U.S. Forces in Iraq Pull Out of Baghdad's Sadr City, AFP Says

[Robbien]

April 9 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. soldiers in Baghdad evacuated police stations and the town hall in Baghdad's Shiite Muslim district of Sadr City after five days of fighting with supporters of cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, Agence France-Presse reported.

The district, called Saddam City under ousted President Saddam Hussein, is now named after al-Sadr's father, who was assassinated in 1999. It has been one of the centers of violent attacks against U.S.-led occupation forces in the past week.

U.S. troops pulled out of the central police station in Sadr City, six other police posts and the town hall, AFP said, without giving further details.

http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=aysaehvbnNPo&refer=us

That is the whole article. No more details yet.
What is going on here? Are they pulling out and giving back the city to al-Sadr or maybe they are clearing the area because someone in CentCom is planning something nasty.

[mobuto]

1. Rest assured they're not giving the "city"

to al-Sadr.

[markses]

5. I see no reason for such assurance

Although I suppose we could argue about what we mean by "giving."

Suppose the NYPD decides to pull out of Queens (pop. 2 million). Easy, now.

[mobuto]

7. Well obviously

if the US pulls out al-Sadr will be in control of Sadr city for the time being. But I find it awfully hard to believe the US won't continue to fight the Sadr corps. They're certainly not conceding the neighborhood to the guy.

Suppose the NYPD decides to pull out of Queens (pop. 2 million). Easy, now.

Well as Rick Blaine cautioned Major Heinrich Strasser, "There are certain sections of New York, Major, that I wouldn't advise you to try to invade."

[markses]

15. LOL

Concede Glendale and Queens Village, at the very least.

_______________________

Joking aside, I think that they were not able to functionally hold the territory. To take back the territory now would involve, barring major negotations, maximum brutality. Given the tenuous situation in Fallujah (and by tenuous situation I use a rather severe euphemism standing in for the full-scale eruption of Iraqi civil society against the US action in Fallujah), i doubt the US could repeat it in any number of now seized Sadr areas. There is a point when the jig is simply up. Only the foolish deploy their old models past this point, hoping that they will magically transport them past the irreversible point.

[number6]

26. you got it

"There is a point when the jig is simply up"

Bush's jig is up...

no matter how many times he repeats his talking points ...

[saigon68]

8. "Bring in the Snake and Nape" shouted the Brave Chmpanzee

"We'll show them how to fight a war", he continued

[mobuto]

10. Bush couldn't fight this thing if he wanted to

I would be astounded if the White House were involved in the decision to occupy or not to occupy Sadr City. These kinds of decisions are typicially made by forces on the ground - forces a lot more competent than the boys sitting in the White House.

[saigon68]

17. Tyrants and insignificant men micromanage

Lyndon Johnson micromanaged the JCS target list.. from 65-68. Hell Hitler micromanaged the eastern Front and many battles. Don't sell Rove and these fools short. They are politicians who will manage the war for politics.

[IndianaGreen]

18. The city is not theirs to give, and neither is the country

This is now a war of national liberation, with the US cast in the role of the evil French in Algeria or Vietnam, or the Germans in Nazi-occupied Europe.

[mobuto]

27. The Evil French?

LOL, Indiana, with that kind of language you just might get offered a job in the Bush Pentagon.

[aneerkoinos]

22. It's not theirs to give

Has not been since Sunday. Occupying symbolically only few police stations, surrounded by resistance fighters with what must be terrible supply situation, in constant fear of being overrun, is not exactly 'holding' the Sadr City - a poor suburb of few million people. Withdrawing from those police stations was inevitable.

[peacetalksforall]

2. This is it...

Women and children out...U.S. soldiers out...

PLEASE - SOMEONE SAVE THE POOR SOULS OF THOSE MEN WHO ARE TRAPPED BECAUSE SURELY THEY WILL BE BOMBED.

PLEASE, PLEASE.... WE NEED A PEACE MAKER RIGHT NOW!

[IndianaGreen]

19. The Pope said last year that if we went into Iraq...

we would do so without God.

The Pope was right!

