Cease-fire in Iraq a possibility

[JoeContrarian]

http://hutchison.senate.gov/speech557.html

Senate Floor Speech
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison
April 26, 2007 -- Page: S5130

U.S. TROOP READINESS, VETERANS' HEALTH, AND IRAQ ACCOUNTABILITY ACT, 2007 -- CONFERENCE REPORT

MRS. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, when Tom Brokaw wrote the book ``The Greatest Generation,'' it reminded America what is great about our country. It reminded us that men and women have sacrificed through the years for our country to make sure it was free for the next generation.

Can you imagine in the middle of World War II the Congress mandating the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Europe and the Pacific, oblivious to the facts on the ground or the absolute necessity to win? Can you even imagine in the middle of the Cold War if Congress had required the withdrawal of troops from the same parts of the world, thinking that if we withdrew our troops, the Communists would do the same and peace would prevail?

If earlier Congresses had done what it appears this Congress is trying to do, freedom would have died in Europe, it would have died where it was in Asia, and who knows what would have happened in the future in America.

Today we have to ask ourselves: Are we worthy of the sacrifices so many have made in the past? Are we going to stand for freedom and fight for future Americans to have the same opportunities we have had because so many brave men and women have sacrificed?

There are those who say this isn't a world war; it is a civil war; it is over there, and we can't do anything about it. This is a tough time, there is no question. Every one of us grieves when we see the killing of innocent people, Iraqis or Americans. But make no mistake about it, this is a world war. Al-Qaida is in Iraq. General Petraeus said that yesterday. They have all the evidence. They know what al-Qaida is doing there. They are attacking Americans. They are attacking Iraqis. They are trying to take over Iraq so they will have the capability to spread their terrorism throughout the world.

Does that mean they are in a civil war or are they an enemy we must face? If we don't face it there, we will face it in our own country. General Abizaid, the former Commander of U.S. CENTCOM, said to the Armed Services Committee: If we leave, they will follow us home. If we don't stand for freedom against this enemy, we will see it again. We will see it on our own shores, and we will see it in other parts of the world.

It would be unimaginable to me for Congress not to fund our troops and to send the mixed message out of Washington to the enemy, to our allies in such an important conflict that Congress isn't sure if America has the will to stand and fight for freedom. And make no mistake about it, that is what is at stake in these votes that are happening on Capitol Hill.

I have heard people say: Oh, we are going to vote on this every month because it is good for politics. They may think it is good for politics, but I say the American people are going to get it. They are going to understand if we look weak in the Congress on standing and fighting the enemy wherever it is to keep Americans secure, they will see what happens and they will question if we are worthy of the sacrifices of the greatest generation.

I wondered when that book came out: If America were ever attacked, would we stand and fight for freedom? I hope the answer is yes. I hope the Congress will wake up and see that setting deadlines and sending the signal to the enemy that we are weak is not worthy of the sacrifices of the past.

I hope Congress will do the right thing, strip this language, send the money to the troops, and show that we, too, will stand for freedom for our children.

 

[JinnRikki]

Got any proof? Metrics? Testimony? Thousands of Iraqis rallying in the streets demanding we leave? Not too much to ask, is it?

May 25, 2007

<NYT_HEADLINE version="1.0" type=" ">Shiite Cleric Resurfaces With Anti-U.S. Sermon </NYT_HEADLINE>

