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NOMOREWARFORISRAEL
Guest
Iraq unrest casus belli for Lebanon war (which would draw Iran and
Syria in in accordance with the rest of the 'A Clean Break'/war for
Israel agenda - see the 'A Clean Break' post near the top of
http://NEOCONZIONISTTHREAT.BLOGSPOT.COM as well):
http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=48933§ionid=351020203
Iraq unrest casus belli for Lebanon war?
Tue, 25 Mar 2008 21:37:56
The Israeli media accuses Hezbollah of involvement in fighting with US
troops in southern Iraq amid fierce clashes in Basra.
Two Israeli right-wing newspapers reported that Hezbollah fighters
joined Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army who are battling 'for control of
Basra and its oil resources'.
Heavy fighting broke out between Mahdi Army forces and Iraqi security
members in Basra on Tuesday after Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki
launched a crackdown on "armed groups" in Iraq.
The report alleged that "the Iraqi [Hezbollah] draws on its Lebanese
command for orders, fighters, arms and cash".
The publication of report could be a scenario by the US and Israel to
make case for waging another war against Lebanon, an Arab political
analyst told Press TV, on condition of anonymity due to sensitivity of
the issue.
Since Israel has found Hezbollah a powerful enemy, through making such
accusation, Israel could involve the US in a possible attack on
Lebanon or pave the way for US military intervention in the country,
he added.
The report came after analysts warned that Israel is planning another
Lebanon war and the US deployed more warships to the Mediterranean
Sea.
Last Tuesday an Israeli warship violated Lebanese waters but was
intercepted by a UNIFIL ship.
Syria has also deployed more troops to its border with Lebanon amid
speculation that "Israel might attack the country and Lebanon if
Hezbollah retaliated for in Damascus assassination of its senior
commander Imad Mugniyah."
In summer 2006, Israel fought a 33-day war with Lebanon to destroy
Hezbollah but the recently published Winograd Report admitted that the
war was a total failure for the regime.
SB/RE
http://NOMOREWARFORISRAEL.BLOGSPOT.COM
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Iraqi leaders face grave Shiite crisis
By ROBERT H. REID, Associated Press Writer 12 minutes ago
Iraq's leaders faced their gravest challenge in months Tuesday as
Shiite militiamen loyal to anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr
battled for control of the southern oil capital, fought U.S. and Iraqi
troops in Baghdad and unleashed rockets on the Green Zone.
Armed Mahdi Army militiamen appeared on some Baghdad streets for the
first time in more than six months, as al-Sadr's followers announced a
nationwide campaign of strikes and demonstrations to protest a
government crackdown on their movement. Merchants shuttered their
shops in commercial districts in several Baghdad neighborhoods.
U.S. and Iraqi troops backed by helicopters fought Shiite militiamen
in Baghdad's Sadr City district after the local office of Prime
Minister Nouri al-Maliki's Dawa Party came under attack, the U.S.
said. Residents of the area reported intermittent explosions and
gunfire in the area late Tuesday.
An American soldier was killed in fighting Tuesday afternoon in
Baghdad, the U.S. military said. No further details were released, and
it was unclear whether Shiite militiamen were responsible.
Although all sides appeared reluctant to trigger a conflagration,
Brig. Gen. Ed Cardon, assistant commander of the U.S. task force
operating south of Baghdad, said the situation in the south was "very
complicated" and "the potential for miscalculation is high."
The burgeoning crisis -- part of an intense power struggle among Shiite
political factions -- has major implications for the United States. An
escalation could unravel the cease-fire which al-Sadr proclaimed last
August. A resumption of fighting by his militia could kill more U.S.
soldiers and threaten -- at least in the short run -- the security gains
Washington has hailed as a sign that Iraq is on the road to recovery.
The confrontation will also test the skill and resolve of Iraq's
Shiite-led government in dealing with Shiite militias, with whom the
national leadership had maintained close ties.
