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2006-04-26 Iraq
Shi'ite militias moving towards Kirkuk while Kurds dig in
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Posted by Dan Darling 2006-04-26 01:15|| || Front Page|| [11129 views since 2007-05-07]  Top

#1 This may become the flashpoint that begins the long overdue drive to eliminate the militias - al Sadr in particular. Bet on the Peshmerga.
Posted by Gromp Unick5041 2006-04-26 02:10||   2006-04-26 02:10|| Front Page Top

#2 Drama Queens WaPo: Shi'ite militias moving towards Kirkuk while Kurds dig in

If Tater and the Tots got their ASSes handed to them in Shiite Najaf + etc, what chance does he have in Kirkuk?

...............

Interesting re-cap or re-cast about the various factions in Iraq Michael Yon, Tuesday, April 18th, 2006..sample:

'The Civil War did not start subsequent the invasion; it was already underway. The former Iraqi regime had slaughtered unknown thousands of civilians and buried many of them in mass graves that are still today being discovered and catalogued. If anything, the previous Civil War has merely changed shape, the advantage has clearly shifted....
Posted by RD 2006-04-26 02:29||   2006-04-26 02:29|| Front Page Top

#3 Tuz is 50 kilometers south of Kirkuk on the edge of Kurdish controlled territory. Map
Posted by phil_b">phil_b  2006-04-26 03:09|| http://autonomousoperation.blogspot.com/]">[http://autonomousoperation.blogspot.com/]  2006-04-26 03:09|| Front Page Top

#4 I'm guessing the Peshmerga ROE are somewhat different than the Brits' down in Basra...
Posted by Seafarious">Seafarious  2006-04-26 09:56||   2006-04-26 09:56|| Front Page Top

#5 Bet on the Peshmerga.

but arm and supply and back them up, too.
Posted by lotp 2006-04-26 10:02||   2006-04-26 10:02|| Front Page Top

#6 As I understand it, Kirkuk was historically largely Kurdish but Saddam moved a lot of Kurds out and gave/sold their property to Arabs - who were certainly Saddam supporters and thus largely Sunni Arabs. These Arabs are understandably upset now that the Kurds are coming back and reclaiming 'their' property and forcing the Arabs out. Many of these Arabs who are being evicted bought or inherited the property and have owned it for perhaps 20 years (think how Atlantans might feel about having the Cherokee come back and kick them out.) Most of the violence in the Kurdish borderlands (e.g. Kirkuk) would thus be Sunni/Baath vs. Kurd. That does not sound like the most fertile ground for Mookie's boys to work in. 'Enemy of my enemy is my friend' may apply to some degree, but certainly not with a lot of loyalty. Sounds like an opportunity to generate good intel on both groups of 'our' enemies. Sometimes 'the enemy of my enemy' is actually just your worse enemy.
Posted by Glenmore">Glenmore  2006-04-26 10:05||   2006-04-26 10:05|| Front Page Top

#7 The Kurdish region is some of the most secure and peaceful in Iraq. The Kurds are heavily supporting US moves into Iran both with rebels in Iran and with I would imagine escorting SOF. That is the point of this in its whole.

Sadr and his Mehdi Army are nothing more than Iranian expeditionary unit. Iran has a big interest in putting some pressure on the Kurds and sowing more chaos in Iraq to keep the US tied down. We should have permanently faded Sadr long ago.
Posted by C-Low 2006-04-26 11:02||   2006-04-26 11:02|| Front Page Top

#8 "Sadr and his Mehdi Army are nothing more than Iranian expeditionary unit. Iran has a big interest in putting some pressure on the Kurds "

Exactly. The Iranian Kurds are acting up. This is an Iranian reaction.
Posted by buwaya 2006-04-26 12:06||   2006-04-26 12:06|| Front Page Top

#9 If we know that shia militia are moving into the area, then, why don't we pick them up and have them dig for WMDs for a year or two ? We can get them for crossing a province border with a loaded weapon.
Posted by wxjames 2006-04-26 12:19||   2006-04-26 12:19|| Front Page Top

#10 Any Shia militia moving into Kirkuk will have a difficult logistics task.

Since there isn't much indiginous Shia population or institutional capacity, the militia will have create bunking and other facilities. These will be very vulnerable to sunni suicide bombers.
Posted by mhw 2006-04-26 12:29||   2006-04-26 12:29|| Front Page Top

#11 You're right about the Shia having no sea to swim in around Kirkuk, but do the Kurds employ the suicide bomb thing?
Posted by 6 2006-04-26 16:02||   2006-04-26 16:02|| Front Page Top

#12 You'll notice that their hasn't been much of a suicide bomb war in the Kurd's area. As stated, the Kurd "militia" is a whole different animal than Sadr's group of Iranian trained thugs. If Sadr moves into the Kirkuk area he'll soon find himself in a Dien ben fooey situation, trapped and getting pounded.
Posted by toad 2006-04-26 17:17||   2006-04-26 17:17|| Front Page Top

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