<NYT_BYLINE version="1.0" type=" ">

By JOHN F. BURNS
</NYT_BYLINE><NYT_TEXT>BAGHDAD, May 25 — The populist Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr appeared in public for the first time in months on Friday, delivering a fiercely anti-American sermon and offering himself in a new guise as a nationalist intent on bridging the divide between Iraq’s warring communities of Shiites and Sunnis.
Flanked by bodyguards and hailed by weeping loyalists, the 33-year-old Mr.
Sadr made his reappearance at the mosque in Kufa, a Shiite holy city 100 miles south of Baghdad, where he made his last public appearance in October. In the months since, American officials say Mr. Sadr had taken refuge in Iran.
The Kufa mosque has been the cleric’s favorite redoubt since he emerged early in the Iraqi conflict as the leader of the Mahdi Army, a powerful anti-American militia that has made Mr. Sadr a crucial player in the struggle for power in Iraq.
“No, no, no to Satan! No, no, no to America! No, no, no to occupation! No, no, no to Israel!” Mr. Sadr told about 1,000 worshippers, frequently mopping his brow in the 110-degree heat of Iraq’s early summer.
He renewed earlier demands for a timetable for an American troop withdrawal, saying the Iraqi government “should not extend the occupation even for a single day.” But he avoided setting a deadline, perhaps because of widespread fears among Iraqi Shiites that the country’s new Shiite-dominated army and police were far from ready to stand alone against the Qaeda groups and Baathist diehards who have driven the Sunni insurgency.
Mr. Sadr coupled his call for an American pullout with an offer of a new alliance with Iraq’s minority Sunnis, thousands of whom have been killed or driven from their homes over the past year by Shiite death squads. Many of these have been offshoots of the Mahdi Army, who have struck in revenge for a relentless Sunni insurgent campaign of bombings aimed at Shiite civilians gathering at markets, mosques, weddings and other gatherings.
In this, too, Mr. Sadr found a new opening for an attack on the Americans, saying “the invader has separated us,” Shiites and Sunnis, and that “unity is power and division is weakness.” Casting aside for the moment his oft-stated claim to be the only Shiite leader capable of offering Shiites protection against Sunni insurgents, he said he was “extending his hand” to Sunnis, and to Iraqi Christians, a small and scattered community that has seen thousands of families join the wave of Iraqis seeking refuge from the war by fleeing abroad.
He said he had ordered the Mahdi Army not to attack Sunnis, and to end clashes with the Iraqi army and police, which he described, in reference to the Shiite predominance in their ranks, as “our brothers.” But his strongest appeal was for a new alliance between Shiites, Sunnis and Christians. “I want to say now that the blood of Sunnis is forbidden to everyone, they are our brothers in religion and in nationality,” he said.
“And let our Christian brothers know that Islam is a friend to our minorities and to other faiths, and seeks dialogue with them.”
According to American officials familiar with intelligence reports, Mr. Sadr fled Iraq in January for sanctuary in Iran, which has been a major source of arms and finance for the Mahdi Army. The Americans, who said earlier this week that Mr. Sadr had slipped back into Iraq about a week ago, suggested that the cleric, in fear of arrest or assassination, may have sought refuge in Iran ahead of the American troop buildup ordered in January by President Bush.
The cleric has matched his rare public appearances in the four years since the American-led invasion with an elusive politics, juggling alliances and enmities in a way that has made him a formidable but unpredictable force.
The pattern was evident again on Friday, when he left political opponents guessing as to why he chose to resurface in Iraq now, just as the influx of nearly 30,000 additional American troops is moving to its peak and American commanders are reviewing long-deferred plans for a broad sweep into Sadr City, the vast Baghdad slum that has been the base for much of Mr. Sadr’s political support.
One theory that has gained widespread currency is Baghdad is that Mr. Sadr, during his absence in Iran, saw his power in Iraq eroding. In his months away — always denied by his spokesmen in Iraq, who insisted today that he had remained in Iraq all along — Shiites in Sadr City and elsewhere have suffered ceaseless suicide bombings, some of them claiming scores of victims. Inevitably, the cleric’s absence led to talk among Shiites of his having chosen personal safety over his responsibilities to the people he claims to lead.
Allied to this has been the gradual dismemberment of key parts of the Mahdi Army as American and Iraqi forces have staged raid after raid on Mahdi Army cells, especially in Sadr City. The raids have had an opaque dimension, politically, with American commanders and senior officials in the government of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, who is a political ally of Mr. Sadr’s, claiming that most if not all of the dozens of “terrorist leaders” killed and captured in the raids have been from “rogue” and “criminal” groups that have broken with Mr. Sadr.
These claims have had the benefit for Mr. Maliki of avoiding the appearance of declaring war on a political partner, Mr. Sadr, whose 30-member parliamentary bloc provided Mr. Maliki with the margin of votes he needed to become prime minister a year ago. For Mr. Sadr, the formula has had a face-saving quality, and, American commanders say, has helped eliminate elements of the Mahdi Army that were beyond the cleric’s control and posed the threat of future challenges to his leadership.
Other elements in the shifting political landscape in Iraq may have helped bring Mr. Sadr back. With mounting pressures in Congress and public opinion in the United States for an American troop withdrawal, Iraq’s feuding political parties have begun to look beyond the time when the American military presence will be the decisive element in the quest for political power. Mr. Sadr, some Iraqi politicians believe, may have seen this as the moment to make his claim as a nationalist leader, something he has made moves towards before, only to have the attacks on Sunni civilians by Mahdi Army death squads define him, at least in minds of many Sunnis, as a mercilessly sectarian figure.At about the same time he was delivering his sermon, Iraqi special forces killed a top leader of the Mahdi Army in the southern city of Basra, according to Reuters.
Abu Qader and at least one aide were shot after leaving Mr. Sadr’s office in the center of the city, the British military said. British troops have stepped up operations against Shiite militias as they prepare to hand over Basra to Iraqi security forces later this year.
Mr. Sadr’s appearance came as the American military announced today that six more soldiers had died in Iraq, five on Thursday and one on Tuesday, according to Reuters. April was the worst month this year for the American military since the invasion, with 104 soldiers killed. About 90 have been killed in May so far.