Underscoring the serious stakes at play, al-Maliki, a Shiite, remained
in the southern city of Basra to command the security operation.
Sweeps were launched at dawn to rid the city of militias and criminal
gangs that ruled the streets even before the British handed over
control to the Iraqis in December.
U.S. and Iraqi officials believe some factions of al-Sadr's movement
maintain close ties with Iran, which provides them with weapons, money
and training. Iran denies the allegation.
Basra, located near the Iranian border about 340 miles southeast of
Baghdad, is the center of the country's vast oil industry. Stability
in the city is essential if Iraq is to attract huge investments needed
to restore its neglected oil fields and export facilities.
Throughout the day, the sounds of explosions and machine gunfire
echoed through Basra's streets as Iraqi soldiers and police fought the
Mahdi Army in at least four strategic neighborhoods.
At least 31 people were killed and 88 wounded, according to police and
hospital officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they
were not supposed to release the information.
Associated Press Television News video showed smoke rising over Basra,
and coalition jets prowling the skies while ambulances raced through
the streets.
Iraqi police and soldiers prevented journalists from reaching the
areas of heaviest fighting, and it was unclear which side had the
upper hand by sundown.
Iraqi military spokesman Col. Karim al-Zaidi acknowledged that
government troops were facing stiff resistance.
Residents of one neighborhood said Mahdi Army snipers were firing from
rooftops. Others fired rocket-propelled grenades at the troops, then
scurried away on motorcycles. Other residents said police fled their
posts.
Residents spoke by telephone on condition of anonymity because of fear
of reprisals, and their accounts could not be confirmed.
British troops remained at their base at the airport outside Basra and
were not involved in the ground fighting Tuesday, according to the
British Ministry of Defense. Air support was being provided, but a
spokesman would not say if it was U.S. or British planes.
The British had given assurances that the Iraqis could handle security
in the city when they withdrew last year.
In Baghdad, several salvos of rockets were fired at the U.S.-protected
Green Zone, which houses the American and British embassies. There
were no reports of casualties, but the blasts sent people scurrying
for concrete bunkers.
Lawmakers from al-Sadr's movement announced that a civil disobedience
campaign which began Monday in selected neighborhoods of the capital
was being extended nationwide. The campaign was seen as an indication
that the Sadrists want to assert their power without provoking a major
showdown with the Americans, who inflicted massive casualties on the
Mahdi Army during fighting in 2004.
Iraq's national security adviser, Mouwaffak al-Rubaie, was in contact
with the Sadrist leadership in hopes of easing the crisis, said a top
Sadrist official, Liwa Smeism.
Schools and shops were closed in many predominantly Shiite districts.
"All shops are closed in my area except bakeries and vegetable
stands," said Furat Ali, 35, a merchant in southwestern Baghdad.
Police also reported fighting between Iraqi security forces and Mahdi
militiamen in the Shiite cities of Hillah and Kut, which lies on a
major route between Baghdad and the Iranian border.
The showdown with al-Sadr has been brewing for months but has
accelerated since parliament agreed in February to hold provincial
elections by the fall. The U.S. had been pressing for new elections to
give Sunnis, who boycotted the last provincial balloting three years
ago, a chance for greater power.
Al-Sadr's followers have also been eager for elections, believing they
can make significant gains in the oil-rich Shiite south at the expense
of Shiite parties with close U.S. ties.
Sadrists have accused rival Shiite parties, which control Iraqi
security forces, of engineering the arrests to prevent them from
mounting an effective election campaign.
They also complain that few of their followers have been granted
amnesty under a new law designed to free thousands held by the Iraqis
and Americans.
"The police and army are being used for political goals, while they
should be used for the benefits of all the Iraqi people," said Nassar
al-Rubaei, leader of the Sadrist bloc in parliament. "If these
violations continue, a huge popular eruption will take place that no
power on Earth can stop."
