U.S. Tanks in Holy Kerbala, Destroy Sadr Office

[Barrett808]

KERBALA, Iraq (Reuters) - U.S. tanks rolled into the Iraqi Shi'ite holy city of Kerbala on Thursday and took up positions close to the main shrines after destroying the offices of a radical cleric with heavy machinegun fire, witnesses said.

"They faced no resistance," one local resident said. About eight heavy armored vehicles and six lighter vehicles were positioned in the city center, about 500 meters (yards) from the Imam Hussein and Imam Abbas shrines.

Hospital officials said one fighter loyal to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's Mehdi Army had been killed and nine people were wounded in the fighting, most of them civilians.

The clashes in Kerbala, about 100 km (60 miles) southwest of Baghdad, coincided with the launch by the U.S. military of an operation in the nearby holy city of Najaf, where troops seized the governor's mansion from militia fighters.

A senior coalition military official said the governor's house was taken without a heavy fight, but U.S. troops killed at least 41 militiamen in other fighting nearby, east of the Najaf, across the Euphrates River, he said.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20040506/wl_nm/iraq_kerbala_dc&cid=574&ncid=1480

[cspiguy]

1. oh cripes, now the Shia slums will be exploding again...

the fun never stops.

[amber dog democrat]

2. If we just kill more bad guys,maybe THAT will learn them

to accept the freedom we are doling out.

Murkins believe in freedom! We will liberate you from your oil, your country, and your life. Nothing more peaceful that dead folks.

[nadinbrzezinski]

3. Pour more gas onto the fire

GOD!

[nolabels]

4. Sounds so typical of any abuser that gets embarrassed

They always will try to lash out in greater force when they have been given light of things they might now want to be to proud of. The heightened hubris before next fall it leads to can be tracked in a 3 year old.

[Barrett808]

5. US begins major offensive against Iraqi cleric Moqtada Sadr

NAJAF, Iraq (AFP) - The US-led coalition kicked off a political and military offensive against firebrand Iraqi cleric Moqtada Sadr in a concerted effort to end an insurgency in southern Shiite cities and killing 41 of his militiamen in clashes.

Tanks raced into the holy city of Najaf to secure the office of a new provincial governor who was unveiled in Baghdad as clashes broke out in and around the city.

Iraqi police have been back at the governor's office since it was held briefly by Sadr's Mehdi Army in April, but the military thrust was another sign of US attempts to strengthen its position and isolate Sadr.

"We're now operating ... on their turf. We're getting contact on all sides, but we're dealing with it," US army Lieutenant Colonel Pat White told CNN outside the governor's office.

(more)

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20040506/wl_mideast_afp/iraq_us_najaf&cid=1514&ncid=1480

[SidDithers]

6. And if they get Sadr, someone else will step in to take his place. nt

Sid

[leftchick]

7. didn't I just hear chimpass* say they would Leave al-Sadr to the Iraqis?

On Arab tv?

[cosmicdot]

8. just * following up and clarifying himself re: his al-Hurra TV appearance

"I've got some confidence in the secretary of defense, and I've got confidence in the commanders on the ground in Iraq," the president told al-Hurra television.


what a bizarro world these people must live in:


In Ohio, Bush Supporters Stand by Their Man
Thu May 6, 2004 01:52 PM ET

By John Whitesides, Political Correspondent

LEBANON, Ohio (Reuters) - Worries about war and jobs may have taken their toll on President Bush's popularity elsewhere, but in this Republican stronghold in the swing state of Ohio his followers are standing by their man.

Support for Bush remains rock solid along Lebanon's tidy main street of antique shops and general stores, where few voters question his decision to go to war in Iraq or blame him for a slumping economy.

"I have been very impressed with him. He's proven himself to be much more intelligent and capable than anyone gave him credit for," said Melissa Applegate, a registered nurse from nearby Milford who was shopping in Lebanon's historic district the day after Bush's campaign bus tour made a stop.

"I think he's a steady leader," she said, repeating a phrase that has blared endlessly at Ohio residents from their television sets during a cascade of Bush campaign commercials.

~snip~
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=politicsNews&storyID=5064432

[maxsolomon]

9. Hey! That's my mom & dad!

There's just no changing their minds.