Beginning Of The End...

[Accelerated]

http://www.poynterextra.org/cp/AP.jpg

 

I must say, I underestimated the bravery and intelligence of our Arab neighbours. It seems like they really dont want to be another backwater American 'democracy' like Saudi Arabia or Afghanistan.

 

 

---

Pic too big. Changed to link. --Sip

[gurgen]

Jesus Christ this is truly horrible.

 

Not the fact that they are rebelling against the US but what they have done to those people. Not human in my opinion. I guess we're back in the Middle Ages, where executed people are put on public display as a warning to other criminals.

[Accelerated]

Not the fact that they are rebelling against the US but what they have done to those people. Not human in my opinion. I guess we're back in the Middle Ages, where executed people are put on public display as a warning to other criminals.

 

not human? perhaps you should ask yourself weather their occupiers are human? Have you not seen footage of napalm being dropped in Vietnam and crying children (on fire) running for their lives? Or the (human) results of Nagasaki and Hiroshima?

 

The Iraqis in the photo are as human as they come, one can only imagine the hatred that drives them to mutilate a corpse that has allready been burnt beyond recognition. The US Army has walked into another quagmire my friend, and this time there is no easy getting out like in Somalia, much more is at stake - oil! It will take many more mutilated corpses before the Empire decides it has had enough.

 

Mind you, I got nothing to complain about. Our Prime Minister is a genious. We only got like 600 people in Iraq (in supporting roles), so I really must thank the US Army and the US taxpayer for making sure that I have my petrol at a reasonble price. Once again:

 

Thank YOU, American taxpayer

 

....and now, to get our Johnny re-elected....

Edited April 5, 2004 by Accelerated

[gurgen]

Just because the Americans are not human doesn't mean you should give them the same non-human treatment.

 

Do you believe we have to genocide the Turks because they did it to us? We would lower ourselves to their level.

[Sip]

I must say, I underestimated the bravery and intelligence of our Arab neighbours.

Whatchu talkin about aussie boy? What Arab neighbors and what's that picture?

[gurgen]

Sip, don't you follow the news?

 

The four Americans who were blown up? Apparently our 'neighbours' thought it necessary to hang their mutilated bodies from a bridge.

Look at the fun they're having!! .....

[Sip]

Sip, don't you follow the news? 

Nope ... been kinda busy these few days. Thanks for the info. That sucks but I personally don't think I would mind what anybody did to my body (or body parts) after I were dead.

[gurgen]

But maybe your family would

[Stormig]

I don't get the picture. Was that one body there that had actually been quartered or something?

Indeed, not nice for the families or colleagues of the deceased. But hopefully this will teach some people some humility so they can have second thoughts before humiliating other people the least themselves. Not holding my breath, though...

[Sip]

But maybe your family would 

Well, I don't know how others would or should feel but let me rephrase it this way ... I personally don't care what so ever what happens to the bodies of anyone I know after they are confirmed dead. Before death, I will be very worried but not after their physical death.

 

They can be put into dog food for all I care. It sounds horrible I know but I think my point is clear.

[gurgen]

Well I guess it has also to do with whether you believe in the spiritual or not...

[Azat]

Well, I don't know how others would or should feel but let me rephrase it this way ... I personally don't care what so ever what happens to the bodies of anyone I know after they are confirmed dead. Before death, I will be very worried but not after their physical death.

 

They can be put into dog food for all I care. It sounds horrible I know but I think my point is clear.

So what you are saying is that when your parents pass away, you would have no problem donating their bodies to Purina?

[Stormig]

Zorba the Greek: "It doesn't matter. She's dead."

[Stormig]

Whatever the case, it has to be done in a fashion that doesn't gross other people out. I hope the occasional vulture coming out from the Tower of Silence in India doesn't drop tidbits from the corner of its beak onto the head of some passerby... http://www.ancientroute.com/Monument/Tombs/TwrSilnc.htm Edited April 5, 2004 by Stormig

[Sip]

So what you are saying is that when your parents pass away, you would have no problem donating their bodies to Purina? 

Yup. That's exactly what I am saying. I don't see ANY significance in the rotting dead body what so ever ... although I understand traditionally many cultures tend to make a big deal of using the physical remains as some sort of symbol to represent the dead one.

