British warplanes fire on Basra

[seemslikeadream]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article3642863.ece

British bombers strafed Iraq’s second city yesterday as an embryonic Shia civil war raised the prospect of British troops being drawn back on to the front line of the Iraq conflict.

The heavily armed 1 Scots Guards battle group, equipped with Challenger 2 tanks and Warrior armoured vehicles, was on alert and ready to leave its fortified airbase outside Basra as fighting spread to a string of cities across southern Iraq.

RAF Tornado GR4 bombers flew low over the city and fired warning shots at positions around Basra but the Iraqi Army had not yet asked for British troops to join the battle against Shia militia, which has left at least 120 dead since Tuesday. The remaining 4,000 troops sat and watched from Basra airport as the Iraqi Army it helped to create struggled to defeat militias the British allowed to flourish in the city.

The intense fighting means that Des Browne, the Defence Secretary, is likely to tell the Commons next week that British troop levels will remain at about 4,100 for the next few months, abandoning plans to reduce numbers to 2,500 from the spring.

[seemslikeadream]

1. In the complex swirl of Iraqi power politics, both sides have links to the Iranian regime.

In the complex swirl of Iraqi power politics, both sides have links to the Iranian regime.



http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/stalled-assault-on-basra-exposes-the-iraqi-governments-shaky-authority-801776.html


Stalled assault on Basra exposes the Iraqi government's shaky authority

By Patrick Cockburn
Friday, 28 March 2008


The Iraqi army's offensive against the Shia militia of the radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in Basra is failing to make significant headway despite a pledge by the Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to fight "to the end".


Instead of being a show of strength, the government's stalled assault is demonstrating its shaky authority over much of Baghdad and southern Iraq. As the situation spins out of Mr Maliki's control, saboteurs blew up one of the two main oil export pipelines near Basra, cutting by a third crude exports from the oilfields around the city. The international price of oil jumped immediately by $1 a barrel before falling back.

In Baghdad, tens of thousands of supporters of Mr Sadr, whose base of support is the Shia poor, marched through the streets shouting slogans demanding that Mr Maliki's government be overthrown. "We demand the downfall of the Maliki government," said one of the marchers, Hussein Abu Ali. "It does not represent the people. It represents Bush and Cheney."

The main bastion of the Sadrist movement is impoverished Sadr City, which has a population of two million and is almost a twin city to Baghdad. The densely packed slum has been sealed off by US troops. "We are trapped in our homes with no water or electricity since yesterday," said a resident called Mohammed. "We can't bathe our children or wash our clothes."

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080327/iraq_green_080328/20080328?hub=CTVNewsAt11
U.S. missile strike kills four in Baghdad
Updated Fri. Mar. 28 2008 2:03 PM ET

CTV.ca News Staff

A missile strike by a U.S. helicopter in Baghdad's Sadr City killed four people Friday, marking a sharp escalation in the battle against a powerful Shiite militia.

Until the strike, only Iraqi security forces had been involved in a recent campaign in the neighbourhood targeting the Mahdi Army militia -- who are loyal to anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

The U.S. has touted the offensive as a test of Iraq's ability to handle its own security operations.

But ground forces called for the strike after receiving small-arms fire while they were trying to clear a main supply route, U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. Steve Stover said.


Iraqi children inspect a government forces vehicle destroyed in fighting with the Mahdi Army in Basra, Iraq, Friday, March 28, 2008. (AP / Nabil al-Jurani)


A boy injured in clashes between the Mahdi Army and U.S. forces sits in a hospital in Sadr City, Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, March 27, 2008. (AP / Karim Kadim)

A boy is seen walking down a street in Sadr City, Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, March 28, 2008. (AP / Karim Kadim)

[seemslikeadream]

4. video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZt2S3QMXr4


19 Tense Hours in Sadr City Alongside the Mahdi Army
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/03/28/ST2008032804069.html

[madokie]

6. its all about the oil

makes me wish I never see another drop of it. Now that I think about it I'm not sure I've ever seen oil as it comes out of the ground, all I've seen is what it looks like coming out of an oil can

[gateley]

2. That's interesting --

Earlier today I read that Great Britian wasn't involved in this way -- they were tending to Iraqi wounded . Wonder what got them to change their minds?

[seemslikeadream]

3. Could you give me a link to that?

Thanks gateley

[gateley]

5. I'll try.

I haven't moved from my screen all day, so I'm not sure where I saw it. WIsh me luck!

