U.S. Troops Pull Back From Heart of Embattled Iraqi Town (Karbala)

[gottaB]

KARBALA, Iraq, May 20 — After more than a week of costly combat in downtown Karbala, the American military said today that it was withdrawing its troops from the besieged center of this holy city.

The First Battalion, 37th Armored Regiment of the First Armored Division was moving soldiers from a mosque it had occupied back to Camp Lima, a military base five miles east of the city center. The withdrawal was expected to be completed by early Friday, when a tank company posted for 24 hours at the mosque is to leave, the battalion commander, Lt. Col. Garry P. Bishop, said.

American soldiers occupied the Mukhaiyam Mosque on May 12 after an overnight battle in which they chased out insurgents loyal to Moktada al-Sadr, a rebel Shiite cleric. Since then, though, the guerrilla fighters have not relented in their attacks on troops stationed there. Mortar teams consistently shell the mosque and snipers fire on soldiers on patrol in the surrounding alleyways.

Four soldiers have been killed and at least 52 have been wounded in the more than two weeks since the First Armored Division launched a major offensive here against Mr. Sadr's militia, the Mahdi Army. That is the highest casualty rate the division has suffered since it arrived in Iraq last May. For most of the past year, its soldiers were stationed in Baghdad.

U.S. Troops Pull Back From Heart of Embattled Iraqi Town....

[keithyboy]

1. David and Goliath: kicking our asses once a gain.

It's a hell of lot different when you are fighting for you own country in you own country.

[gottaB]

2. "outside fighters"-- did you catch that in the last paragraph

They've been telling so many lies, and using corrupted intelligence from known charlatans and, of course, tortured cab drivers and the like. Have they actually come to believe their own lies? Troubling sign, that. In other reports local commanders seem to better understand what they're up against. So what does that mean, "some military officials here"? I think Wong must be reporting from the Green Zone.

What a catastrophe.

[Just Me]

3. Have they come to believe their own lies?

Sadly,...it seems so.

Worse, they are seriously exacerbating the situation,...inflaming passions,...creating the insurgency they demonize.

They have evidently completely lost cognizance of the fact that, we are "occupying" someone else's country.

We need to get the hell out of Iraq. Flood the country with humanitarian aid and money to re-build. Gather the international community, especially the neighboring nations, to assist in providing these war-torn people with basic necessities and some sense of real security that their nation will remain in their hands where it belongs.

[fbahrami]

4. Significance of Karbala

per the quoted article (last paragraph):

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/20/international/middleeast/20CND-KARB.html?ex=1085716800&en=26ff83baf66258dc&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE

"Some military officials here say residents of Karbala tell them dozens or perhaps scores of outside fighters have entered the city to bolster the inexperienced Mahdi Army. The officials say they do not know the exact origins of the fighters."

- - - - - - - -

Perhaps many do not know - but Shia certainly do - that Karbala was where the earliest Shia Imams were martyred (fighting the much larger Sunni army). In fact Shia and Sunni split at that point in time. At least in Iran - where Shia thought developed (see "All the Shah's Men" introduction) - Karbala is recalled over and over in religious theater where the story of Imam Hossein is told.

Long story short, the origin of the unknown fighters is anyone Shia! It's good to know some history before lunging ahead.

[paulk]

9. It's not like BushCo wasn't warned that would happen

if they went into Karbala and Najef.

I've always hoped something could be salvaged from this whole mess, but it seems like Bush is hell bent on giving a lesson on how to completely fuck everything up.

[rumguy]

5. a pattern seems to be emerging

We push our way into these smaller cities, shoot the hell out of them, and then pull back.

Very smart...

[Jacobin]

7. Well, it'll make sure that the 18% in the polls who still say they want us

there will change their minds.

[KAZ]

8. The Faluja model. n/t

n/t. Works for me, if it gets us the hell out of there.

[Jacobin]

6. Hmm. U.S. Soldiers occuping a mosque.

Clever these generals.

That'll really make em love us.