STORM2K

Iraq is in complete anarchy and chaos. I think the U.S is fast losing control. Here's why.

Anarchy across Iraq...
20 GIs, 100 Iraqis Killed Since Weekend...
WIRE: Bush's Iraq problems piling up with long summer ahead...
Italy will not be run out of country: Berlusconi...
Line between militias, civilians blurred...
Alleged al-Qaida Tape...
Pentagon delays troops trip home...
BLIX: IRAQ WAS BETTER OFF WITH SADDAM...

and a cnn.com article

Sources: Al-Sadr supporters take over Najaf
U.S. Marines move into Fallujah
Tuesday, April 6, 2004 Posted: 2:11 PM EDT (1811 GMT)

The coalition is looking to arrest s*** cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.


BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Supporters of maverick Muslim cleric Muqtada al-Sadr controlled government, religious and security buildings in the holy city of Najaf early Tuesday evening, according to a coalition source in southern Iraq.

The source said al-Sadr's followers controlled the governor's office, police stations and the Imam Ali mosque, one of Shia Muslim's holiest shrines.

Iraqi police were negotiating to regain their stations, the source said.

The source also said al-Sadr was busing followers into Najaf from Sadr City in Baghdad and that many members of his outlawed militia, Mehdi's Army, were from surrounding provinces.

Business people are closing their shops and either leaving the city or hoarding their wares in their homes, the source said.

Late Tuesday, U.S. Marines moved into Fallujah from several directions, coming under heavy fire from insurgents.

The move comes the day after U.S. Marines sealed off Fallujah in response to the killing and mutilation of four American civilian security contractors last week.

About 1,300 troops from the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, along with Iraqi armed forces, set up a cordon around the city Monday, said Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, a U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad. The operation has been dubbed Operation Vigilant Resolve.

Seven Marines have been killed since Saturday in the al Anbar province -- where Fallujah is located -- but the coalition has only confirmed one as a direct result of the Fallujah conflict.

Tuesday, Abrams tanks and infantry fighting vehicles led the Marine columns across a railway line north of the city into urban areas, where they were fired on by assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades.

The tanks and mounted grenade launchers picked off rooftop snipers, destroying at least three houses in the process.

Earlier Tuesday, Marines patrolling the northern side of Fallujah came under fire. The Marines sent an Abrams tank and several Humvees to reinforce the patrol, along with helicopters.

One Marine was seriously wounded and evacuated to a combat hospital.

Also Tuesday, Marines detained six Iraqis carrying explosives near a command post north of Fallujah, a Marine officer said. The officer said the material was intended to make homemade bombs.

In Baghdad, firefights continued Tuesday, particularly in the s*** area of Sadr City. Reports also indicated that Italian troops were battling al-Sadr supporters in Nasiriyah.

As the fighting flared, al-Sadr, who sparked the violent clashes between his supporters and U.S. troops, was planning to take refuge in Imam Ali mosque, according to a posting on his Web site.

Al-Sadr also called for a general strike, demanding that the coalition pull back its troops from populated areas and release prisoners taken into custody in recent demonstrations.

Twelve coalition soldiers -- 11 Americans and a Salvadoran -- and dozens of Iraqis have been killed in three days of battles in Baghdad and Najaf, while firefights have erupted in other cities and towns as well.

Seven Marines were killed in the same time period in al Anbar province, west of Baghdad, along with two more soldiers in northern Iraq.

Despite the rising death toll, Paul Bremer, the top U.S. civilian administrator in Iraq, said "there is no question we have control over the country."

"I know if you just report on those few places, it does look chaotic," Bremer said on CNN's "American Morning." "But if you travel around the country, what you find is a bustling economy, people opening businesses right and left, unemployment has dropped.

"The story of the house that doesn't burn down is not much of a story in the news," he said. "The story of the house that does burn down is news."

The clashes began over the weekend when demonstrations supporting al-Sadr and his deputy -- who was arrested Saturday in connection with the killing last year of a moderate s*** cleric by a mob of Sadr followers -- turned violent, first in Najaf against Spanish forces and then in Sadr City, named for al-Sadr's father, Mohammed al-Sadr.

The instability prompted the United Nations to temporarily halt convoys bringing Iraqi refugees back from Iran in the south.

Arrest warrant issued
The coalition announced Monday that a warrant had also been issued for al-Sadr's arrest in connection with Abdul Majeed al-Khoei's death April 10, 2003, outside the Imam Ali shrine in Najaf, where al-Sadr is now reported to have taken refuge.

Twelve people were arrested last fall when an Iraqi judge issued 25 warrants in the case, including the ones for al-Sadr and his deputy, Mustafa al-Yaqoubi, arrested in Najaf on Saturday and turned over to Iraqi police Monday, coalition officials said.

Bremer, who said Monday that al-Sadr and his supporters have "basically placed (themselves) outside the legal authorities," described al-Sadr on Tuesday as "a guy who has a fundamentally inappropriate view of the new Iraq."

"He believes that in the new Iraq, like in the old Iraq, power should be to the guy with guns," Bremer said. "That is an unacceptable vision for Iraq."

A spokesman for al-Sadr, Qais al-Khazaal, said in Najaf that al-Sadr had "received many letters from other religious leaders" supporting him, mentioning Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani -- Iraqi Shia's most senior cleric.