<NYT_AUTHOR_ID>

 

[JoeContrarian]

Mr. Sadr told about 1,000 worshippers...

al-Sadr and his 1000 worshippers (more like 15,000 - 20,000 by most estimates)... and this proves....what exactly? That he's an Iranian proxy? What do al-Sadr's thugs have to do with the millions of Iraqi purple fingers? How many votes did al-Sadr receive in the previous election? By what authority does he speak? By the authority of the sword?

If I amass a group 20,000 anarchists and threaten to violently topple a government you voted for, do you sympathize with my cause? Do you support the forces of law and order backed by popular support, or the forces of anarchy?

 

[JinnRikki]

Remember This?

Got any proof? Thousands of Iraqis rallying in the streets demanding we leave?

I understand some psychotropic drugs cause short term memory loss.
Ask your doctor to adjust your dosage.

 

[JoeContrarian]

Hey pinhead, I know you need Ariana Huffington to feed you your semi-coherent talking points, but that's not quite what I meant.

THIS is what I was looking for...

HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS IN TURKEY RALLY AGAINST RADICAL ISLAM

 

[JinnRikki]

Iraqi lawmakers favor troop withdrawal timetable

Thursday, May 10, 2007

Associated Press

BAGHDAD – A majority of Iraqi lawmakers endorsed a draft bill calling for a timetable for the withdrawal of foreign troops and demanding a freeze on the number already in the country, lawmakers said Thursday.
The legislation was being discussed even as U.S. lawmakers were locked in a dispute with the White House over their call to start reducing the size of the U.S. force in the coming months.
The proposed Iraqi legislation, drafted by the parliamentary bloc loyal to anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, was signed by 144 members of the 275-member house, said Nassar al-Rubaie, the leader of the Sadrist bloc.
The Sadrist bloc, which holds 30 parliamentary seats and sees the U.S.-led forces as an occupying army, has pushed similar bills before, but this was the first time it garnered the support of a majority of lawmakers.
The bill would require the Iraqi government to seek approval from parliament before it requests an extension of the U.N. mandate for foreign forces to be in Iraq, al-Rubaie said. It also calls for a timetable for the troop withdrawal and a freeze on the size of the foreign forces.
The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously in November to extend the mandate of the U.S.-led forces until the end of 2007. The resolution, however, said the council "will terminate this mandate earlier if requested by the government of Iraq."
The measure, which has not yet been introduced in parliament, reflects growing disenchantment among the lawmakers over U.S. involvement in Iraq and the government's failure to curb the violence.
Ali al-Adeeb, a senior Shiite lawmaker and an aide to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, questioned the wisdom of asking foreign forces to leave when Iraqi forces were not ready to take full responsibility for security in the country.
"Their withdrawal will not benefit anyone if our forces are not ready," said al-Adeeb, who said he did not back the bill. "There must be a commitment from foreign parties to train our forces."
Al-Rubaie said he personally handed the Iraqi bill to speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani on Wednesday.
Deputy Speaker Khaled al-Attiyah told The Associated Press said the draft legislation had not been officially submitted to the speaker, but was currently being reviewed by the house's legal department, apparently the final step before it can be submitted.
Al-Rubaie said al-Mashhadani had a week to schedule a debate on the bill before he would use the majority that backs it to force one.
However, his majority might be shaky.
Kurdish lawmaker Mahmoud Othman said he had backed the draft only on the condition that the withdrawal timetable be linked to a schedule for training and equipping Iraq's security forces.
"But the sponsors of the legislation did not include our observations in the draft. This is deception," he said.
Al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia, which launched two uprisings against U.S. troops in 2004, has been blamed in much of the recent sectarian violence against Sunnis and has been one of the main targets of a U.S.-Iraqi security crackdown.
Last month, the cleric ordered his six Cabinet ministers to leave the government after the Shiite prime minister refused to put a timetable for foreign troops withdrawal.