 

I can respect that symbol and the symbolizm but to me, the dead body itself can become cat food or fertilizer.

[ED]

or perhaps in one dies unfortunate dead such as an acidant if some or most organs are in good condition it'be better to fill up one of those organ doner cards.

 

I did

[Accelerated]

....erm, lets get back onto the topic:

 

'thanking the American taxpayer'

[Sip]

Bow to us Jug ... bow .. bow

 

(I borrowed the style from Gamavor)

[Accelerated]

yes, thanks very much Sip, your tax dollars insure that Australian companies have access to many markets and I have reasonably priced petrol, and for that you deserve a bow

[Accelerated]

Sip, here is an article to bring you up to date:

 

The face of bloody Iraq defiance

By Paul McGeough, Chief Herald Correspondent in Baghdad

April 6, 2004

 

 

Gun-wielding members of Shiite radical leader Moqtada al-Sadr's Army of Mehdi militia watch from a rooftop as a US army Bradley takes position in Baghdad's Shiite neighborhood of Sadr city yesteray. Photo: AFP

 

 

American road closures yesterday isolated the west of Iraq as thousands of marines began moving into Falluja, the city Washington promised would be the target for "overwhelming military retaliation" after the butchery in its main street last week of four US security contractors.

 

But the Sunni stronghold's first response to what the US dubbed Operation Valiant Response was more defiance. Several marine positions came under mortar and rocket-propelled grenade fire, killing one US soldier. The US responded with air strikes on insurgency positions.

 

A US Marines spokesman, James Vanzant, told reporters: "We want to get the guys we are after. We don't want to go in there with guns blazing." But early reports of the fighting said five civilians had died and 15 were injured when 10 homes were destroyed by US fire.

 

Before dawn tanks and razor-wire blockades had been mounted on all approach roads to the town. US teams backed by members of the Iraqi security services commandeered the radio station, distributed leaflets and used vehicle-mounted loud-speakers to urge people to give up the killers. Others set up camps for detainees and any of the 300,000 residents who might flee.

 

 

 

The operation came after the worst day of the US occupation, when eight US soldiers died in sudden city-to-city violence in a revolt by Shiites across southern Iraq. The Americans have been relying on Shiite support because of their oppression by Saddam Hussein and earlier regimes.

 

The instigator of the revolt was Moqtada al-Sadr, a vitriolic young Shiite priest whom the US has failed to marginalise in the murky manoeuvring for political power in the new Iraq.

 

As the US troops moved into Falluja, there were reports in Baghdad of fighting and demonstrations in all quarters of the capital.

 

Heavy fighting between Mr Sadr's Mehdi Army and the Americans was raging in Shualla district, which has been locked down. Weapons were reportedly being stockpiled in a Shiite mosque in Kadamihya, and Iraqi police in the same area are said to have reported to Mr Sadr's office, volunteering to fight with his men. Several loud explosions could be heard from the city centre.

 

There were heavy tank movements and aerial surveillance of trouble spots, and reports from Basra, in the south, said that as many as 1000 al-Sadr supporters had taken over the governor's residence.

 

In Baghdad, as young boys in Sadr City taunted US troops by lighting fires and stoning their tanks, the US administrator of Iraq, Paul Bremer, told reporters that Mr Sadr was an outlaw threatening the country's security.

 

"We have a difficult security situation," he said. "We have a group under Moqtada al-Sadr that has basically placed itself outside the legal authorities, the coalition and Iraqi officials.

 

"Effectively he is attempting to establish his authority in the place of the legitimate authority, to establish his authority in the place of the legitimate authority. We will not tolerate this. We will reassert the law and order which the Iraqi people expect."

 

The uprising had erupted at nightfall on Sunday in the sprawling Shiite slums of Sadr City on the fringe of Baghdad. US tanks and helicopters were moved in and eight US soldiers died as street mobs chanted claims that the occupation was over. There were unconfirmed reports that six US soldiers had been taken prisoner.

 

By noon yesterday, estimates of the civilian death toll in the Sadr City battle varied from 30 to 40, but one Arab news service reported 90 Iraqis dead.

 

Sunday's unrest also spread to Kufa, where at least 24 civilians died and an estimated 200 were reportedly wounded in running street battles with Spanish troops.

