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Iraq
How can this be? Iraqi forces move into Shia stronghold
2008-04-02
From the Guardian no less
Iraqi government forces entered a Shia militant stronghold in the southern city of Basra today, which has been rocked by fierce internecine clashes in recent weeks.

The move against the Mahdi army, the militia supporting the Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, comes a day after the Iraqi prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, returned to Baghdad after spending a week in Basra overseeing a crackdown against Shia militants.
The losers are occupying the winners, go figure!
As the convoy of army and police forces, led by Lieutenant-General Mohan al-Fireji, entered the Hayaniyah area of the city, the troops began shooting into the air in a show of force.
Killing clouds is an Arab specialty
Posted by:GolfBravoUSMC

#12  Mahdi army is going to find out how it doesn't pay to fight a 'come as you are' war against an opponent who're trained to fight like Americans ...
Posted by: Steve White   2008-04-02 23:13  

#11  Lone Ranger, agreed. There are many ways to skin [a] Tater.
Posted by: twobyfour   2008-04-02 22:51  

#10  Thing is Madhi Army may have learend by observing that we now use 500lb JDAM on the "bunker" houses they make. And the Iraqis can call us in pretty quick.
Posted by: OldSpook   2008-04-02 22:19  

#9  point was - everyone (but smn and the NYT?) seems to know he's in Iran
Posted by: Frank G   2008-04-02 21:20  

#8  It's hard to hit him with a Hellfire when he's hiding in Iran.

OK - so let's try "reconnaissance by fire" using Arc Light strikes.

'Works for me.
Posted by: Lone Ranger   2008-04-02 20:23  

#7  I assume that it is not only Mookie's goons who are surveilling at this point. Prolly lots of that going on by both sides. But the reality is that Maliki's team has the better supply of weapons, ammo and other logistic items and they have the air support and other backup from the Coalition forces. Hard to see how they don't have the upper hand against what is a large organized crime group.
Posted by: Remoteman   2008-04-02 19:02  

#6  Looking for former Iraqi policemen who are out of uniform, no doubt.
Posted by: Jack Slineger4174   2008-04-02 18:59  

#5  Pappy - you've gotta cut the fact-challenged some slack
Posted by: Frank G   2008-04-02 17:57  

#4  All your strongholds!

We has
Posted by: Elvis On a Tractor   2008-04-02 17:12  

#3  smn:
It's hard to hit him with a Hellfire when he's hiding in Iran.

Al
Posted by: Frozen Al   2008-04-02 16:55  

#2  Probably because at this point, it's an 'Iraqi show'.
Posted by: Pappy   2008-04-02 16:33  

#1  Moqtada al-Sadr's goons are 'bean counting' now; surveilling who comes, who goes and when. Seems his gamesmanship continues. No one in the West has the audacity to tap the top of his turban with a Hellfire® missile these days!
Posted by: smn   2008-04-02 16:16  

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