NATO prepares to bomb the holiest shiite city (the true story)

Not a headline in Le Monde, but at least reported :

The American army invited Tuesday Iraqi civilians to evacuate the the combat zone in Najaf without delay and summoned the militiamans Shiites to leave the city where confrontations rage for the sixth consecutive day, according to a correspondent of the AFP.

www.lemonde.fr...@14-0@2-3210,39-23407950,0.html

Notes (the true story) :

- the combat zone is all of Najaf.

- "official" shiite leaders (Iran and Al-Sistani) : ithe US is preparing to bomb the hell out of the holiest shiite city, while their agents, the Iranian government, the largest shiite country in the world, keep as silent as the western media, and their top agent in Iraq, the official shiite leader, Ayatollah Sistani, leaves the door open for the bombing, using as cover-up "medical treatement" in England ...

- NATO : to avoid to link the operation with NATO, the "official" military command over the area was conveniently transfered one day before from Poland to the US


[edit on 10-8-2004 by MattMarriott]

Yes, I believe the assessment is correct as to why the U.S. Marines have "broken away" from the coalition force. They are about to take out the al-Sadr fighters that have holed up in both the cemetery and in and immediately around the mosque. I believe this mosque is where Muhammed's father-in-law is buried and that is why it is so sacred.

But I did not see the mention of the fact that this decision was made after the Iraqi mayor of Najaf requested that the coalition forces come in and help him. I believe his comment was, during this request, "they are killing us!" (referring to the al-Sadr fighters). At that point I believe the fighters had caused a significant death toll within the Najaf civilian population. Apparently, and I'm just deducing this and may be wrong, but it appears the coalition force may have been reluctant to assist the mayor is purging his city of the deadly force. So the U.S. marines have broke out on their own to take them out.

EDIT: P.S. The mayor of Najaf has APPROVED the attack on the area immediately around the mosque.

[edit on 8-10-2004 by Valhall]

No, I'm wrong about the father-in-law business, but here is an excerpt about Najaf:

An Islamic holy city, Najaf is home to the shrine of Imam Ali Ibn Abi Talib, the Prophet Mohammad�s cousin and son-in-law and fourth caliph (656-661). Najaf also contains one of the largest cemeteries in the world. According to Imam Ali, any Muslim buried here will enter paradise; as a result, the tombs of several prophets are found in Najaf. Shia Muslims especially consider it a privilege to be buried here. Like Karbala, Najaf became an important center of Islamic scholarship and theology. During his exile from Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini lived here for 12 years prior to the 1979 revolution in Iran. In 1999, the Iraqi Shia leader Ayatollah Mohammad Sadiq al-Sadr was assassinated in Najaf, sparking clashes between Shia and the Iraqi government.

www.globalsecurity.org...

Sounds like a damn good idea. Anyone actually have any objections to this taking place?

I think some might feel that bombing a holy site may not do much good. Do you think this has the potential to create more militants or less?

Originally posted by Netchicken
Sounds like a damn good idea. Anyone actually have any objections to this taking place?

N.C.

I'm sure somebody will...but you'll have to keep looking for them.

I'm feeling a lot of intollerance here. Not seeing the other side. Not WANTING to see the other side. A holy city? You start bombing those you may as well just admit that the "war" is on.

No you're not feeling a lot of intolerance. The mayor of the city himself has requested this for the protection of his people. Now, if we said "Up yours buddy" that would be intolerance. That would be discompassion against all the Iraqi citizens who are currently being killed by this enclave of radical fighters. That would also be a sure point of evidence for the argument "we're not really there for the Iraqi people".

I believe this decision, to offer assistance to prevent further civilian bloodshed is a good decision.

[edit on 8-10-2004 by Valhall]

Could be Val, let's wait to see how it plays. There's going to be spin on this one.

Look here:

Colonel Anthony Haslam, commanding officer of the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit in Najaf, warned the militia to stop using the city's holy sites including the area around the Imam Ali Shrine and the cemetery as a launch pad for attacks.

"We will not allow them to continue to desecrate this sacred site, using it as an insurgent base of operations. There will be no sanctuary for thugs and criminals in Najaf," Haslam said.

Good point, Haslam. THEY are desecrating the holy site by using it to attack fellow Arabs and Muslims.