 

The violence came as US officers were finalising plans for Operation Valiant Response. A US consular announcement that the highways from Baghdad to Jordan would be "closed indefinitely due to military activities" signalled that it had begun.

 

As television images of the dismemberment of some of the contractors and the hanging of others from a Falluja bridge provoked revulsion last Wednesday, President George Bush warned that "thugs and assassins" would fail to derail Iraq's democratic transition.

 

But in a report from Washington, senators warned ahead of a private briefing by Mr Bremer that US plans to hand sovereignty back to Iraqis on June 30 might be premature.

 

Asked on the American ABC program This Week if the transfer date was unrealistic, Richard Lugar, chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee, said: "It may be, and I think it's probably time to have that debate."

 

But the White House was sticking with the planned handover date, saying in a statement: "The United States and our coalition partners are continuing to work closely with Iraqi leaders and the Iraqi people on our plan to meet the June 30 deadline.

 

"The United States will stay in Iraq until the job is done and there is a free, peaceful and democratic Iraq for the Iraqi people."

[Nakharar]

For those who contemplate what will become of them after they are deceased. They might like to consider this: http://www.korperwelten.de I can't think of a better way to serve humanity with the added bonus of seeing your loved ones being useful for once. Or better yet we could donate them to Damien Hirst and become permament features of the art landscape.

[joseph parikian]

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/40008000/jpg/_40008165_shia_afp203body.jpg

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/39368000/jpg/_39368416_sadr_index.jpg

 

 

 

US considers Iraq reinforcements

The US is examining the possibility of sending more troops to Iraq if the situation there gets out of control, a top Central Command official has said.

The official confirmed that commanders had been asked to present such options, but said the US military did not believe it was needed.

 

The comments came on the second day of anti-coalition protests by supporters of radical Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr.

 

The US-led coalition said it had issued an arrest warrant for Mr Sadr.

 

 

 

We don't believe we'll need additional forces (in Iraq). We're doing this as a matter of planning

US Central Command official

 

A coalition spokesman said earlier that the warrant was in connection with the murder of a rival cleric a year ago.

 

Mr Sadr has denied any involvement in the killing of Abdel-Majid al-Khoei in Najaf in April 2003.

 

On Monday, US helicopter gunships targeted militia members loyal to Mr Sadr in the mainly Shia district of al-Shuala in Baghdad.

 

 

The BBC's Justin Webb says President George W Bush is coming under increasing pressure to persuade Americans that his Iraq policy could work.

 

Prominent Democratic Senator Edward Kennedy has called the war on Iraq Mr Bush's Vietnam.

 

His remarks were dismissed by Republicans, but the most recent opinion poll seems to suggest that on the subject of Iraq, public opinion is shifting rapidly away from the White House.

 

Mr Bush said on Monday that the US was committed to handing over sovereignty to Iraqis on 30 June.

 

Planning 'worse-case scenarios'

 

"The events of the weekend show an obvious potential for more demonstrations and more violence," a Central Command official told reporters at the Pentagon on condition of anonymity.

 

 

If that means breaking the law of the American tyranny... I'm proud of that and that is why I'm in revolt

Moqtada Sadr

"We asked our staff to look at what forces might be available in quick-response mode."

 

But the official said the request had been made "as a matter of planning", and the US military had "adequate forces" in Iraq.

 

There are currently about 134,000 US troops in Iraq, the official said. They are part of the 155,000-strong coalition force.

 

"We always plan worse-case scenarios. And clearly if this thing got out of control over there we would have to start looking at the number of forces that we have," the official said.

 

And referring to the Shia protests across Iraq, he said "we can't even begin to call that a Shia uprising".

 

'Outlaw' protests

 

The protests were triggered by the closure of Mr Sadr's al-Hawza newspaper a week ago on the grounds that it was inciting violence.

 

 

HAVE YOUR SAY

The likely outcome will be the same as Yugoslavia after Tito went. Poisoned chalice, anyone?

Simon Richardson, London, UK

 

They intensified after the arrest on Saturday of one of Mr Sadr's top aides, Mustafa Yacoubi, in connection with Mr Khoei's murder.

 

The coalition accuses Mr Sadr of trying to usurp its power and says the revolt will not be tolerated.

 

Many of Iraq's majority Shia Muslims, repressed under Saddam Hussein, welcomed last year's US-led invasion, and attacks on coalition forces were largely confined to the minority Sunni community before Sunday's violence.

