Iraqi troops, Sadrists in Basra standoff

[maddezmom]

Source: AFP

BASRA, Iraq (AFP) - Iraqi troops were in a tense standoff with radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's supporters on Friday after they surrounded an office block occupied by the group in the southern city of Basra.

The move was blasted by Sadr's supporters as a "provocation" but the Iraqi government said the operation only aimed to recover offices unfairly occupied by political groups.

The incident comes only weeks after bloody fighting broke out on March 25 between Iraqi forces and Sadr's Mahdi Army militia when Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki launched a crackdown on Shiite militiamen in the port city.

The clashes spread to other Shiite regions of Iraq, killing and wounding hundreds of people.

"The police and the army have laid siege to Sadr's office in Basra," office head Sheikh Harith al-Athari told AFP. "They have also stopped people from attending Friday prayers.



Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080418/wl_mideast_afp/iraqpoliticsshiite_080418120149

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Iraqi troops surround Sadr office in Basra
(Reuters)

18 April 2008
BASRA, Iraq - Iraqi troops cordoned off the Basra office of Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr’s followers on Friday and prevented them holding prayers in a move that seems sure to inflame tensions.


The government and Sadr followers confirmed the operation, which comes nearly a month after Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki launched a crackdown on Sadr’s Mehdi Army militia in Basra, sparking violent clashes across the south and in Baghdad.

“We have orders from the prime minister to take back all the governmental buildings that are occupied by parties and political movements in Basra within 48 hours,” Interior Ministry spokesman Major-General Abdul-Karim Khalaf, told Reuters.

Sadr’s office in Basra is located in an old Olympic committee building from the Saddam Hussein-era. There were no reports of fighting between Sadr followers and Iraqi troops.

more:http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/focusoniraq/2008/April/focusoniraq_April139.xml§ion=focusoniraq&col=

[gratuitous]

1. Didn't we already win in Basra?

It was just a few weeks ago. Proof that the surge was working. The latest exhibit in the wonderful wonderfulness that is the war in Iraq. What's with this "standoff" stuff? Oh well, probably nothing important. After all, it's not like anyone in the major media has skin in this game, so it's far more important that we debate capital gains tax cuts.

[maddezmom]

2. well the British handed it over a while back, then Maliki decided to take Basra

back from as Sadr's followers. And then all hell broke loose.

Basra Assault Exposed U.S., Iraqi Limits
Anti-Sadr Gambit Seen Aiding Cleric

By Sudarsan Raghavan and Ernesto Londoño
Washington Post Foreign Service
Friday, April 4, 2008; Page A01

BAGHDAD, April 3 -- When Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki launched an offensive in Basra last week, he consulted only his inner circle of advisers. There were no debates in parliament or among his political allies. Senior American officials were notified only a few days before the operation began.

This Story
Basra Assault Exposed U.S., Iraqi Limits
Iraqi Leader Reverses Course
Podcast: Baghdad Briefing
He was determined to show, his advisers said, that Iraq's central government could exert order over a lawless, strategic port city ruled by extremist militias. The advisers said Maliki wanted to demonstrate that he was a strong leader who could shed his reputation as a sectarian figure by going after fellow Shiites, and who could act decisively without U.S. pressure or assistance.

A week later, his ultimately unsuccessful gambit has exposed the shaky foundation upon which U.S. policy in Iraq rests after five years of war, according to politicians and analysts. Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top military commander in Iraq, and U.S. Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker are to report to Congress next week on Iraq's progress.

The offensive, which triggered clashes across southern Iraq and in Baghdad that left about 600 people dead, unveiled the weaknesses of Maliki's U.S.-backed government and his brash style of leadership. On many levels, the offensive strengthened the anti-American Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.

The United States has spent more than $22 billion to build up Iraq's security forces, but they were unable to quell the militias. Hundreds of Iraqi soldiers and police deserted the fighting, a senior Iraqi military official said. Maliki had to call on U.S. and British commanders for support. In some areas, such as Sadr's Baghdad stronghold of Sadr City, U.S. forces took the lead in fighting the cleric's Mahdi Army militiamen.

more:http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/03/AR2008040300309.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/Basra?tid=informline

[annabanana]

3. The Iraqi "troops" aren't doing so well in Baghdad either.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3273320

[4dsc]

4. Winning hearts and minds... nt

[paparush]

5. More Fodder for the Cheney "Bomb Iran" Machine

[ohio2007]

6. Iraqi troops say control Basra stronghold

BASRA, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraqi soldiers swooped on the Basra stronghold of Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr on Saturday, saying they had seized control of his militia bastion where they suffered an embarrassing setback in late March.

snip

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's crackdown against Sadr's Mehdi Army militia in Basra last month was criticized by U.S. commanders as poorly planned and hasty.

It failed to drive the militia from the streets and sparked battles across the south and in the cleric's Baghdad stronghold of Sadr City. The government dismissed 1,300 soldiers and police for refusing to fight.

snip

Reuters television pictures from Basra showed government troops in armored vehicles in control of the neighborhood's streets, searching houses for weapons and fugitive suspects. One of the armored vehicles was pocked with bullets.

Sadr's spokesman in the holy city of Najaf, Salah al-Ubaidi, said the humanitarian situation in Hayaniya was "tragic."

"They have surrounded the district and are preventing the wounded from going to hospitals. Then they started a ground attack," he told Reuters. "It is a very crowded area and they attacked it with rockets as if it were a military base."

snip

In the weeks since last month's botched crackdown in Basra, government forces have moved more slowly and deliberately into Sadr-controlled areas, arresting Mehdi Army figures while largely avoiding major street battles

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/iraq_dc;_ylt=AkVO2_BJ8wTlXGL3xZVvWyRX6GMA


"They" are forcing a tragic humanitarian situation in the area once held by the Mehdi army....that chased out the government police and soldiers in the first place about a month ago. Guess in the longrun, they also "planned to fail".