Iraqi leaders figting over US troops abandoning checkpoints

[OzarkDem]

Iraq is in turmoil, its getting worse by the hour. The latest move forced US troops to abandon checkpoints at Sadr City, allowing what many believe are terrorist Shiites to begin operating again. In response, the Sunni's are blockading roads in and out of Baghdad. Our troops will be caught in the crossfire.

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/PAR153887.htm

U.S. troops lifted roadblocks around the Shi'ite slum district of Sadr City on Tuesday when Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki ordered them out, flexing his political muscle after a week of public friction with Washington ahead of U.S. elections.

Supporters of anti-American Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr celebrated in the streets of Sadr City, bastion of his Mehdi Army. An aide hailed the end of a "barbaric siege" begun to help find a kidnapped U.S. soldier possibly being held by militiamen.

...

But Iraq's Sunni vice president slammed the move, saying it could spell an end to a lull in sectarian death squad violence, which the once dominant Sunni minority blames on the Mehdi Army.

"I'm afraid that by lifting the siege the government sent the wrong message to those who stand behind terrrorism in Iraq. It says the iron fist will loosen and they can move freely," said Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi, a Sunni.

[leftchick]

1. yes it is bad

just as Murtha predicted. I see a lot more bloodshed ahead. :(

[OzarkDem]

3. What is the plan?

Its doubtful Rummy even has one. Perhaps they plan to close themselves up in the Green Zone and let everyone fight it out?

[gratuitous]

2. Al-Sadr's supporters are celebrating?

Let me guess, they're celebrating because Michael J. Fox made a commercial that makes Republicans look bad.

No? Uhm, because John Kerry called the president stupid.

Wrong again? Huh. Uh, because we're about to have elections, and the Republicans' chances don't look good.

Whaddya mean, "no"? Oh, it must because some people are voting for Democrats! Okay, it's kind of a picky point, but--

"No" again?! Are you sure? I can't imagine why al-Sadr's supporters would be celebrating if it wasn't directly tied to minor events happening thousands of miles away. That's what the teevee has been telling me the past couple of weeks.

[OzarkDem]

4. Its what Dick Cheney is saying

He thinks its all related to the elections. Way to take responsibility, Dick.

[leftchick]

5. "Baghdad is Under Siege"

aka: FUBAR!!!!

Well-armed Sunni tribes now largely surround Baghdad and are fighting Shia militias to complete the encirclement.

The Sunni insurgents seem to be following a plan to control all the approaches to Baghdad. They have long held the highway leading west to the Jordanian border and east into Diyala province. Now they seem to be systematically taking over routes leading north and south.

Dusty truck-stop and market towns such as Mahmoudiyah, Balad and Baquba all lie on important roads out of Baghdad. In each case Sunni fighters are driving out the Shia and tightening their grip on the capital. Shias may be in a strong position within Baghdad but they risk their lives when they take to the roads. Some 30 Shias were dragged off a bus yesterday after being stopped at a fake checkpoint south of Balad.

In some isolated neighbourhoods in Baghdad, food shortages are becoming severe. Shops are open for only a few hours a day. "People have been living off water melon and bread for the past few weeks," said one Iraqi from the capital. The city itself has broken up into a dozen or more hostile districts, the majority of which are controlled by the main Shia militia, the Mehdi Army.

The scale of killing is already as bad as Bosnia at the height of the Balkans conflict. An apocalyptic scenario could well emerge - with slaughter on a massive scale. As America prepares its exit strategy, the fear in Iraq is of a genocidal conflict between the Sunni minority and the Shias in which an entire society implodes. Individual atrocities often obscure the bigger picture where:

* upwards of 1,000 Iraqis are dying violently every week;

* Shia fighters have taken over much of Baghdad; the Sunni encircle the capital;

* the Iraqi Red Crescent says 1.5 million people have fled their homes within the country;

* the Shia and Sunni militias control Iraq, not the enfeebled army or police.

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article1945769.ece

[twilight_sailing]

6. ?

"In response, the Sunni's are blockading roads in and out of Baghdad."

Link, please.