 

However, Mr Sadr has become an increasingly outspoken opponent of the occupation.

 

The US administrator in Iraq, Paul Bremer, said on Monday that Mr Sadr's followers had effectively placed themselves outside the law.

 

But Mr Sadr responded by saying he was "proud" to be considered an outlaw by the US.

 

At least nine coalition soldiers and 46 Iraqis have been killed in confrontations related to the protests.

 

There has been continuing tension in Sadr City, a district which saw eight US troops and a reported 22 Iraqis killed in fighting on Sunday.

 

US troops also began an offensive in Falluja, a Sunni town where four Americans were killed and mutilated last week.

 

 

Story from BBC NEWS:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/midd...ast/3602803.stm

 

Published: 2004/04/06 03:27:17 GMT

 

 

© BBC MMI

[Nakharar]

Protests mark new front in Iraq war

 

Young cleric inspires Shiite Muslim demonstrations

 

http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/zz_Projects_done/Whine_Week/040404_sadr_hmed_8p.hmedium.jpg

Wathiq Khuzaie / Getty Images

 

A supporter of Iraqi Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr holds aloft a poster bearing his image Sunday in Baghdad.

 

 

ANALYSIS

 

By Anthony Shadid and Sewell Chan

http://media.msnbc.msn.com/i/msnbc/Components/Sources/sourceWaPost.gif

 

Updated: 12:13 a.m. ET April 05, 2004

 

 

BAGHDAD, April 4 - By unleashing mass demonstrations and attacks in Baghdad and southern Iraq on Sunday, a young, militant cleric has realized the greatest fear of the U.S.-led administration since the occupation of Iraq began a year ago: a Shiite Muslim uprising.

 

Fighting with U.S. troops raged into the night in a Baghdad slum, and hospitals reportedly took in dozens of casualties. But even before sunset, there was a sense across the capital that a yearlong test of wills between the American occupation and supporters of Moqtada Sadr had turned decisive, and its implications reverberated through Iraq.

 

The unrest signaled that the U.S. military faces armed opposition on two fronts: in scarred Sunni towns such as Fallujah and, as of Sunday, in a Shiite-dominated region of the country that had remained largely acquiescent, if uneasy about the U.S. role. If put down forcefully, a Shiite uprising — infused with religious imagery, and symbols drawn from Iraq's colonial past and the current Palestinian conflict — could achieve a momentum of its own.

 

During the last year, Sadr has appealed to poor and disenfranchised Shiites, the majority of Iraq's population, with a relentless anti-occupation message. A junior cleric, the 30-year-old's authority is far overshadowed by Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, the country's leading religious figure. Sadr and his followers remain distinctly unpopular in the Shiite holy city of Najaf, where the more established clergy hold sway. But he commands a street following in Baghdad and the long-neglected cities of the south, and his militia of several thousand men has grown in strength and influence.

 

Hours into Sunday's violence, Sadr publicly called for an end to the protests, and it was unclear whether his followers would persist in a fight with an overwhelmingly more powerful U.S. military. But the calculus of Iraq's politics had already appeared to shift.

 

"Just give the order, Moqtada, and we'll repeat the 1920 revolution," supporters chanted in Baghdad, a reference to a Shiite-led uprising against the British occupation that has grown in political mythology to serve as Iraq's founding act. Across town, outside the headquarters of the U.S.-led administration, Sheik Hazm Aaraji warned, "The people are prepared for martyrdom."

 

The unrest Sunday followed a series of calibrated moves by each side that appeared to be designed to test the resolve of the other.

 

Closing of newspaper

The latest round of tension began March 28, with the U.S. closure of Sadr's al-Hawza newspaper. With an estimated circulation of 10,000, the weekly was mainly marketed at mosques loyal to Sadr's followers and, for months, had printed articles that U.S. officials deemed inflammatory. The closure sent thousands of protesters into the streets, many of them marching in military cadence in Baghdad and Najaf and wearing the black uniforms of Sadr's militia, which is known as the Mahdi Army.

 

Supporters of Sadr suggested that a show of force would discourage U.S. officials from broadening the crackdown. In his Friday sermon, Sadr appeared to call for attacks on U.S. forces, crossing a line that he had carefully avoided for months. Citing what he called attacks by "the occupiers," he told followers, "Be on the utmost readiness and strike them where you meet them."