EDIT: Do you know how to find a non-updated version of a story? I'm reading a piece on CNN which I know I read before, which states:

"Coalition bombers have joined in the fight, hitting targets in Basra and Baghdad."

But I'm not sure if this is where I read that GB wasn't participating in any action (this piece has been updated within the last two hours).

Thanks -- and I'll keep looking.

EDIT again: Sorry, but I do think this is where I got the info before it was updated. Here's the link (for what it's worth):

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/03/28/bush.basra/index.html

[Middle finga]

7. It's Ironic this latest conflict kicked off when Cheney left the area

I wonder what he told Maliki?

[KharmaTrain]

23. Ironic? Hardly

Crashcart doesn't do anything without a reason. One thing he was pushing for was an election in October...all those "happy Iraqis" with the purple fingers...a present for Gramps McCain. Also he wants an oil deal done...codify the plunder and ensure his oil buddies not only are able to control Iraqi oil, but keep our military there as their private police force. Basra is key as it's the largest oil distribution center and control of that port and the nearby fields means big money.

He probably told Malaki to take Sadr out and we'd have his tail...which surely will happen as loyalty only goes as far as we can pay and arm the various militias. The lull is over...and our stressed out military is stuck right in the middle of recharged, re-armed and pissed off factions.

[babylonsister]

8. Hmmm. I thought the Brits were out of this, especially Basra. Sigh. nt

[seemslikeadream]

9. Things are not going very well

[babylonsister]

10. Yes, I know. Can't wait to see how Petraeus and the dim one,

and McCain, will spin this.

[nadinbrzezinski]

12. I'll take bets, they are gonna reverse the

pulling of troops out... extending tours (which is nuts)...

But this will further break the back of the armed forces...

[babylonsister]

17. They've already done that; the numbers aren't moving anywhere.

IMO, they're waiting till they are no longer responsible, and that SUCKS. How many will die between now and then?

[nadinbrzezinski]

19. THey live in fantasy, the only way they are going to leave

is if this gets to the point where choppers have to take off from the green zone or we have brigades fighting their way out of the country.

They don't get it how far the military has been broken.

I suspect they will extend tours and call up, massively, guard units

[magellan]

16. That picture looks like something out of Palestine

All the many, many times we've seen such miserable photos from that 60+ year neverending battle.

I know it won't happen, but we should let the Iraqis have their civil war and stay out of it. What, we're killing them so they can't kill each other? Is that the plan?

And Maliki, the guy we back, is pro-Iranian. So much for keeping Iran out.

"Stabilizing" Iraq is a pipe dream. They want to rebuild their country themselves, they were promised that opportunity, and that's what should happen.

Democracy is something fought for, not something sold off the rack.

[seemslikeadream]

20. This one is heartbreaking

[magellan]

24. So many innocents caught up in this

The innocents always pay the highest price. Always. That's why I hate cheerleaders for war. They don't consider beyond the bravado. Sure, they'd pick up a gun. :eyes: But what about their wives, children, friends? While they're out fighting their neighborhood is being smashed, blown up, their loved ones injured or worse.

Look at that boy's face. His family has nothing now. The cheerleaders say it's collateral damage, too bad.

War is sometimes necessary, but in this case it wasn't. That boy and so many like him will never forget who did this to them.

Us.

[nadinbrzezinski]

21. Or any other warzone

and the democracy was sold to the idiots here, Iraqis know the score...

This is colonial occupation part two... the first one the brits were in charge

[nadinbrzezinski]

11. THis is the civil war many of us have been dreading

by the way... the Scots Guard is part of the Seventh Armored Brigade... and they are far from at full strength in country. I wonder if the rest of the brigade has been alerted... and how fast the brits can move a full armored brigade in country.

And given this is 'bout the oil... and who controls it... it would not surprise if they try to move them, or they ask us to move them by air

And the Challenger is about the same size as an Abrams.

Yes, some of the silly things one learns when readying Janes...

[seemslikeadream]

13. Do you have a password for Janes?

I use to use Bugmenot but it's passwords do not work anymore last time I checked

[nadinbrzezinski]

14. No, I have some of the old books

some retired folk sell them to used bookstores from time to time

[seemslikeadream]

15. oh I just checked here's a password if ya want!

http://www.bugmenot.com/view/janes.com

I'm using the first one now :hi:

[nadinbrzezinski]

18. Cool

[seemslikeadream]

22. Damn I use to be able to get to the whole articles

it seems these new passwords won't let me access them