Fighting spreads to Basra & Kut, Iraq; Bush calls violence "positive"

BASRA, Iraq (AFP) — Iraqi security forces Thursday battled Shiite militiamen in the southern hub of Basra, where saboteurs blew up a key oil pipeline, as fierce fighting engulfed the Shiite city of Kut, police said.

At least 105 people have died in clashes since Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki ordered his troops to crack down on "lawless gangs" in Basra on Tuesday, according to official reports. Some sources have put the toll at double that.

The military operations have been mostly in areas controlled by the Mahdi Army fighters of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, severely straining a "freeze" he ordered of the militia's activities last August...

In Washington, US President George W. Bush called the fighting in Basra a "positive moment" for the development of Iraqi security forces and proof the Baghdad government could defend itself.

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gIgXtNntCdbTRA1J_TAww009y8ow

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/positive

5. overconfident or dogmatic: The less he knows, the more positive he gets.

Right is Wrong. B*shWorld in a nutshell.