Iraqi PM attacks US tactics in Baghdad

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Iraq's prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, has angrily charged American forces with undermining national reconciliation after a US-led raid in the eastern Baghdad stronghold of the radical Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr reportedly caused the death of three people, including a woman and a child.

The forthright criticism of US tactics comes just days after the launch of a much-publicised American-Iraqi crackdown, supported by Mr Maliki, on sectarian Sunni-Shia violence in the capital. But in a statement on government television late on Monday night, Mr Maliki said he was "very angered and pained" by the latest operation, which involved air and ground forces in the volatile Sadr City area early in the morning.

"Reconciliation cannot go hand in hand with operations that violate the rights of citizens this way," Mr Maliki said.

The US military said the raid, which also involved Iraqi forces, had targeted "individuals involved in punishment and torture cell activities" and was part of an effort to stem the sectarian violence in Baghdad and avert a broader civil war.

Guardian

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1. US tries to curb a powerful Iraqi and his militia

WASHINGTON -- Moqtada al-Sadr, a radical Shi'ite Muslim preacher who has steadfastly fought against American forces in Iraq, has emerged as one of the most powerful leaders in the country, holding the key to ending the tit-for-tat sectarian violence that threatens to drag Iraq into civil war, US officials say.

Sadr's unofficial militia, known as the Mahdi Army, has steadily swelled from a few hundred men in 2003 at the time of the US invasion to more than 10,000 fighters. State Department and Defense Department officials say Sadr's fighters have kidnapped and killed Sunni civilians in retaliation for attacks on Shi'ites, playing a growing role in the sectarian violence that has engulfed Baghdad since the February bombing of a Shi'ite shrine.

Yesterday, a joint US-Iraqi military raid targeting a kidnapping-and-torture operation in Sadr's stronghold in eastern Baghdad erupted into a two-hour, helicopter-supported battle with Sadr's increasingly formidable militia. The raid demonstrated the Americans' determination to challenge Sadr's militia before it grows stronger, even as they seek to avoid a full-fledged military confrontation.

Attacking Sadr carries significant risks for the United States as well as the Iraqi government. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shi'ite who relies on Sadr for political support, said yesterday he was ``very angered" by the raid, and warned that such operations could ruin his efforts to bring about national reconciliation.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/articles/2006/08/08/us_tries_to_curb_a_powerful_iraqi_and_his_militia/

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7. Nouri al-Maliki is strainng at his leash

Rice about to fill his food bowl

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8. Do you think he has his flights booked yet? nt

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9. MAYBE SOON

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2. Romania to withdraw troops upon Iraqi government request -- President

BAGHDAD, Aug 9 (KUNA) -- Romanian President Traian Basescu said Wednesday that his country will withdraw its 900 soldiers in Iraq as soon as the Iraqi government requests this.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, he said that Romania would present political, economic, and military support for Iraq, noting his country's experience in the transition from dictatorship to democracy.

Furthermore, Basescu said the aim of his visit was to strengthen relations with Iraq, as well as to visit Romanian military contingencies stationed in the country.

"Our relations are strong and historic, and my people wish you prosperity, stability, and security," he said.

http://www.kuna.net.kw/Home/Story.aspx?Language=en&DSNO=895024

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5. Weak statement as the US said the same thing--IF Iraq UN-invites us,

We will go.

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6. Drivel, yes. nt

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3. One killed, 16 injured in Iraq demos over fuel, power shortages

Baghdad - One person was killed and several injured Wednesday on the fifth day of demonstrations in cities and towns in northern Iraq over electricity and petrol shortages and a deficiency of other essential services.

In the town of Kalar, approximately 160 kilometres south of the city of Sulaimaniya, around 1,000 Kurdish demonstrators gathered in front of the town council building, demanding the provision of essential services for the town's residents.

Police fired in the air to disperse the angry protestors, who pelted the council building with stones.

There were similar scenes of police firing over the heads of stone-throwing protestors outside the local offices of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan party, which is headed by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani.

http://news.monstersandcritics.com/middleeast/article_1188616.php/One_killed_16_injured_in_Iraq_demos_over_fuel_power_shortages

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4. what did this man expect?--Did he not know/see Faluja?

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10. This may be him in a few days

I hear that Quislings are not real popular