Mahdi Army Now Cruising around in American-Issued Humvees

[kpete]

Mahdi Army Now Cruising around in American-Issued Humvees
by Brandon Friedman
Sun Mar 30, 2008 at 01:17:30 AM PDT

In the swirling violence that has now spread across the southern half of Iraq, Muqtada al-Sadr’s Mahdi Army gang of thugs is now using American-issued Iraqi Army humvees.

I wonder what surge proponents George W. Bush and John McCain will think of this:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/03/30/wiraq330.xml

With gunfire and explosions echoing round him, Lt Hamid Abbas of the Iraqi Army was letting no car pass unchallenged at his makeshift roadblock on the outskirts of a Basra slum.

His closest scrutiny, however, was reserved not for the few civilian motorists daring to venture on to the streets, but for other Iraqi army vehicles.

"Some of our soldiers have refused to fight the Mehdi Army and have instead handed their vehicles and weapons to them," he said, looking disgusted. "Now we are having to check every Iraqi army patrol that passes through to ensure they are genuine soldiers."

The scene on the other side of the battlefield proved his suspicions right. Dug in behind a wall was a squad of Mehdi Army fighters, the Shia militiamen Lt Abbas and 15,000 other Iraqi soldiers have been sent to quell.

Sure enough, one was driving an American-issue Iraqi army Humvee - one of seven, said the squad's leader, Haji Ali, handed to them by sympathisers within the Iraqi army.

more at:
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/3/30/4113/00212/118/487027

[babylonsister]

1. This is working out well; can't wait to hear Petraeus explain this away. nt

[Mika]

2. I guess that the US military will have to use IEDs to take out Mehdi Army Hummers now.

:nuke:
:(

[midnight]

3. Really?

"Some of our soldiers have refused to fight the Mehdi Army and have instead handed their vehicles and weapons to them," It is probably like the weapons contractors-selling to both sides.

[NNN0LHI]

4. I hope they are the up-armored type

Wouldn't want no one to get hurt.

Don

[rgbecker]

5. Everyone is happy to be rid of the gas hogs! nt

[annabanana]

6. lol. . . . . . .n/t

[Dems Will Win]

7. Only I know this as the media has censored it, but the Iraqi Parliament voted 140-0 to split the

nation into 3 with 200 laws(October 2006). The split-up elections will occur this year apparently.