Maliki and the Mahdi
(CBS) The U.S. military is sending advisers down to Basra to help the Iraqi army coordinate an operation which American officers say was "put together on the fly" and has degenerated into a stalemate. These officers complain Iraqi Prime Minister al-Maliki acted "impulsively" in ordering an offensive his army was not prepared to conduct, reports CBS News national security correspondent David Martin."
(CNN) "The Iraqi military push into the southern city of Basra is not going as well as American officials had hoped, despite President Bush's high praise for the operation, several U.S. officials said Friday.
A closely held U.S. military intelligence analysis of the fighting in Basra shows that Iraqi security forces control less than a quarter of the city, according to officials in both the United States and Iraq, and Basra's police units are deeply infiltrated by members of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's Mehdi Army."
(Reuters) The death toll rose above 130 after days of fighting in Baghdad where U.S. forces have been drawn deeper into an Iraqi government crackdown on militants loyal to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.
(WaPo) An account from a reporter who was trapped in a house by the fighting in Sadr City.
(CNN) "The Iraqi military push into the southern city of Basra is not going as well as American officials had hoped, despite President Bush's high praise for the operation, several U.S. officials said Friday.
A closely held U.S. military intelligence analysis of the fighting in Basra shows that Iraqi security forces control less than a quarter of the city, according to officials in both the United States and Iraq, and Basra's police units are deeply infiltrated by members of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's Mehdi Army."
(Reuters) The death toll rose above 130 after days of fighting in Baghdad where U.S. forces have been drawn deeper into an Iraqi government crackdown on militants loyal to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.
(WaPo) An account from a reporter who was trapped in a house by the fighting in Sadr City.
posted by mikevotes at
6:27 AM
8 Comments:
It's hard to believe Maliki would have gone into Basra without US approval.
By
Anonymous, at 8:37 AM
I tend to concur, although since it is in the British south, the US might have left some of the planning to them.
There's something in the genesis of this "crackdown" that we're missing.
Why would Maliki want this now, and what could have possibly got them to thinking it would be easy?
By
mikevotes, at 2:11 PM
The British are bottled up in Basra airport.
I think it does have to do with the proposed provincial election and of course control of the oil port.
Maliki may have made the decision on his own but I'm sure he figured the US would back him. Petraeus and Crocker are strangely quiet.
By
Anonymous, at 2:17 PM
My guess is that the US wanted him to go after the Sunni holdouts in the north, and instead Maliki is taking on this sheerly political conflict for his own interests.
The Us had been the main voice talking about the Sadr ceasefire.
By
mikevotes, at 2:24 PM
The US and Maliki were also busy arresting Mahdi 'breakaways'. Maybe they figured Sadr would turn on them.
By
Anonymous, at 2:55 PM
But hadn't all the previous arrests been somewhat negotiated? Sadr letting them know which were breakaway or renegade?
And then Maliki decides to try and push all of Mahdi out of Basra?
By
mikevotes, at 3:57 PM
I don't know exactly who was being arrested or why. Perhaps Sadr's followers just had enough of being pushed around by Maliki without getting anything back. Does anyone even know where Sadr is?
By
Anonymous, at 4:14 PM
I read today that he gave an interview nd was very thin. That would match the sick in Iran rumor, but who knows?
By
mikevotes, at 5:15 PM
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