Willful ignorance is an excuse but not a very good one.
BTW your link is dead, wadda surprise.
<!-- vstory end --><!-- VELOCIT CONTENT ENDS HERE! -->

 

[JoeContrarian]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article1722204.ece

You don't care about practical solutions or the root cause of this threat, JR. You care only about politics and how many cheap shots you can take at Bush. This makes you an ideologically driven Moveon.org moonbat who can't be reasoned with.

 

[JinnRikki]

The first to bring up bush was you fuck head. The cheap shots and name calling has all been you, until now.
I care very much, I care so much I take a realistic view of what has happened since bush has been president. The threats to this country have multiplied exponentially. We are nearly alone in the world due to the failed and failing bush policies.
We have many problems but you and other slime merchants care less you are the ones that have always played politics with foreign policy. Taking advantage of the general public that either doesn't have the time because they work two jobs to make ends meet or because they are willfully ignorant choosing to watch the TeeVee instead of informing themselves.
Damn you and all like you to ever lasting hell.

 

[JoeContrarian]

Liar.

bblight, BASEHEAD, myself, Anti-liberal, JP and others have bashed Bush for the handling of this war on many fronts -- among other issues domestically. We call'em the way we see'em. On the other hand, I have not once heard you and your ilk blame Clinton for any part -- given the fact his 8 years of criminal negligence is largely responsible for the mess we're in now. Not a peep. Those al-Qaida terrorists "Bush has created" streaming into Iraq had plenty of practice during the 90s.

You make accusations such as "threats multiplied exponentially" without any proof. What threats? You mean the bombing of our embassies all over the world? You mean the barrage of terror in NYC we've experienced since the Bush Doctrine? What threats, JR? Just because a leftist pundit wedded to theory says so, doesn't it make it fact.

Where would Zarqawi be right now if we hadn't removed a major sponsor of terror, JR?

:nopityA:

 

[919]

Hey pinhead, I know you need Ariana Huffington to feed you your semi-coherent talking points, but that's not quite what I meant.

Interesting coming from president of Coulter's fan club...I thought you left.

 

[eek.]

I thought you'd fucking left for good Joe.

Your obsession with Islam is easily on a par with Doc Mercers obsession with the Bush Administration.

 

[JoeContrarian]

I thought you'd fucking left for good Joe.

Your obsession with Islam is easily on a par with Doc Mercers obsession with the Bush Administration.

Oh c'mon! Surely you're not suggesting I'm as bad as Glenn Beck?

Maybe it's because I'm intimately familiar with the radical Jihadist culture and you're not?

eek, most good folks like you and me are live-let-live. Ya know, you don't bother me, I don't bother you, type of mindset. I can have a beer with someone gay, doesn't bother me. (The whole militant indoctrination campaign on the other hand gets under my skin.)

Not Jihadists. No matter where they reside, at the core, their rule is non-believers must submit to the will of Allah AND live by the strict rules of Allah -- or die. (See the Taliban.) They don't believe in life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

This is what rational civilized folks (Joos, Buddhists, Christians, atheists, Mormons etc.) call a "non starter." Just like when the world rallied against the Nazis and Communism, we're all in this together.

Ask any Christian, Jew or even moderate Muslim who's lived in the ME and you'll quickly understand why most leave their own birthplace just to escape this growing medieval hell!

Like my new avatar? I picked it just for you, sweet cakes! :thumbsup:

 

[Dodgingpotholes]

Oh c'mon! Surely you're not suggesting I'm as bad as Glenn Beck?

Glenn Beck has nothing on you.

Maybe it's because I'm intimately familiar with the radical Jihadist culture and you're not?

Jerking off to photos of dead radical Jihadist is not knowing them intimately.

eek, most good folks like you and me are live-let-live. Ya know, you don't bother me, I don't bother you, type of mindset. I can have a beer with someone gay, doesn't bother me. (The whole militant indoctrination campaign on the other hand gets under my skin.)

Live-let-live....biggest crock of shit I have read here n a while....and that is saying a lot.

Militant indocrination campaign for gays?

Not Jihadists. No matter where they reside, at the core, their rule is non-believers must submit to the will of Allah AND live by the strict rules of Allah -- or die. (See the Taliban.) They don't believe in life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

If the neocons get all they want we will be able to persue life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness on their terms only.

This is what rational civilized folks (Joos, Buddhists, Christians, atheists, Mormons etc.) call a "non starter." Just like when the world rallied against the Nazis and Communism, we're all in this together.

