CNN Breaking (TV): Major offensive in Najaf

no link...it's on the tube


some info here, though (read down a few paragraphs)

http://news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,10421133%255E1702,00.html

Al Jazeera down we might know what the heck is going on...

you have to go to Arabian or even Iranian Satellite TV channels. They seem to have live reports from Najaf. What does that tell us about our Western media?

Unfortunately I understand neither Arabic nor Farsi.

You can not occupy a country out number by 10x1 with a determined and united populace. This could be the day remembered as the day we lost this thing.

Turned on CNN to see the end of the report. Looked like it was the international news desk talking to the reporter. At the end of it, the anchor stated "Now back to the US with News Nite". Then I checked MSNBC and *gasp* Faux Views. Nope. Nothing to see here!

Lordy I wish our numerical odds were that good.

for the last 24 hours, yet there are some news reports trickling out of fierce fighting that's been going on for at least 24 hours.

That count is grossly conservative.

http://icasualties.org/oif/


up to 934


You're right, though...very few announced casualities from Najaf

And whenever the significant fighting starts, the Pentagon slaps a total blackout on news about casualties. They want every news report about the fighting to mention their grossly over-inflated estimate of enemy kills, but not to mention anything about U.S. casualties, thus creating the impression that we're mopping up. Then let the new about U.S. deaths trickle out slowly, weeks later. Though I personally suspect that they're 'losing' a lot of the people who are killed.

On that subject, anyone have theories on how they might do that? One thought I had has to do with the wording of how they report them. For instance, suppose a hummer is hit by an RPG. One guy is killed instantly, two more wounded. They immediately airlift the two wounded to Ramstein or one of the ships in the Gulf, but one of them dies anyway. Technically, the Pentagram would be correct in saying that "an RPG hit a humvee, killing one and injuring two." They would also be able to honestly say that the new KIA increases the number of "soldiers killed in Iraq" to XXX plus 1 if the other guy died outside Iraq, on a ship or in a plane. I'm probably being paranoid, but after all the bullshit they've done I can't help it.

at the Army Hospital in Wuerzburg, which had opened a new wing a few months ago to accomodate the casualties that Landstuhl Army Hospital couldn't handle. Wuerzburg Hospital sees the less severely injured, or is supposed to be, unless Landstuhl has so many severely wounded casualties that they have to farm them off to Wuerzburg for treatment.

I don't know how many soldiers received the Purple Heart in Wuerzburg, but if those soldiers are getting them, one would think every single soldier at Landstuhl and Walter Reed would be getting one as well.

You get injuries when you're in a car crash, you get 'wounded' when your Hummer is hit by RPG fire. Their Orwellian double-speak tries to conflate being wounded with being injured, as if the two have even a remote similarity

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/iraq/najaf...

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.

Najaf has a population of 560,000, and Muhammad's son-in-law, Imam Ali bin Ali Talib, is buried in the Imam Ali mosque. Iran's Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini spent 1964-78 in exile in Najaf. The holy city of Najaf is located 160 kilometers South of Baghdad and 60 km to the south of Hilla. Najaf in arabic means a high land where water cannot be reached. It is a city situated on high plateau over a sandy ground looking down from northern and eastern sides on wide scope camp of domes and tombs called valley of the peace. Najaf is a city of low-level sprawl, with boulevards lined by trees, arched brick buildings, and streets filled with bearded clerics wearing white or black turbans. Najaf is the spiritual center of Shiite Islam, site of the shrine of the Imam Ali, son-in-law of the Prophet Mohammad and first leader of the Shias.

Four senior Grand Ayatollahs constitute the Religious Institution (al-Hawzah al-`Ilmiyyah) in Najaf, the preeminent seminary center for the training of Shiite clergymen. Before the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran, Najaf was the most important center of study for Shia religious leaders. However, Saddam Hussein ordered mass arrests and the expulsion of senior clerics, giving the Iranian seminary in the city of Qom the opportunity to take over the religious leadership of the Shias. Qom was the pre-eminent religious center for Shia Muslims for 25 years. But Najaf has a history of more than a millenium of leadership, and the Iranian clerics who run the holy city of Qom, are facing a revived rival. As of mid-2003 the seminary in Qom hosted between 40,000 and 50,000 clergy, while the number in Najaf stould at about 2,000, down from about 10,000 before the Ba'ath regime took. The first exodus from Qom to Najaf is expected to be by exiled Iraqi clerics, estimated to number between 3,000, and 5,000.

Let's see: Sistani's in London with heart trouble, Sadr's in a pickle, both Chalabis (Shiites, mind you) are in trouble with the "government", the clerics have called for insurgency in Sadr City in Baghdad, Basra's in open revolt and Junior's mob is sabre-rattling about Iran's nuke-yu-lurr program. Quite a fine kettle of fish, huh?

