Security worsens in three southern (Iraqi) provinces

Source: Azzaman

Fierce clashes have been raging in the cities of Basra, Nasiriya and Diwaniya for the third consecutive day with the government giving conflicting versions for the causes leading to the upsurge in insecurity.

The groups fighting government forces and allied militias are still something of a mystery.

While the Interior Ministry says they are remnants of the so-called Jund al-Sama (Soldiers of Heaven) other sources close to the government say they are former Baathists and supporters of the former leader Saddam Hussein.

Local media decline to describe them as opponents of the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki as armed opposition on such large-scale from the Shiite heartland would give a clear signal of how shaky his administration is.

Residents from the three cities tell Azzaman that there has been a lot of random shooting in streets and residential areas.

Read more: http://www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?fname=news/2008-01-21/kurd.htm

the endless pissing match between campaigns. These kinds of stories need to be making Latest & Greatest.

:hi:

NO?

:sarcasm:

Imagine the douchebaggery it takes to write that phrase.

Iraqis continue to die, all thanks to the freedom they got from America's crusaders.

Remember you have TWO Shiite groups, first the Iranian controlled and funded SCIRI(Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq). Then, second you have the Mahdi Army headed by Muqtada al-Sadr. His base is among he poor and working class Shiites of Iraq, based equally in Baghdad as in Southern Iraq.

These two groups fight each other for position, and work with each other and Iran against the US and the Sunnis. The exact relationship is unknown, and unknowable, but it exists. Furthermore, you have tribal conflicts independent of these two groups (And interrelated between the two groups) which further complicates the problem and the fighting. Is the fighting Tribal or Mahdi/SCIRI related? Who is fighting on what side can make all the difference. Two people may be of different tribes and when it is a tribal fight, fight each other, but when the fight is Mahda/SCIRI they could then be on the same side (and Vica Versa).

I suspect it is tribal with the two groups fighting for positions as the Tribes fight for position. At the same time, both groups AND the tribes want to avoid fighting the US when it is NOT to their Advantage. Just a big mess that is getting bigger as the US stays in Iraq.

For more on SCIRI see:
http://www.sciri.btinternet.co.uk/English/About_Us/about_us.html (This is SCIRI's own English web site).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Council_for_the_Islamic_Revolution_in_Iraq

For more on the Mahdi Army see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahdi_Army
http://www.antiwar.com/orig/porter.php?articleid=10400
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/15/AR2007071501248.html?hpid=topnews