The US only got involved in WWII because we were attacked. If not for that who knows what would have happened.

Ask any Christian, Jew or even moderate Muslim who's lived in the ME and you'll quickly understand why most leave their own birthplace just to escape this growing medieval hell!

Like my new avatar? I picked it just for you, sweet cakes! :thumbsup:

Joe your BS just gets deeper and deeper. Hey when are you going to get back to me on my spelling plane wrong over and over and over? Same BS lies as usual from you with no facts to back it up.

You ready for peace with me yet? The live-let-live thing we had going until you went off on me?

 

[Dodgingpotholes]

Liar.

bblight, BASEHEAD, myself, Anti-liberal, JP and others have bashed Bush for the handling of this war on many fronts -- among other issues domestically. We call'em the way we see'em. On the other hand, I have not once heard you and your ilk blame Clinton for any part -- given the fact his 8 years of criminal negligence is largely responsible for the mess we're in now. Not a peep. Those al-Qaida terrorists "Bush has created" streaming into Iraq had plenty of practice during the 90s.

You make accusations such as "threats multiplied exponentially" without any proof. What threats? You mean the bombing of our embassies all over the world? You mean the barrage of terror in NYC we've experienced since the Bush Doctrine? What threats, JR? Just because a leftist pundit wedded to theory says so, doesn't it make it fact.

Where would Zarqawi be right now if we hadn't removed a major sponsor of terror, JR?

:nopityA:

I believe Gore called for more troops and military spending to deal with terrorism which he viewed as our biggest threat. I believe W's response was "there you go a tax and spend liberal". The Neocons wanted a more streamlined mobile force. They did control the House and Senate for how long? I love it. Everything good that happens is your guys ideas and all the bad things are from the former admin. Did Clinton get the memo. "Bin Laden Deterined To Attack"?
:nohead::bigfinger

 

[Willie99]

I believe Gore called for more troops and military spending to deal with terrorism which he viewed as our biggest threat. I believe W's response was "there you go a tax and spend liberal". The Neocons wanted a more streamlined mobile force. They did control the House and Senate for how long? I love it. Everything good that happens is your guys ideas and all the bad things are from the former admin. Did Clinton get the memo. "Bin Laden Deterined To Attack"?
:nohead::bigfinger

I'm not sure the blame game is a one way street, DP.

I think Bubba actually perfected the "policy of personal destruction" and brought it to the new heights we see in Washington today.

PS: I think Bubba got quite a few memos about OBL & Al-Q.

I don't believe any American politician is responsible for 9/11.

 

[KMAN]

GOOD. Should've happened two years ago, but better late than never.

Cease-fires eyed to stop Iraq violence

<!-- END HEADLINE --> <!-- BEGIN STORY BODY --> By PAULINE JELINEK, Associated Press Writer 3 minutes ago


WASHINGTON - U.S. military commanders are talking with Iraqi militants about cease-fires and other arrangements to try to stop the violence, the No. 2 American commander said Thursday.

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</NOSCRIPT>
Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno said commanders at all levels are being empowered to reach out to militants, tribes, religious leaders and others in the country that has been gripped by violence from a range of fronts including insurgents, sectarian rivals and common criminals.


"It's just beginning, so we have a lot of work to do in this," he said. "But we have restructured ourselves ... to work this issue."


"We are talking about cease-fires, and maybe signing some things that say they won't conduct operations against the government of Iraq or against coalition forces.," Odierno told Pentagon reporters in a video conference from Baghdad.


He said the effort goes hand in hand with reconciliation efforts by the Iraqi government.


Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and other leaders are under increasing pressure from Washington to do more to achieve reconciliation among factions because, officials argue, no amount of military force can bring peace to the country without political peace.


Al-Maliki announced a national reconciliation proposal nearly a year ago that has made limited progress. It offered some amnesty to members of the Sunni-led insurgency and a change in a law that had removed senior members of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party from their jobs.


"I believe there are elements that are irreconcilable, but I believe the large majority are," Odierno said. "I believe about 80 percent are reconcilable, both Jaish al-Mahdi as well as Sunni insurgents," though very few of al-Qaida.


"There will be always people that are irreconcilable and ... the Iraqi government, with our support, will have to continue to conduct operations against those forces," he said. "Prime Minister Maliki and the government of Iraq have to continue to reach out to all these groups. ... That's what this reconciliation is about ... bringing these groups into the political process so we can deal with their differences in a peaceful way instead of in violent ways."