If an occupying Army attacked the Vatican?

Apart from invading Iraq to begin with this is the most Provocative move the US has taken. All hell will break loose & this is what they want. IMO

back to NewsNight.... I really wish my cable comp carried CNN International at least

There are reports of fierce fighting between US marines and fighters loyal to militant Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr in the Iraqi holy city of Najaf. Witnesses said they heard machine-gun and tank fire in the city, as the confrontation entered its second week. The US military has said they are preparing a final assault against the militia with the help of Iraqi forces. Meanwhile two US marines were reported killed in a helicopter crash in Anbar province west of Baghdad.

Three other people were injured in Wednesday night's crash, which occurred during what the US military described as "security and stabilisation operations". No hostile fire was observed near the helicopter at the time of the crash, they said.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3557446.stm

"...I say, destroy that mosque, bomb it to smitherines. If the Islamist complain, just say, you destroyed our Christian Churches we destroy your mosques. 10 mosques for every Christian Church because WE CAN."

...Whoops, wrong site. I read about this there first, about an hour ago. Quick on the take, but a rabid bunch of fucking lunatics.

My thoughts and best wishes are not with the invaders. They finally hit my friend's apartment a couple days ago with some machine gun fire and a tank shell--thankfully most of them are out of Najaf now (staying just across the border, where it's "safe") and she wasn't hurt.

Will he kill them all to get his prize?

He'll try!

All that oil is turning into shit. The economic engines are sputtering and this plane is going down.

What does she make of the situation in general? We're kind of starved for particulars since no one will report on anything of importance here. Any word on construction or locations of the fourteen permanent bases she's getting that we aren't?

Hope she and her family get though this okay.

Just when did Iraqis attack the US or destroy some of our churches? The only churches destroyed so far, ironically, have either been because of US bombs, or because of fundy Islamic fighters that Saddam actually fought against while in power.

I wonder if this same individual would support bombing some of the Deep South where Klansmen live. Hey, they burned churches too, ya know. Drop the MOAB on the Klan!!!!!

I always try to be on the right side of a fight.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/08/12/iraq.main/index.html">http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/08/12/iraq.main/index.html

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:eyes:

said the AWOL commander in chief.

Like a military official said last week, winning the hearts and mind is no longer operative. We are reaping what we have sown!

U.S. Marines Launch Najaf Assault, Protests Erupt
Thu Aug 12, 2004 05:42 AM ET
By Khaled Farhan

NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - U.S. marines backed by aircraft and tanks launched a major offensive to crush a Shi'ite militia rebellion in the holy Iraqi city of Najaf on Thursday, igniting mass street protests in at least two other cities.

<snip>

Protests broke out in Baghdad and the southern city of Basra after the offensive began, putting the heat on interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi who could face a political firestorm from the majority Shi'ite community should Shi'ite holy sites in Najaf be damaged or the death toll escalate.

REUTERS

Meanwhile Najaf's provincial governor Adnan al-Zurfi denied that the US and Iraqi forces were preparing an offensive.

He had vowed on Wednesday that US troops would not approach one of Shia Islam's holiest shrines.

"US forces will not enter the old city," he said.

"They must stop in Midan Square," on the edge of the district. "If we decide to go into the old city, this will be the job of Iraqi police and soldiers."

More

:freak:
dbt

IRAQ NAM.

...they're planning to use Iraqis as cannon fodder.

http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000102&sid=aiw0vzUAPSNM&refer=uk

<snip>
Cable News Network footage showed helicopters circling above Najaf and a pall of dark smoke drifting across the city's rooftops, in front of the gold-domed mosque.

Al-Sadr's militia fired 25 mortars from within the courtyard of the Imam Ali Mosque, the holiest Shiite Muslim site in Iraq, the U.S. military said in a statement e-mailed from Baghdad. The mortars were aimed at Najaf's main police station, the military said.

The Iraqi police have also clashed with militia in ``three major firefights'' in the center of Najaf, the military said, adding that the police repelled the insurgents. The U.S. gave no indication of any casualties in the statement.

Al-Amily at the health ministry said 25 people were killed and 153 injured in Najaf since 9 a.m. yesterday, though he added ``it's very difficult'' to obtain an accurate toll in the city due to the military action, and because not everyone is taken to the hospital.

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/FH13Ak06.html


Middle East

Bush gambles as Najaf burns
By Michael Schwartz

The administration of US President George W Bush has embarked on a desperate military adventure in hopes of creating the appearance of a pacified Iraq. The assault on the holy city of Najaf, with its attendant slaughter of combatants and civilians, its destruction of whole neighborhoods, and its threat to Shi'ite holy cities, is fraught with the possibility of another major military defeat.

