On the Brink of Anarchy, US Now Fighting on Two Fronts (Guardian/UK )

[G_j]

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0406-03.htm
http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,3858,4896030-103681,00.html

Published on Tuesday, April 6, 2004 by the Guardian/UK

On the Brink of Anarchy
US Now Fighting on Two Fronts

by Julian Borger in Washington and Jonathan Steele in Baghdad

The Bush administration was last night facing a nightmare scenario in Iraq, fighting on two fronts against Sunni and Shia militants less than three months before it is due to hand over power to an Iraqi government.

Facing a critical moment in the effort to pacify the country, President George Bush vowed he would not budge from his June 30 deadline for the transition to self-rule, while US forces in Iraq opted for a high-risk strategy of attempting to crush both insurgent groups simultaneously.

American officials in Baghdad announced an arrest warrant for a radical Shia cleric, Moqtada al-Sadr, whose black-uniformed Mahdi militia revolted against coalition forces at the weekend, killing seven American soldiers in the Baghdad district known as Sadr City. Up to 30 Iraqis were also killed in the clashes, the worst the capital has seen since its fall to US troops a year ago.

In another sign of their tougher strategy, US forces used Apache gunships to attack targets in Baghdad for the first time since the fall of the Saddam Hussein regime. The helicopters opened fire over the Shia neighborhood of Shulla after militants destroyed a US armored vehicle.

...more..



IRAQ: ON THE BRINK OF ANARCHY
Armed Shiite militiamen loyal to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr patrol the streets of the Shula district of Baghdad during a peaceful anti-American protest Tuesday April 6, 2004. U.S. troops battled Iraqi guerrillas Tuesday on the edges of Fallujah, which hundreds of Marines and Iraqi troops have surrounded in a major operation to pacify one of Iraq's most violent cities. The military reported four more Marines killed in the area. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

[mistertrickster]

1. Well, it looks like things are turning out just about the way we

critics of the war said it would.

We said

1. under no circumstances, invade Iraq. Bush went any way.

2. there are no weapons of mass destruction. There is no immenet threat. We were right.

3. if you do go, get the UN to back you. The Bush coalition went in alone.

4. if you do go in alone, establish a system of democracy as soon as possible and get out. The Bush administration dilly-dallied on democracy because they don't really like democracy and they wanted to maintain "control."

5. if you stay longer than a year, expect massive protests and insurgencies that become harder and harder to quell, likely leading to civil war.

I hate being right all the time . . . It's like Greek tragedy, you know how it's going to end before it even starts.

[Guaranteed]

2. Whoohoo! Three-way battle royale!

Just like the old WWF!

Do the elbow-drop, Rummy!

[Guaranteed]

3. LOL BTW look at the picture

We're just letting these guys roam the streets with guns. Does that SOUND like we're in control of the situation?

[sniffa]

4. it's a sign of progress

the terrissst are showing their desparation. any word on what's going on there now?