LOL!!!!! Making a deal with terrorists/insurgents...I'm sure they will keep their word....LOL

 

[KMAN]

Oh c'mon! Surely you're not suggesting I'm as bad as Glenn Beck?

Maybe it's because I'm intimately familiar with the radical Jihadist culture and you're not?

eek, most good folks like you and me are live-let-live. Ya know, you don't bother me, I don't bother you, type of mindset. I can have a beer with someone gay, doesn't bother me. (The whole militant indoctrination campaign on the other hand gets under my skin.)

Not Jihadists. No matter where they reside, at the core, their rule is non-believers must submit to the will of Allah AND live by the strict rules of Allah -- or die. (See the Taliban.) They don't believe in life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

This is what rational civilized folks (Joos, Buddhists, Christians, atheists, Mormons etc.) call a "non starter." Just like when the world rallied against the Nazis and Communism, we're all in this together.

Ask any Christian, Jew or even moderate Muslim who's lived in the ME and you'll quickly understand why most leave their own birthplace just to escape this growing medieval hell!

Like my new avatar? I picked it just for you, sweet cakes! :thumbsup:

Joe - The people who are not worried about islamic fanatics don't understand it... They don't know that kids are brainwashed at a very young age to hate the west and everything we stand for... It's easy to dismiss things you don't understand.

 

[BASEHEAD]

Sunnis, GIs gang up on al-Qaida
By Associated Press
Friday, June 1, 2007 - Updated: 04:02 PM EST

BAGHDAD - Iraqi and U.S. troops fanned out in a Sunni neighborhood devastated by days of internal fighting between insurgent groups, claiming control of the chaotic area on Friday and putting it under a strict curfew and forcing residents indoors.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR><TD height=8><SPACER width="8" type="block" height="8"></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> Abu Ahmed, a 40-year-old Sunni father of four in Baghdad’s Amariyah neighborhood, said he was among a group of residents who joined in the clashes with al-Qaida fighters on Wednesday and Thursday - fed up with the gunfire that kept students from final exams and forced people in the neighborhood to huddle indoors.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR><TD height=8><SPACER width="8" type="block" height="8"></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> Ahmed denied being a member of any insurgent groups but said he sympathizes with "honest Iraqi resistance," referring to those opposed to U.S.-led efforts in Iraq but also against the brutal tactics of al-Qaida.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR><TD height=8><SPACER width="8" type="block" height="8"></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> "Al-Qaida fighters and leaders have completely destroyed Amariyah. No one can venture out and all the businesses are closed," he said. "Those fighters are here only to kill Iraqis and not the Americans. They are like cancer and must be removed from the Iraqi body."
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR><TD height=8><SPACER width="8" type="block" height="8"></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> Other residents, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they feared retribution, said the clashes began after al-Qaida abducted and tortured Sunnis from the area, prompting a large number of residents, many members of the rival Islamic Army armed with guns and rocket-propelled grenades, to rise up against the terror network.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR><TD height=8><SPACER width="8" type="block" height="8"></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> Official casualty figures were not immediately available. But a local council member, who declined to be identified because of security concerns, said at least 31 people, including six al-Qaida militants, were killed and 45 other fighters were detained in the clashes.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR><TD height=8><SPACER width="8" type="block" height="8"></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> U.S. and Iraqi officials are trying to isolate the terror network by turning other militant groups and tribal leaders against it - a tactic that has proven relatively successful in Anbar, the western province once considered the heartland of the Sunni insurgency.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR><TD height=8><SPACER width="8" type="block" height="8"></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno, the No. 2 U.S. commander in Iraq, said Thursday that U.S. military officers were talking with Iraqi militants _ excluding al-Qaida _ about cease-fires and other arrangements to try to stop the violence. He said he thinks 80 percent of Iraqis, including Sunni insurgents and Shiite militants, can reach reconciliation with each other, although most al-Qaida operatives will not.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR><TD height=8><SPACER width="8" type="block" height="8"></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> Lt. Col. Dale C. Kuehl, commander of 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, who is responsible for the Amariyah area of the capital, confirmed the U.S. military’s role in the fighting in the Sunni district. He said the battles raged Wednesday and Thursday but died off at night.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR><TD height=8><SPACER width="8" type="block" height="8"></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> "Government security forces are now in control of the Amariyah district," Iraqi military spokesman Qassim al-Moussawi was quoted as saying by Iraqi state TV. He also lauded "the cooperation of local residents with the government."
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR><TD height=8><SPACER width="8" type="block" height="8"></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>