US/ Alliance troops have lost control over KUT and Najaf, pulling out of the cities.

[DaFinn]

Just in on AP-Reuters-HS... prolly elswhere too.

"US/ alliance troops have lost control over the Iraq cities of Kut and Najaf. Troops have pulled out of the cities..."

This was announced by US general Ricardo Sanchez in press conference a while ago.

All is NOT quiet in the Eastern Front...

 

[dahunan]

late night radio shows were saying that MUCH of the resistance is being fueled by Iran.


**I really feel for the men and women in uniform who are being led to their deaths by these WarPigs over here
Understaffed and lacking battle armor... *sigh..

 

[lozina]

Originally posted by: dahunan
late night radio shows were saying that MUCH of the resistance is being fueled by Iran.

Definitely possible Iran is behind some of this, but what led them to their conclusion?

 

[sandorski]

Originally posted by: lozina

Originally posted by: dahunan
late night radio shows were saying that MUCH of the resistance is being fueled by Iran.

Definitely possible Iran is behind some of this, but what led them to their conclusion?

Probably just grasping at straws for now. I wouldn't be surprised if Iran is influencing things in the background, trying to affect the final outcome of a future Iraqi government, but that is to be expected. It is their backyard and in their interest to influence the process in some fashion.

 

[dahunan]

Originally posted by: lozina

Originally posted by: dahunan
late night radio shows were saying that MUCH of the resistance is being fueled by Iran.

Definitely possible Iran is behind some of this, but what led them to their conclusion?

They were claiming it was directly tied to the Nuclear Inspections and the escalation of pressure put on the Iranians coincided with the pressure form the Iraqis.

Here is another interesting possibility

****Questionable Source below*****

(snip)

At first, Bremer responded to Sadr's growing strength by ignoring him; now he is attempting to provoke him into all-out battle. The trouble began when he closed down Sadr's newspaper last week, sparking a wave of peaceful demonstrations. On Saturday, Bremer raised the stakes further by sending coalition forces to surround Sadr's house near Najaf and arrest his communications officer.

Predictably, the arrest sparked immediate protests in Baghdad, which the Iraqi army responded to by opening fire and allegedly killing three people. At the end of the day on Sunday, Sadr called on his supporters to stop staging demonstrations and urged them to employ unnamed "other ways" to resist the occupation - a statement many interpreted as a call to arms.

On the surface, this chain of events is mystifying. With the so-called Sunni triangle in flames after the gruesome Falluja attacks, why is Bremer pushing the comparatively calm Shia south into battle?

Here's one possible answer: Washington has given up on its plans to hand over power to an interim Iraqi government on June 30, and is creating the chaos it needs to declare the handover impossible. A continued occupation will be bad news for George Bush on the campaign trail, but not as bad as if the hand-over happens and the country erupts, an increasingly likely scenario given the widespread rejection of the legitimacy of the interim constitution and the US- appointed governing council.

more:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1186566,00.html

 

[conjur]

And dragging our feet putting in additional troops and getting help from other NATO/U.N. nations.

Damn...never thought we'd pull out of those areas.

 

[conjur]

Haven't seen any news on a pullout.

Just that they've taken control of parts of 3 cities.

But, Negotiations Begin with Radical Shiite Leader

http://www.debka.com/article.php?aid=823

 

[onelove]

U.S. forces' attempt to regain control of Fallujah have stalled out due to lack of reinforcements. from NPR, don't see anything posted yet.

I wish public television would show The Fog of War on PBS. It can't hurt to see inside McNamara's head a little bit right now.

 

[Zephyr106]

Ooohhh oooh oooh if Iran is fueling the Iraqi resistance does that mean we invade them next?

Zephyr

 

[burnedout]

U.S. forces have recaptured Kut.

 

[spaceman]

Originally posted by: burnedout
U.S. forces have recaptured Kut.

shhhh some scum in this thread might get upset.

 

[SarcasticDwarf]

I'm kinda loking forward to when we hand over control of Iraq to the "Irawui people." If Iran, Syria, and Saudi Arabia think they have problems now...

 

[rufruf44]

Originally posted by: DeathByAnts
I'm kinda loking forward to when we hand over control of Iraq to the "Irawui people." If Iran, Syria, and Saudi Arabia think they have problems now...

Let me guess, 1st thing Saudis will do is an emergency phone call to dubya or kerry or whoever the president is, for immediate military assistance.

 

[Zephyr106]

Originally posted by: ncircle

Originally posted by: burnedout
U.S. forces have recaptured Kut.

shhhh some scum in this thread might get upset.

Thanks for your insight, most Patriotic One.

Zephyr

 

From what I understand, that MONDAY will be the day for action.

There are several hundred thousand visiting Muslum (Irianian tourists) in Iraq this weekend, for some type of holly date, for gathering in Iraq at several masques, for prayer.

The pilgramage should be over sometime late this weekend.

This is the first time in 40 years that the mulsum pilgramage has been allowed to take place in Iraq.

So this was pretty much a big deal for the islamic people, to go to Iraq and pray at the masques.

All of the violence over the past week has to do with this holly date, and the visiting pilgrams!

The terrosits know we wont do too much while this pilgramage is going on out of respect!

Early next week things should be interesting, I'll bet some Iraqi cities get leveled next week!

john

 

[zillafurby]

Originally posted by: dahunan
late night radio shows were saying that MUCH of the resistance is being fueled by Iran.


**I really feel for the men and women in uniform who are being led to their deaths by these WarPigs over here
Understaffed and lacking battle armor... *sigh..

Understaffed and lacking battle armor... *sigh. - thats what war is always like, people always die needlessly, thats why it should be avaioded at all costs, and anyway get used to it.


**I really feel for the men and women in uniform who are being led to their deaths by these WarPigs over here

- yeah blame bremer and ush and the neocons for antagonising the iraqies so much, and for pointless reasons as well!

 

[MadRat]

And if a general does don armor on his vehicles before he sends his boys over then the flyboys refuse to carry them because their fuel rate increases too much and they're too worried about their own asses to adjust the plans...