign entity." The US, in it's own mind, is off the hook for everything.

Jay


¹George W. Bush 08/06/04

[LynnTheDem]

6. Lookie who's

"mass graving" them Shi'ites now!

Great timeline for history:

1991--US helped Hussein put down the Shia rebellion.

2003-- bushCartel use the putting down of the Shia rebellion as their "mass murderer" bullshit justification.

2004--bushCartel massacring Shia rebels.

Considering bush's own forensic scientist and Tony the bLiar have admitted that them famous "mass graves" in Iraq actually contain apx 5000 corpses, most from the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s and the Shia rebels slaughter in 1991, I'd say our "Iraqis slaughtered" score puts Hussein's to total shame.

[jayfish]

7. Thank you Lynn.

When will we put those freedom loving, uppity, Kurds back in their place too? Once we start that process we will have hit the tri-fecta: Installing a brutal dictator, crushing the Shia rebellion and stripping the Kurds of their decade old autonomy. And we are doing it all with tools of war that we denied Saddam the use of. I ask any Freep who love the sound of Spectre gunships in the morning; how are we not worse than Saddam?

Jay

ON EDIT: Welcome To DU :hi:

[DoYouEverWonder]

8. Dear God

Please don't let George W Bush destory this beautiful and holy place.

[daleo]

11. This noose tightens both ways

Tightening this noose on Najef just chokes off whatever little political support the occupation has left among most Iraqis.

[dArKeR]

12. Look at this captured US drone!

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/040822/photos_ts_wl_afp/040822165047_bwygzjwq_photo3

[gratuitous]

13. Yup, just like Tora Bora and Fallujah

And when they snap the noose shut, they'll stand there whomper-jawed in an empty mosque and say, "Where'd everybody go?"