 

Early Saturday morning, one of Sadr's top aides, Mustafa Yaqoubi, a familiar face in Sadr's office in Najaf, was detained. U.S. officials said he was held along with 12 people for the killing of a moderate Shiite cleric from one of Iraq's most prestigious religious families. The cleric, Abdul-Majid Khoei, was hacked to death on April 10, 2003 a day after the fall of Baghdad. U.S. officials said the warrants were issued months ago and offered no explanation about why they were not executed until Saturday.

 

The detention of Yaqoubi prompted protests by thousands on Sunday across southern Iraq. As the fighting surged in Baghdad and the southern cities of Najaf and Amarah, Sadr issued a statement calling on his followers to stop the protests, saying they were futile. But he added: "Intimidate your enemy. . . . It is not possible to remain silent before their violations."

 

U.S. officials insisted Sunday that they had not decided whether to crack down on Sadr's group. But L. Paul Bremer, the civilian administrator of Iraq, suggested that the violence would have consequences.

 

'Crossed the line'

"A group of people in Najaf have crossed the line," Bremer said at a news conference. "This will not be tolerated. This will not be tolerated by the coalition, this will not be tolerated by the Iraqi people, and this will not be tolerated by the Iraqi security forces."

 

For months, occupation authorities have been divided over how to respond to Sadr's challenge.

 

Since last summer, U.S. authorities had tried to persuade Iraq's more senior and moderate clergy to rein in Sadr, whom one senior official described at the time as "a populist, a critic and a rabble-rouser." "We're watching him and some of the big [ayatollahs] are watching us, and we're both hoping the other does something," the official said.

 

Part of the reservation was motivated by the fear of a Shiite backlash. Since the start of the occupation, the desire to maintain Shiite support — or at least, acquiescence — has served as one of the administration's key objectives.

 

At least in public, Sadr's profile had appeared to fade in recent months, as Sistani played a more assertive role in Iraqi politics and criticized various U.S. plans for Iraq's political transition. Given Sistani's stature among the country's Shiites, Sadr had refrained from direct criticism of him. But in private, his followers express resentment of Sistani's influence. They view their movement as Arab and nationalist, and endorse a far greater role for the clergy in politics and social affairs than Sistani has espoused.

 

In part, the rivalry dates back to Sadr's father, Mohammed Sadiq Sadr, who competed with Sistani for influence and was assassinated in 1999. Sadr has claimed the mantle of his revered father.

 

Sadr kept a lower profile after a clash in October between U.S. troops and his followers in Baghdad, but his movement's militia grew in size and influence. Numbering just 500 in August, and often ridiculed for its ragtag quality, its membership has since grown to as many as 10,000 men, armed with rocket-propelled grenades, mortars and light weapons.

 

'Rage of the people'

With security deteriorating in the south, the militia has vied for authority with the larger Badr Organization, a militia operated by a leading Shiite party, the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq. Other, smaller militias belong to the Dawa Party, another Shiite group with a long history in Iraq, and a mystical cleric named Sarkhi Hassani. One of Sistani's representatives, Abdel-Mehdi Salami, a ranking Shiite cleric, is believed to be organizing armed followers in Karbala, another city sacred to Shiites.

 

The rising influence of the Mahdi Army, along with accusations of their intimidation, death threats and illegal detentions, has alarmed U.S. officials, who fear it will compete for power after the U.S. administration of Iraq ends June 30. In recent weeks, pressure has grown within the occupation administration to crack down on militias, particularly Sadr's, before they gain more power.

 

"We were so patient and now you can see the result," said Abu Heidar Ghalib Garawi, a leader of the Mahdi Army in Kufa, a city near Najaf. "You can see the rage of the people. What do you think? Will they [occupation authorities] respond with oppression or will they respond to the demands?"

 

Correspondent Karl Vick in Kufa contributed to this report.

 

© 2004 The Washington Post Company

[Nakharar]

U.S. forces in showdown with Shiite cleric

 

At least 52 Iraqis, 8 U.S. soldiers killed in weekend violence

 

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Ceerwan Aziz / Reuters

 

Shiite supporters of Muqtada al-Sadr celebrate near a burning U.S. truck Monday in the Shuala neighborhood of Baghdad.