But the military commanders are hoping it will instead produce a rare military victory, since they are fighting lightly armed and relatively inexperienced members of Muqtada al-Sadr's Mehdi Army. Nevertheless, even such a victory would be short-lived at best, since the fighting itself only serves to consolidate the opposition of the Shi'ite population. The Bush administration is apparently hoping that a sufficiently brutal suppression of the Sadrists will postpone the now almost inevitable national uprising until after the November presidential elections in the United States.
<lots and lots more>

Welcome to IRAQNAM!!!! :grr:

<The Bush administration is apparently hoping that a sufficiently brutal suppression of the Sadrists will postpone the now almost inevitable national uprising until after the November presidential elections in the United States.>

ITS IRAQ-NAM-- DEATH SHOWS NO FAVORITES


A place where Death rides a Pale Horse

Sometimes Death travels beyond the boundaries of the combat zone and wreaks havoc on mere
bystanders.

Death inflicts the ultimate penalty in no particular order.


The Innocent, The Guilty, The Careless and The Unlucky-- are all targets.

Many civilians have fled, but some still remain. Think I heard that civilians were in midst of cemetery fighting while trying to bury their dead --

(8 a.m., U.S. ET)

On edit: Thousands across Iraq protesting U.S., and Allawi.

More: CNNI analyst Dan Plesch says assumption that Najaf attack will accomplish goal is "questionable" -- may well lead to wider insurgency.

Disgusting.

What kind of Beast Man does not allow innocents
to bury their dead in peace!!!!!!!!!!!

Could it just be that the insurgents are attacking from the mosque, completely aware of the fact that the US will strike back? It won't matter who fired first--or from where. The end result will be that the US has defiled one of the holiest sites of Islam. This will do more to turn Iraqis against the American occupation than anything else I can think of.

The US Command has GOT to know this. The old brass are surely aware that every shell that lands in this mosque will yield a thousand more martyrs.

Yet--for whatever reason--the commanders will press this attack, which is exactly what the insurgents are counting on. "They" are suckering "us," and both sides know it full well!

This whole mess is about to blow.

:freak:
dbt

i'm sure it will work as well in iraq as it does here. next thing you know we'll be hearing "three strikes your out" for Sadr. i think we're seeing an all out backlash on "conservative control freaks" and their FAILED IDEAS.

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/0E7841EF-96D6-4BAB-BCFA-86D5FD2D04FA.htm


<snip>
Iraqi Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr's group has called on Arab governments to intervene and work out a ceasefire in Najaf immediately.

Abd al-Hadi al-Darraji, official spokesman of al-Sadr in Baghdad, told Aljazeera in an interview on Thursday that the Imam Ali shrine in Najaf was surrounded by US occupation troops.


Najaf is cut off completely and under heavy bombardment, al-Darraji said. "A shell was fired at the main entrance of the Imam Ali shrine indicating they have surrounded it," he said.


"I call on the Association of Muslim Scholars (AMS) to issue a fatwa preventing the the US occupation from entering the shrine," he said.

NOt the way to do it.....The official start of the end..

“I travel a great deal, all the continents, and I think everywhere
I go there is growing anger — and if one can just be totally
blunt, real hatred of this administration — because of what it
did in Iraq, the war it waged, the civilians it killed, the mess
it’s made, and its inability to understand even, the scale of
what it’s done,” (Tariq)Ali said during an August 5 interview on
WBAI Radio in New York.

You can tell how big the news is by how little
the USMedia are talking about it.

Crude at $45.20/bbl.

I wonder why we don't see those images on our TV. They seem to have live camera shots of Najaf.

they (BBC) don't know if al-Sadr is there or not. No link yet.

It's the last place they'd look! :eyes:

Still, they'll probably find juicy incriminating shit there like solid gold guns, medieval torture instruments, couple of tigers, subscription to Penthouse and letters from OBL.

At the Imam Ali Shrine.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-4414711,00.html

U.S. Forces Said to Storm Cleric's House

Thursday August 12, 2004 6:01 PM



By TODD PITMAN

Associated Press Writer

NAJAF, Iraq (AP) - U.S. forces stormed a Najaf house belonging to a radical Shiite cleric, who has led a deadly uprising against coalition and Iraqi troops for more than a week, as American and Iraqi soldiers launched a major assault Thursday on his militiamen. Explosions and gunfire echoed near the revered Imam Ali shrine and its vast cemetery.

Residents saw U.S. forces break into Muqtada al-Sadr's house without meeting any resistance. Al-Sadr, who has vowed to fight ``until the last drop of my blood has been spilled,'' was not there at the time.

It was not immediately known where he went, but residents reported clashes between Iraqi police and members of his Mahdi Army militia near the house Wednesday, which may have prompted most residents to leave the area.

Also, Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi called on Shiite militants to put down their weapons and leave the shrine, where they have sought refuge.


..more..