[Aidoneus]

3. that is what is called a "strategic advance to the rear"

in other words they're afraid to be there, and Sadr's army has once again liberated an area just as quickly as it was occupied.

CentCom has already been "nasty" in Madinat al-Sadr and nearby neighborhoods, hospitals report many dozens of Iraqis killed in the fighting. The occupyers seem to have bigger problems, however. Their supply lines running south-to-north have been disrupted, which makes sustaining a brutal campaign west of Baghdad extremely difficult--this difficulty explains why resistance forces have been able to withstand it so far, despite nearly 800 reported deaths (mostly noncombatant) between Ramadi & al-Fallujah.

[Robbien]

13. This sounds reasonable

Thanks. So they probably only took the Sadr City out of retaliation for when they were ambushed. It has no tactical advantage so now they are giving it up.
Right?

[tedzbear]

28. The USA is in a catch 22...

If they withdraw and soften them up with bombs and missiles, then they will be accused of even more atrocities. If they avoid that and fight a door to door guerrilla war, they will suffer too many American casualties.

Either way, we're f----d.

[markses]

4. Retreat

Pure and simple. The Shi'a have taken back Sadr City.

Ugly as all git out.

[Frances]

6. Do you think the U.S. plans to bomb the city to the ground?

[DAGDA56]

9. The name "Guernica" just flashed into my mind...

...but I'm sure I'm over reacting. I still wouldn't want to be there this time tomorrow.

[saigon68]

11. Only if the DirtBall Chimpanzee wants one of these in his name

Pablo Picasso. Guernica. 1937. Oil on canvas. Museo del Prado, Madrid, Spain

[kera]

12. you seem to forget

shock and awe , by now they must have been get used to that

[daleo]

14. I hope we are wrong about Fallujah

But, if it is as insane as my worst fears, then this retreat probably means they are going to bring in the air force against Sadr City, as well as Fallujah. I wonder if the truce at Fallujah was the same, just a chance to get U.S. troops out of harm's way before the air attack started.

I really hope I am wrong about all this.

[Aidoneus]

16. the air force was already used against Madinat al-Sadr and areas nearby

Not as much as in al-Fallujah, of course--where whole neighborhoods have been targetted for destruction--, but many houses were bombed and dozens reported dead there. They may have more damage in mind later when the other issues are "pacified" (which will never happen, but I digress).

[ewagner]

20. My guess

and like many others here, I can only guess, is that they didn't have enough troops to pacify Sadr City and decided to get out before they took too many casualties.

It's also possible, that being as short of troops as they are, the troops were needed elsewhere, perhaps Falleujah.

The only possible WH involvement I could see in any of this would be a direct order to minimize the number of US casualties.

[neverforget]

21. Too many hot spots and not enough troops to effectively regain

control of the situation.

[keithyboy]

23. We must be getting ready to level the city. More US-brand genocide.

I wonder how many of those bodies being found and blamed on Saddam are actually bodies of Iraqis that the US killed during Desert Storm and since?

[dbt]

24. We're about to deploy some Exotic Weapons, aren't we?

Electromagnetic pulse? Crowd control by means of the Photic Driver? Plasma Weapons? Subsonic sound blasts? Tesla's Directed Energy Beam, perhaps?

You can bet it's going to get much uglier very soon.

:freak:
dbt

[Media_Lies_Daily]

31. MOAB?

[maddezmom]

32. my first thought as well

clearing it out, so we can bomb it into oblivion. :eyes:

[Paranoid_Portlander]

25. There are no oil wells in Sadr City. (n/t)

.

[htuttle]

29. Baghdad is having a general strike today

Baghdad on strike against Fallujah offensive
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x478028

Most of Baghdad closed down yesterday after a prominent religious leader called for a strike to protest against the US military's bloody offensive against insurgents in Fallujah.

Most shops, banks, government ministries and schools across the capital kept their door closed, particularly in the Sunni Muslim neighbourhood of Aadhamiya, in sympathy with the restive town where hundreds have died.

That might have something to do with it.

[The_Casual_Observer]

30. US will quietly surrender all of these cities to Sadr

They have no choice. It's either that or endless grief.
There will be a full scale retreat, however, they will call it something else.