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[Justmytruth's Weblog] The Reality of the Iraq War Today: Surely, if the aim was to make Basra a safer place, it would have been logical to do something to also stem the influence of the other militias loyal to the local competitors of the Sadrists, the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq [SIIC], as well as the armed groups allied to the Fadila party (sic) (which have dominated the oil protection services for a long time). But so far, only Sadrists have complained about attacks by government forces.
[Political Cartel] New GOP War Message: Iran is Killing Americans: I am also just incredulous at the Bush administration’s long history of accusing Iran of developing WMDs even after they apparantly read the intelligence memo saying that wasn’t true. That is probably the more worrying thing about the situation, because we’ve already seen this particular administration lead the nation into a war based on exaggerated WMD claims.
[The Conscientious Objector] McCain Gets Iraq Facts Wrong AGAIN: This is not the first time in recent memory that McCain has gotten basic facts about Iraq wrong. Two weeks ago, he repeatedly made false claims that Iran was training al Qaeda fighters in Iraq.
[The Strange Death of Liberal America] The Iraq Bloodbath Has Already Begun: How close al-Sadr is to Iran has always inspired much speculation both in Iraq and around the world, but there seems little question that this action has to have pushed him further into Iran’s arms. If al-Maliki has the support of a foreign government, the United States, then it is only logical for al-Sadr to seek foreign support from the dominant Shiite country in the Middle East, Iran.
[politicalgroove Forums] Despite Huge Media Campaign, Facts Show Massive Failure In Iraq: “Mehdi army militias controlled all Shia and mixed parts of Baghdad in no time,” a Baghdad police colonel, speaking on condition of anonymity, told IPS. “Iraqi army and police forces as well as Badr and Dawa militias suddenly disappeared from the streets, leaving their armoured vehicles for Mehdi militiamen to drive around in joyful convoys that toured many parts of Baghdad before taking them to their stronghold of Sadr City in the east of Baghdad.”
[A NEWT ONE] War News: Iraq, Al Sadr, Iran and Basra: Six days after the Iraqi government launched Operation Knights' Charge in Basrah against the Mahdi Army and other Iranian-backed Shia terror groups, Muqtada al Sadr, the Leader of the Mahdi Army, has called for his fighters to lay down their weapons and cooperate with Iraqi security forces. Sadr's call for an end to the fighting comes as his Mahdi Army has taken serious losses since the operation began.
[truthnews.us] War with Iran May Have Begun with Offensive in Iraq: If attacks against Iran are to commence soon, then it makes sense to weaken those forces considered likely to irrupt in response to such an attack: Better to attack those forces first and separately, throwing them off balance and subjecting them to prolonged siege, thereby depleting their assets and revealing their larger weapon capabilities and stores, prior to an attack on Iran itself;
[The Long War Journal] Maliki: "Security operations in Basra will continue": The reasons behind Sadr's call for a cessation in fighting remain unknown, but reports indicate the Mahdi Army was having a difficult time sustaining its operations and has taken heavy casualties. "Whatever gains [the Mahdi Army] has made in the field [in Basrah], they were running short of ammunition, food, and water," an anonymous US military officer serving in South told The Long War Journal.
[Regular Rambo!] John McCain on Iraq: Defeat in the war would lead to much more violence in Iraq, greatly embolden Iran, undermine U.S. allies such as Israel, likely lead to wider conflict, result in a terrorist safe haven in the heart of the Middle East, and gravely damage U.S. credibility throughout the world.
[Red Telephone] Iran Saves the Day”¦: Iran’s swift and seemingly superior ability to negotiate is illustrative of both the complexity of post-war Iraq and the U.S.’s lack of control in the region. It also demonstrates that the old War on Terror model of foreign policy is oversimplified and simply worth little outside of a national security setting.
[Blog for a Just Foreign Policy] Basra Ceasefire Shows Talking to Iran Could Save Lives Now: But the fact that the Bush Administration’s motivations are likely different from their stated goals is no reason not to challenge them today on their policies of escalation. Even if it turns out to be true that the withdrawal of U.S. forces will not take place until the next Administration, saving Iraqi and American lives can begin immediately.
[Alisaxfndorothy's Weblog] Insomniac: 02: Sure, Bush was occasionally patrolling the skies over Houston when he wasn’t drunk during the Vietnam war, but how dare he say, “One unmistakable legacy of Vietnam is that the price of America’s withdrawal was paid by millions of innocent citizens whose agonies would add to our vocabulary new terms like ‘boat people,’ ‘re-education camps’
[Seeker Blog] What’s going on in Basra?: In southern Iraq and east Baghdad, Sadr once again lost street face. Despite the predictable media umbrage, this translates into political deterioration.
[Kautzman's AP GO PO Blog] SPRING BREAK BLOG: “Violence an Iraq reality check”: Iraqi and American officials portrayed the crackdown as a move to crush outlaw militias - some with close ties to Iran - that have effectively ruled the streets of the country’s second-largest city for nearly three years.
[News Dissector Blog] Did Dick Cheney’s Visit Stir Lastest Round of Iraq Violence?: A parliamentary delegation from Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s own coalition (mainly now the Da`wa Party and the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq) defied him by going off to the holy seminary city of Qom in Iran and negotiating directly with Sayyid Muqtada al-Sadr and with the leader of the Quds Brigades of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, Brig. Gen.
[Oddlyamerican's Weblog] A Question of Consistency: The aggressive movement within the far-right of the Republican party to paint the left as educated elites, and by extension, slyly portray the true republican as patriotic and proudly uneducated (epitomized in popular culture by the 911 inspired Alan Jackson hit “Where were you when the world stopped turning?”, that contained the immortal lines “I watch CNN, but I’m not sure if I can tell you the difference between Iraq and Iran.”), has been especially disastrous.
[Danger Room] Is Iraq Still an Insurgency?: American military and civilian officials werecandid in telling me that the governors and other local officialsinstalled by the central government in Basra and elsewhere in southernIraq had no popular base. If open local and provincial elections wereheld, they said, Dawa and the Islamic Supreme Council were likely to be routed because they were seen as having failed to bring development and government services.
Reflected tags on Technorati: Blog, Iraq: Blogs, Photos, Videos And More On Technorati, Iraq War: Blogs, Photos, Videos And More On Technorati, Iraq War: Blogs, Photos, Videos And More On Technorati, Iran: Blogs, Photos, Videos And More On Technorati, Iraq Reviews