___
Associated Press reporter Qassim Abdul-Zahra contributed to this
report.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Syria in in accordance with the rest of the 'A Clean Break'/war for
Israel agenda - see the 'A Clean Break' post near the top of
http://NEOCONZIONISTTHREAT.BLOGSPOT.COM as well):
http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=48933§ionid=351020203
Iraq unrest casus belli for Lebanon war?
Tue, 25 Mar 2008 21:37:56
The Israeli media accuses Hezbollah of involvement in fighting with US
troops in southern Iraq amid fierce clashes in Basra.
Two Israeli right-wing newspapers reported that Hezbollah fighters
joined Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army who are battling 'for control of
Basra and its oil resources'.
Heavy fighting broke out between Mahdi Army forces and Iraqi security
members in Basra on Tuesday after Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki
launched a crackdown on "armed groups" in Iraq.
The report alleged that "the Iraqi [Hezbollah] draws on its Lebanese
command for orders, fighters, arms and cash".
The publication of report could be a scenario by the US and Israel to
make case for waging another war against Lebanon, an Arab political
analyst told Press TV, on condition of anonymity due to sensitivity of
the issue.
Since Israel has found Hezbollah a powerful enemy, through making such
accusation, Israel could involve the US in a possible attack on
Lebanon or pave the way for US military intervention in the country,
he added.
The report came after analysts warned that Israel is planning another
Lebanon war and the US deployed more warships to the Mediterranean
Sea.
Last Tuesday an Israeli warship violated Lebanese waters but was
intercepted by a UNIFIL ship.
Syria has also deployed more troops to its border with Lebanon amid
speculation that "Israel might attack the country and Lebanon if
Hezbollah retaliated for in Damascus assassination of its senior
commander Imad Mugniyah."
In summer 2006, Israel fought a 33-day war with Lebanon to destroy
Hezbollah but the recently published Winograd Report admitted that the
war was a total failure for the regime.
SB/RE
http://NOMOREWARFORISRAEL.BLOGSPOT.COM
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Iraqi leaders face grave Shiite crisis
By ROBERT H. REID, Associated Press Writer 12 minutes ago
Iraq's leaders faced their gravest challenge in months Tuesday as
Shiite militiamen loyal to anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr
battled for control of the southern oil capital, fought U.S. and Iraqi
troops in Baghdad and unleashed rockets on the Green Zone.
Armed Mahdi Army militiamen appeared on some Baghdad streets for the
first time in more than six months, as al-Sadr's followers announced a
nationwide campaign of strikes and demonstrations to protest a
government crackdown on their movement. Merchants shuttered their
shops in commercial districts in several Baghdad neighborhoods.
U.S. and Iraqi troops backed by helicopters fought Shiite militiamen
in Baghdad's Sadr City district after the local office of Prime
Minister Nouri al-Maliki's Dawa Party came under attack, the U.S.
said. Residents of the area reported intermittent explosions and
gunfire in the area late Tuesday.
An American soldier was killed in fighting Tuesday afternoon in
Baghdad, the U.S. military said. No further details were released, and
it was unclear whether Shiite militiamen were responsible.
Although all sides appeared reluctant to trigger a conflagration,
Brig. Gen. Ed Cardon, assistant commander of the U.S. task force
operating south of Baghdad, said the situation in the south was "very
complicated" and "the potential for miscalculation is high."
The burgeoning crisis -- part of an intense power struggle among Shiite
political factions -- has major implications for the United States. An
escalation could unravel the cease-fire which al-Sadr proclaimed last
August. A resumption of fighting by his militia could kill more U.S.
soldiers and threaten -- at least in the short run -- the security gains
Washington has hailed as a sign that Iraq is on the road to recovery.
The confrontation will also test the skill and resolve of Iraq's
Shiite-led government in dealing with Shiite militias, with whom the
national leadership had maintained close ties.