 

NBC, MSNBC and news services

Updated: 7:35 p.m. ET April 05, 2004

 

BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S. administrators in Iraq declared a radical Shiite Muslim cleric an “outlaw” Monday and announced a warrant for his arrest, heightening a confrontation after battles between his supporters and coalition troops killed at least 52 Iraqis and nine coalition troops, including eight Americans.

 

U.S. officials would not say when they would move to arrest the cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr, who was holed up in the main mosque in Kufa, south of Baghdad, guarded by armed supporters.

 

U.S. troops surrounded Fallujah, west of Baghdad, were poised for a major operation in response to the grisly slaying and mutilation of four U.S. civilians by insurgents there last week. A Marine was killed Monday in the Fallujah area, the military said, without providing details.

 

http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/040405/040405_iraq_alsadr_bcol_6a.small.jpg

Jamal Saidi / Reuters file

 

Muqtada al-Sadr is charged in the murder by a mob last year of a rival cleric.

 

Dan Senor, a senior spokesman for the U.S.-led authorities in Iraq, said an Iraqi investigating judge issued the warrant for al-Sadr several months ago in connection with the killing of another Shiite cleric in April 2003.

 

Asked when al-Sadr would be arrested, Senor said: “There will be no advance warning.”

 

The showdown threatened to heighten tensions with Iraq’s Shiite majority at a time when U.S. troops are burdened by the Sunni guerrillas’ bloody insurgency. But U.S. officials apparently hope the Shiite public, many of whom distrust al-Sadr, will not rally around him.

 

Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, the deputy director of coalition operations in Iraq, said the potential for violence depended on “whether [al-Sadr] decides to come peacefully or whether he decides to come not peacefully. That choice is the choice of Mr. Muqtada al-Sadr.”

 

Al-Sadr, 30, who frequently denounces the U.S. occupation in his sermons, vowed to resist.

 

The Americans “have the money, weapons and huge numbers, but these things are not going to weaken our will because God is with us,” he said in a statement sent to the Arab-language satellite news channel Al-Jazeera, which provided a copy to The Associated Press.

 

“We don’t fear death, and martyrdom gives us dignity from God,” al-Sadr said.

 

Large force protecting cleric

U.S. military officials told NBC News that arresting al-Sadr had become the top priority for the United States in Iraq. They said it was vital to resolve the confrontation before the end of the week, not only because of the threat his forces posed to coalition troops but also because several million Shiite pilgrims are expected to descend on southern Iraq for the holiday of Arbayeen, which honors the prophet Mohammed’s grandson Hussein.

 

Al-Sadr is also considered an important obstacle because of of his challenge to the leadership of the spiritual leader of Iraq’s Shiite community, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, who, while officially denouncing the U.S. occupation, has lent legitimacy to Shiite members of the Iraqi Governing Council.

 

The head of U.S. Central Command, Gen. John Abizaid, has asked his staff for "options" to provide for more troops if they are needed to deal with the threat from al-Sadr, U.S. officials told NBC News. Any additional troops would likely be shifted from other areas inside Iraq, they said, stressing that Abizaid was not looking to increase the overall number of U.S. troops in Iraq.

 

At the same time, the officials acknowledged that increasing the number of U.S. troops in Iraq was always a possibility, but they said the current level appeared adequate.

 

Several hundred of al-Sadr’s armed militiamen controlled Kufa, holding its police station and blocking a road leading to the main mosque. Supporters lit fires around his office in Sadr City to create a smokescreen against U.S. helicopters prowling the skies.

 

Sheik Abu Mahdi al-Rubaie, 35, a follower of al-Sadr at the mosque, warned that any U.S. move against al-Sadr would be “a very dangerous thing.”

 

“They will pay a heavy price. We will not allow them to enter Kufa. ... We are ready to lay down our lives for al-Sayed,” he said, using the Arabic word for “master” to refer to al-Sadr.

 

Mohammad Bahr al-Uloum, a leading cleric on the U.S.-appointed Iraqi Governing Council, said al-Sadr had refused a request from the Shiite religious establishment to renounce violence.

 

“We asked Muqtada [al-Sadr] to stop resorting to violence, occupying public buildings and other actions that make him an outlaw,” said an aide to al-Uloum, adding al-Sistani supported the request. “He insists on staying on the same course that could destroy the nation.”

