The election must be over... they're invading Fallujah right now (3am EST)

[Bucky]

U.S. Soldiers Storm Part of Fallujah

NEAR FALLUJAH, Iraq - U.S. forces stormed into the western outskirts of Fallujah early Monday, seizing the main city hospital and securing two key bridges over the Euphrates river in what appeared to be the first stage of the long-expected assault on the insurgent stronghold.

An AC-130 gunship raked the city with 40 mm cannon fire as explosions from U.S. artillery lit up the night sky. Intermittent artillery fire blasted southern neighborhoods of Fallujah, and orange fireballs from high explosive airbursts could be seen above the rooftops.



Iraqi officer deserts with Fallujah battle plans

An Iraqi military commander has deserted US forces hours after he received a full briefing on US military plans to storm the rebel-held city of Fallujah, CNN has reported.

The pool report sent to Reuters and other media from a US marine unit quoted US officers as saying the desertion of the unidentified captain, a Kurdish company commander, would not change plans to retake the city before elections scheduled for January 27.

"This man has no known ties with Fallujah and they (the US military) don't believe in the first instance that he is headed for Fallujah. They believe that since the captain is a Kurd, he is more likely headed up north and going home," the report said.

Oh, well if he has no known ties to the city, it all must be alright. I mean, you can't just go around assuming different groups of Muslims have ties to each other, can you?

US strikes raze Falluja hospital

A hospital has been razed to the ground in one of the heaviest US air raids in the Iraqi city of Falluja.

Witnesses said only the facade remained of the small Nazzal Emergency Hospital in the centre of the city. There are no reports on casualties.

A nearby medical supplies storeroom and dozens of houses were damaged as US forces continued preparing the ground for an expected major assault.



Well, it looks bad, but at least we and our Iraqi allies are safely in control of the rest of the countryside

Militants massacre 21 Iraq police

Iraqi insurgents have stormed a police station, disarmed 21 officers and shot them dead, police say.

The attack at Haditha in the western province of al-Anbar was the latest in a series of violent incidents across the Sunni Triangle area.

There are also reports that a senior police officer was killed in an attack in the neighbouring town of Haqlaniya.

The insurgents' offensive is seen as a response to a planned assault by US troops on their stronghold of Falluja.




Okay, so Iraq's kind of a mess. At least we still have our loyal Arab allies elsewhere in the region.

Saudi religious scholars back ‘holy war’
Clerics appeal to Iraqis to support anti-U.S. militants

BEIRUT, Lebanon - Prominent Saudi religious scholars urged Iraqis to support militants waging holy war against the U.S.-led coalition forces as American troops prepared Saturday for a major assault on the insurgent hotbed of Fallujah.

The 26 Saudi scholars and preachers said in an open letter to the Iraqi people that their appeal was prompted by “the extraordinary situation through which the Iraqis are passing which calls for unity and exchange of views.” The letter was posted on the Internet.

“At no time in history has a whole people been violated ... by propaganda that’s been proved false,” Sheik Awad al-Qarni, one of the scholars, told Al-Arabiya TV.

“The U.S. forces are still destroying towns on the heads of their people and killing women and children. What’s going on in Iraq is a result of the big crime of America’s occupation of Iraq.”


Freakin' ingrates! It's like we killed all those people for nothing!

[Omnibus]

1. That doesn't mean the election's over...

...it just means Georgie THINKS it's over.

It means the fish have bit the hook.

If the Democrats are going to fight voter fraud, which, being a DU member, of course I doubt. ;P

[Occulus]

2. Fire that off to TDS

Sounds like a setup they would use...

[Bucky]

3. What's a TDS?

Am I supposed to know what that is? Dammit, I come from a Red State. You need to 'splain these things to me.