Underscoring the serious stakes at play, al-Maliki, a Shiite, remained
in the southern city of Basra to command the security operation.
Sweeps were launched at dawn to rid the city of militias and criminal
gangs that ruled the streets even before the British handed over
control to the Iraqis in December.
U.S. and Iraqi officials believe some factions of al-Sadr's movement
maintain close ties with Iran, which provides them with weapons, money
and training. Iran denies the allegation.
Basra, located near the Iranian border about 340 miles southeast of
Baghdad, is the center of the country's vast oil industry. Stability
in the city is essential if Iraq is to attract huge investments needed
to restore its neglected oil fields and export facilities.
Throughout the day, the sounds of explosions and machine gunfire
echoed through Basra's streets as Iraqi soldiers and police fought the
Mahdi Army in at least four strategic neighborhoods.
At least 31 people were killed and 88 wounded, according to police and
hospital officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they
were not supposed to release the information.
Associated Press Television News video showed smoke rising over Basra,
and coalition jets prowling the skies while ambulances raced through
the streets.
Iraqi police and soldiers prevented journalists from reaching the
areas of heaviest fighting, and it was unclear which side had the
upper hand by sundown.
Iraqi military spokesman Col. Karim al-Zaidi acknowledged that
government troops were facing stiff resistance.
Residents of one neighborhood said Mahdi Army snipers were firing from
rooftops. Others fired rocket-propelled grenades at the troops, then
scurried away on motorcycles. Other residents said police fled their
posts.
Residents spoke by telephone on condition of anonymity because of fear
of reprisals, and their accounts could not be confirmed.
British troops remained at their base at the airport outside Basra and
were not involved in the ground fighting Tuesday, according to the
British Ministry of Defense. Air support was being provided, but a
spokesman would not say if it was U.S. or British planes.
The British had given assurances that the Iraqis could handle security
in the city when they withdrew last year.
In Baghdad, several salvos of rockets were fired at the U.S.-protected
Green Zone, which houses the American and British embassies. There
were no reports of casualties, but the blasts sent people scurrying
for concrete bunkers.
Lawmakers from al-Sadr's movement announced that a civil disobedience
campaign which began Monday in selected neighborhoods of the capital
was being extended nationwide. The campaign was seen as an indication
that the Sadrists want to assert their power without provoking a major
showdown with the Americans, who inflicted massive casualties on the
Mahdi Army during fighting in 2004.
Iraq's national security adviser, Mouwaffak al-Rubaie, was in contact
with the Sadrist leadership in hopes of easing the crisis, said a top
Sadrist official, Liwa Smeism.
Schools and shops were closed in many predominantly Shiite districts.
"All shops are closed in my area except bakeries and vegetable
stands," said Furat Ali, 35, a merchant in southwestern Baghdad.
Police also reported fighting between Iraqi security forces and Mahdi
militiamen in the Shiite cities of Hillah and Kut, which lies on a
major route between Baghdad and the Iranian border.
The showdown with al-Sadr has been brewing for months but has
accelerated since parliament agreed in February to hold provincial
elections by the fall. The U.S. had been pressing for new elections to
give Sunnis, who boycotted the last provincial balloting three years
ago, a chance for greater power.
Al-Sadr's followers have also been eager for elections, believing they
can make significant gains in the oil-rich Shiite south at the expense
of Shiite parties with close U.S. ties.
Sadrists have accused rival Shiite parties, which control Iraqi
security forces, of engineering the arrests to prevent them from
mounting an effective election campaign.
They also complain that few of their followers have been granted
amnesty under a new law designed to free thousands held by the Iraqis
and Americans.
"The police and army are being used for political goals, while they
should be used for the benefits of all the Iraqi people," said Nassar
al-Rubaei, leader of the Sadrist bloc in parliament. "If these
violations continue, a huge popular eruption will take place that no
power on Earth can stop."
___
Associated Press reporter Qassim Abdul-Zahra contributed to this
report.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