 

The U.S. crackdown comes as the deadline of June 30 approaches for the transfer of power from the Americans to the Iraqis.

 

“If we can get rid of the Mahdi Army now, I think the Iraq of July 1 will be better off,” Maj. Gen. Martin Dempsey, commander of the U.S. forces in Baghdad, told reporters Monday.

 

http://media.msnbc.msn.com/i/msnbc/Components/Maps/Mideast/Iraq4.gif

 

Ok, here comes the best part:

 

President Bush portrayed al-Sadr’s removal Monday as a step toward protecting democracy. “This is one person that is deciding that rather than allowing democracy to flourish, he’s going to exercise force,” he told reporters. “We just can’t let it stand.”

 

L. Paul Bremer, the top U.S. administrator in Iraq, declared al-Sadr an “outlaw.”

 

“He is attempting to establish his authority in the place of the legitimate authority. We will not tolerate this,” said Bremer, who canceled a trip to brief lawmakers in Washington as occupation forces battled the uprising.

 

 

Al-Sadr flexes muscles

The clashes Sunday, which were sparked by the arrest of an aide to al-Sadr who is also accused in the slaying of the rival cleric, Abdel-Majid al-Khoei, were a surprise show of power by al-Sadr’s militia, the Al-Mahdi Army.

 

Fighting was particularly fierce in Sadr City, a Shiite neighborhood in Baghdad, where militiamen ambushed U.S. soldiers, killing eight of them and sparking battles that killed 30 Iraqis and wounded 110 others. It took a column of tanks to restore quiet and force the militiamen out of police stations they had seized after police fled.

 

Outside Najaf, south of Baghdad, firing between militiamen and Spanish-led coalition troops Sunday killed a Salvadoran soldier and 22 Iraqis.

 

Violence broke out Monday morning in al-Shoala, another Shiite neighborhood of the capital, where militiamen clashed with a U.S. patrol. A U.S. armored vehicle caught fire, and an Iraqi ran away with a heavy machine gun. A U.S. Apache helicopter was hit by small arms fire and responded with a barrage of machine-gun rounds, the U.S. military said.

 

http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/040404/040404_najaf_hmed_2p.standard.jpg

Gervasio Sanchez / AP

 

U.S. troops took cover Sunday as a Spanish base came under attack outside Kufa, 10 miles north of Najaf.

 

Militiamen also traded fire with British troops in the southern cities of Basra and Amarah, sparking fights that killed three Iraqis, witnesses said.

 

Gunmen also held sway in the streets of the holy city of Najaf, prompting police to flee their stations, said the Spanish Defense Ministry, whose troops control the region. Witnesses said the police later returned.

 

The Spanish bases in Diwaniyah and Najaf came under sporadic mortar fire overnight Sunday, but there were no injuries, the ministry said.

 

Al-Sadr’s support broad but shaky

Al-Sadr’s main support is among young seminary students and impoverished Shiites, who are devoted to him because of his anti-U.S. stance and the memory of his father, a religious leader who was gunned down by suspected agents of former President Saddam Hussein in 1999.

 

However, al-Sadr’s religious status is low, giving him less influence than more moderate Shiite leaders. And many Shiites see him as erratic.

 

The arrest warrant is based on the murder of al-Khoei, who was stabbed to death in April 2003 by a mob in a Shiite shrine in Najaf soon after Saddam was overthrown, said Senor, the spokesman for the coalition.

 

The current violence was touched off by the arrest of Mustafa al-Yacoubi, a senior aide to al-Sadr, on similar charges. A total of 25 arrest warrants have been issued in the case, and 13 suspects are in custody, an official at coalition headquarters said.

 

Supporters of al-Sadr also were angered by the closing of his weekly newspaper by U.S. officials, who accused the paper of inciting violence.

 

NBC’s Richard Engel in Baghdad and Jim Miklaszewski in Washington, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

[Armat]

I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again –You can’t impose democracy on people whose only democratic idea is either a murdering dictator or fire-breathing mullah. Americans didn’t have a clue about the region and the people before start of the war and nor do they now.

It is ironic that Saddam killed thousands of Shiite Muslims and now they are killing their liberators. What an ungrateful bastards!

Edited April 6, 2004 by Armat