Five Years After Fall of Baghdad, All-Day Curfew Is Imposed

[babylonsister]

Five Years After Fall of Baghdad, All-Day Curfew Is Imposed
by Kim Sengupta


The fifth anniversary of the fall of Baghdad and the toppling of the statute of Saddam Hussein - a symbol of US victory and might - was marked yesterday by death and destruction across the country and an admission from the White House that projected troop withdrawals would have to be delayed.


The Iraqi capital remains under curfew after another round of bloodshed in which mortar rounds landed in Sadr City, killing seven people, including two children, and injuring 24 others. Further gunfights in the sprawling Shia slum led to six more dying and 15 others being wounded.

The area is a centre of support for the radical Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, and came after days of clashes between his militia, the Mehdi Army, and Iraqi government forces in which 55 people have been killed and more than 200 injured. The Shia fighters vowed last nightthat retribution would be taken for the “unprovoked attack” in Sadr City which they claimed was the responsibility of the US forces.

Meanwhile in Washington, President George Bush was set to accept the plea of General David Petraeus, the US commander in Iraq, for a “pause” in pulling out some of the thousands of troops sent in for the “surge”. At the same time the operation is being portrayed as a vindication of American policy and a tacit admission of the fragility of the so-called stabilisation which is supposed to be taking place now.

A White House spokeswoman said President Bush was the type of leader “who listens to his commanders on the ground”. US military sources say that the reality is that with the likelihood of renewed fighting between Shia factions it would be impossible to maintain a semblance of security without the presence of the thousands of extra American troops.

more...

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/04/10/8204/

[gateley]

1. Mission Accomplished. Good job, Bushco! nt

[KoKo]

2. That pretty much is all we need to know about how this "War" is going...

Why bother with Petraeus and Crocker's testimony and Bush's rousing speech today about all those al Quaeda we've killed or captured in Iraq. Baghdad on Lock Down...five years later.

[babylonsister]

3. Yep. Endless illegal occupation, and no one cares. nt

[Arctic Dave]

4. They have the curfew so they can all go celebrate.

Why do you guys have to be so negetive.:eyes: