Aljazeera.Net - Al-Sadr group seeks intervention in Najaf

Personally, I think it's time we just leave Iraq. Cut and run, let them lick their own wounds. They don't want us there (which I get from reading a lot of blogs of Iraqis and various media sources) anymore, and we don't seem to be helping much. There is also an obvious cycle of violence occuring. People don't want us there, so they shoot at us. We stay there because people shoot at us, since that means things aren't "secure". We shoot, they shoot, rinse, repeat. If they stopped shooting at us we could finish painting buildings and leave. If we left, they wouldn't shoot at us. A "secure Iraq" is an oxymoron anyways. No matter what, there will be power struggles over there in the years to come, and people of various factions killing those of others. Thinking that isn't going to happen is just silly. Here is what the main two goals should be: 1) Iraq isn't a haven for people training and planning to kill us, and 2) we have a symbiotic economic relationship with them. Who runs the country, the peoples civil rights, their safety, etc... is up to them. Let the Iraqis work it out for themselves. Hold elections, don't hold elections, appoint a King, tribal law.. whatever. We'll send you money, you send us oil. We won't bomb you, you don't harbor terrorists. The elections which are going to be held will be seen as a farce anyways. The interim gov't is seen a puppets, so I doubt the elections will be seen as anything less than fixed.

I also think The Great Statesman Bush (*cough*) should be working harder with neighboring Muslim states to send their forces in to Iraq to replace us. REPLACE NOT ASSISST. Well, it's really not a job for Bush.. maybe Powell.. or even Rev. Jesse Jackson! Let them train the Iraqis, let them bring safety. They likely wouldn't be seen as crusaders. After all, some Iraqis believe Islam is the new Communism for the Americans. This isn't true, but probably hard to convince them of this. We are a country being led by a Born Again Christian Cowboy and occupying a Muslim country (well, two actually since we are in Afghanistan), and continue to support Israel. I believe Muslim peacekeepers could do a better job than us. And, it's their region, it's their neighbors, and it's their countrymen who are coming over to kill us. I don't think they do it now because they will be seen as helping us, and are afraid the terrorists will reign on them for doing so. This is why they should replace, not help, us.

Al-Darraji warned that if US occupation forces entered the Imam Ali shrine or tried to capture Muqtada al-Sadr, there will be bloodshed all over the country.

"We will not stay silent. We will liberate Iraq fighting under al-Sadr," he said.

"I warn the US occupation forces if they approach Imam Ali shrine, Baghdad and all governorates will carry out operations to eliminate these forces," he said.

"Chaos and unrest will spread all over Iraq. Attacking the shrine is similar to attacking the Shia themselves, and they will take revenge," he added.

Well, who can go into the shrine? This shrine contains the tomb of Ali bin Abi Talib, cousin and son-in-law of Prophet Muhammad. This is one thing I don't understand with these people. You can use children and women as sheilds... but don't shoot them!! You can hide in a holy place... but don't go in to get them! Of course, I don't know if what he's saying is spin and propoganda or not. Would the Shia feel it is a personal attack? Or, would they say "Well, it sucks but it had to be done"? Why aren't they wanting revenge on the people who are hiding in there and using it for a base of violence? Because they are Muslim and "we" aren't?

I was reading in an Iraqis blog about how we call the people fighting us "insurgents" (they used the quotes). And, mentioned that the media says X number of them were killed. The blogger then said "I guess the woman lying dead in the road was also an 'insurgent'." Yes, unfortunately, civillians are killed. But, are they innocents? It isn't like Najaf or Fallujah became a problem overnight. Suddenly hundreds of masked and armed men appeared in the cover of darkness and began fighting out of nowhere. They hid, they planned, they supplied, they recruited. If these hundreds of people were in my neighborhood, I'd probably know about it and I'm not even part of a more "tribal" society. If I knew about it, I guess I'd have a choice. Leave, and be no part of it. Stay, be silent and NOT be a part of the solution. Stay, and do what I can to make them leave and be a part of the solution. Of course, unless these mens solution was also my solution.. which wouldn't make me an innocent it would make me a sympothizer. So why was the dead woman in Najaf still in Najaf? Was she deaf, blind and friendless? Was she in the middle of a tornado and not notice the wind? Doubt it. She was there either because she was hoping to not be bothered by it, or she was a sympothizer. In either case, you put yourself in harms way willingly and have to accept the consequences. Am I wrong there? You know the fight is coming, so leave! It's like when a hurricane is bearing in on where you live. They aren't a surprise... you see them coming. You can either evacuate until it's over, or you ride out the storm. If you ride out the storm and get injured, then you have to accept responsibilty for it. I do read that many civilians are high-tailing it out of Dodge. But I wonder why these civilians don't themselves rally up and get the insurgents to leave.

My plan of attack here.. keep the shrine surrounded. Step out, get shot. Eventually, you'll need food. In the meantime, try to get non-Western (well, Muslim) countries to come in and replace us. Then, just get out of there and watch the dust settle. I'm not sure what good we are doing there anymore, and if we are doing more harm than good.. time to go, isn't it?