Reply #40: The pictures coming out of Sadr City don't look like an "ambush," [View All]

[markses]

but like full on, all out street fighting.

The situation in Iraq is very, very quickly spinning out of control. The closure of the Shi'a newspaper was only the spark here, but now it's turning damn ugly. If these recent reports prove true (and all the reports say that clashes in Sadr city are ongoing), then the US KIA for April is as follows:

1-Apr: 1
1 - I MEF, killed in hostile action, al-Anbar Province (near Fallujah)

2-Apr: 1
1 - 1AD, killed in IED attack, Baghdad

3-Apr: 1
1 - I MEF killed in hostile action, al-Anbar Province

4-Apr: 4US
1 - I MEF killed in hostile action, al-Anbar Province;
3 - (1AD??) killed in ambush, al-Sadr city section of Baghdad

A Shi'a uprising at this point would be disastrous, and will probably result in Bremer's ouster as CPA head. If the US can't regain control of sadr city, expect heavy shelling of the Green Zone to commence soon. The unsaid here is fairly clear. The relatively easy road so far has been enabled by Shi'a quiescence on the US invasion/occupation. If that cooperation collapses, we'll see the war we never saw last March and April.