"Sistani said in his letter that he supported us for standing for what we believe ... but that he also thought that we should try to resolve this matter in a more calm and civil way," Khazaal said.

Referring to a letter sent by Bremer shutting down the pro al-Sadr -- and anti-coalition -- Al-Hawza, Khazaal said lawyers have determined the action was "illegitimate and against all laws."

"We will form a case and fight this," he said. Pentagon sources said the military would exercise caution in seeking Sadr in an attempt to avoid giving him more stature among radicalized Iraqis.

Pentagon sources also said that U.S. Central Command chief Gen. John Abizaid had asked for options from his staff for bringing additional troops to bear against Sadr's militia if they are needed.

But the fight against al-Sadr and his followers wasn't the only clash facing coalition forces.

Two more U.S. soldiers died Sunday, both in northern Iraq. Since the start of the war, 622 U.S. troops have died, 428 of them in hostile fire. Since President Bush announced the end of major combat in Iraq, 313 U.S. troops have been killed in hostile action.

Other developments

Britain is sending thousands of troops to Iraq to replace those already serving there, a British Ministry of Defense spokeswoman said Tuesday. Maj. Rachel Grimes said the move was part of a "normal" six-month troop rotation and would not result in an increase in the number of British troops in Iraq. About 4,500 members of the 1st Mechanized Brigade will begin deploying to Iraq at the end of the week, Grimes said. The rotation will take about a month to complete, she said.


British Prime Minister Tony Blair will meet with President Bush at the White House on April 16, administration sources said. They are expected to discuss the future of Iraq, the Middle East, Afghanistan and Cyprus as well as other issues, the sources said.

Makes you wonder if all those people who said we never had a plan for after taking Saddam were right. Iraq is a mess and it looks like it's going to get worse. What good is it doing repairing their country for them (water, sewers, telephone, etc) if they are going to tear them down and fight us every inch of the way?

What the US (in my opinion) needs to do is forget about that holy temple that guy is hold up in and drop one of those smart bombs on him. That would solve one problem.

Tim I disagree. I think it would lead to all-out civil war and/or rebellion.

Ummm, Jason, I think there already IS all-out civil war and rebellion going on right now. And our guys are getting the short end of the stick.

You may be right, but I think it's time the US stops trying to be politically correct and put an end to that nonsense.

not a civil war at all. its time we cleaned out the terrorists there. this had to be done sooner or later. i am glad the terrorists are coming out in the open. by the way, its time we took out the iranian nuclear plant

I agree 100% tim and Helen!!

You consider the shite majority terrorist?

BTW, Sky news is reporting 130 Americans may be dead:

HEAVY FIGHTING IN IRAQ

A large number of soldiers have been killed in fierce fighting in Iraq, according to unconfirmed reports.


Some reports have put the toll as high as 130 but others have put the death toll at 12 with 20 wounded.

The large scale battle, described as "intense", has taken place in the town of Ar Ramadi, 20 miles west of Fallujah.

Sky News' David Chater said: "None of this is official yet - none of it is confirmed."

But he added: "It sounds very much like this is being carried out by men who are militarily trained."

Chater described the attack as "highly sophisticated".

Meanwhile, Tony Blair has announced he will fly to Washington to meet George Bush on April 16 to discuss the worsening situation.

Iraqi radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has vowed to continue a Shi'ite uprising until the forces answer his demands.

It has forced Mr Bush to consider sending more troops in an attempt to deal with, what is in effect, an attempted coup.

The cleric's aide said the Coalition must withdraw troops from populated areas, such as Baghdad and Fallujah, and release prisoners.

The demands are in addition to the original call for al-Sadr's extremist newspaper to be reopened after the coalition shut it down.

Al-Sadr's militiamen have opened up three fronts across the country, targeting coalition forces and causing casualties in American, British and Italian held areas.

Sky's David Chater in Baghdad said: "They (the militias) have shown their military might and their demands are growing.






"

Al-Sadr is believed to have gone underground in an attempt to keep his armed opposition going.

Dozens have died in the past two days in an apparent grab at the Shi'ite leadership by the young cleric.

Latest figures reveal the death of four US troops in an operation west of Baghdad in the province of al-Anbar on Monday.

At least 39 Iraqis have been killed and 126 others wounded in clashes between al-Sadr's militiamen and US soldiers in the past 48 hours, a hospital chief said.

An additional 12 Iraqis died and 27 others were wounded in separate fighting with British troops in the southeastern city of Amara during the same period.


While 500 Italian soldiers, serving in the southern town of Nassiriya, were caught in an hour-long gun battle today which left 15 civilians dead. Eleven of the Italians were injured, but not seriously.

Spanish troops tried to quell a revolt in their area, but were pushed back and they returned to their barracks.

But the British have agreed a deal with al-Sadr's militiamen to re-take the governor's office in Basra, one of the incidents which sparked the current crisis.

The situation is not so encouraging in the north of the country where hundreds of US and Iraqi troops have surrounded the city of Fallujah where earlier a mob killed four Americans and mutilated their bodies.


US Apache helicopters sprayed fire on the private army of the radical cleric during fierce battles in a Baghdad district.

And we will flush him out like we did Saddam.

Jason, I can copy and paste from a biased news site all day long. Let's hear your own words.

Linda, I like you're style.
I doubt that you will change their minds.
Freedom is not free people.

Did he say "shite?"

Yes I do believe he did Duck lol