Violence in Basra

In the 'why didn't we kill him earlier' department:

BASRA, Iraq, March 25 (Reuters) - Iraqi security forces battled the Mehdi Army militia in Basra on Tuesday in a drive to win control of the southern oil city, but violence and unrest spread to Baghdad and other cities.

Police and health workers said at least 12 people were killed in the fighting in districts of central and northern Basra where Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's Mehdi Army has a strong presence.

In a statement read out by a senior aide on Tuesday, Sadr called on Iraqis to stage sit-ins all over Iraq and said he would declare a "civil revolt" if attacks by U.S. and Iraqi security forces continued. He also threatened a "third step", but said it was too early to announce what it would be.

Reuters
The sorry unwashed lout that runs the Mehdi 'Army' in Baghdad is feeling left out once again and making life hard for the people he claims to be trying to help.  Sadr should have been removed (permanently) back when we had the chance.  Until he leaves public life, the Iraqis will be the ones to suffer.

tag: Sadr, Iraq, Iraqi War, Verlin Martin, Lord Nazh

Hellfire

The new 'forgotten war' still has some good headlines to show [Iraq]:
Click for the rest of the story

U.S. commanders in Iraq have released dramatic video showing a car containing Al Qaeda operatives being blown up by hellfire missiles attached to Apache attack helicopters.

The car was destroyed in the mission that military officials say demonstrates greater cooperation between locals and coalition forces in Iraq.

One of the terrorists killed in the attack on Sunday is an insurgent who had been imprisoned on Nov. 11 but released shortly afterward. He conducted two attacks on U.S. and coalition forces, including one on Thanksgiving, before being killed, officials said.

One of the "high value" individuals targeted "is believed to be an Al Qaeda cell leader known to facilitate attacks and orchestrate suicide bomb attacks," said Major Alayne Conway, a spokeswoman with the 3rd Infantry Division in Iraq. "He was also involved in attacks against forces in 3rd Brigade's area of operations. One of his most well-known attacks was a vehicle-borne IED against the Australian Embassy."

Fox News
Interesting article, but no link to the footage that was released.

tag: Iraq, War on Terror, terrorists killed, Fox News, Verlin Martin, Lord Nazh

Hannah Montana

My daughter absolutely loves Hannah Montana. She would do almost anything to get to see her in concert (too bad for her, her dad [me] doesn't have the funds to get tickets) but I hope she wouldn't do this:
Click for the rest of the story

An essay that won a 6-year-old girl four tickets to a Hannah Montana concert began with the powerful line: "My daddy died this year in Iraq."

While gripping, it wasn't true _ and now the girl may lose her tickets after her mom acknowledged to contest organizers it was all a lie.

The sponsor of the contest was Club Libby Lu, a Chicago-based store that sells clothes, accessories and games intended for young girls.

The saga began Friday with company officials surprising the girl at a Club Libby Lu at a mall in suburban Garland, about 20 miles northeast of Dallas. The girl won a makeover that included a blonde Hannah Montana wig, as well as the grand prize: airfare for four to Albany, N.Y., and four tickets to the sold-out Hannah Montana concert on Jan. 9.

Star Tribune
Not only should the daughter lose her tickets, the mother should be doing some community service at the least for this.

tag: deception, Hannah Montana, essay, Verlin Martin, Lord Nazh

Art for the troops

tag: Iraq war, support for the troops, Blogpower, Lord Nazh

Clips from the Iraqi War

No witty comments or observations today, kind of tired :) [work midnights tomorrow so I stayed up late to adjust]

tag: Iraq, Blogpower, Lord Nazh

Iraq and the Return

Courtney has a great write up on the 'Surge effect' in Iraq:

Knocking out the largest Arab army in history in 20 days, turning Iraq into a
giant sucking killing machine, grinding up Saudi rejects, wanna be jihadis',
Iranian Minions and Syrian agents. Leaving them dead on the side of the road for
a stranger to bury, has magically drawn the Great
Satan's enemies into a quagmire that has drained resources, volunteers and
their collective willpower. Going to Iraq for jihad now is a dumb thing to do.
[link]

Of course she goes on (in her special way) to say much more, so read the whole thing, it's a great write.

It's time now for the 'other' political animal to jump on board and ride the bandwagon; or essential to leave the playing field for the serious people to work with.

tag: terrorists, Iraq, GreatSatan, TWoT, Blogpower, LordNazh

Iraq Report

General Petraeus gave his assessment of Iraq today (confirmed by Senate 81-0 to lead the forces in Iraq) amid much scorn from Democrats. Truthfully, the Dems in Congress (and elsewhere) were the ones that wanted the September report so bad, they were short of votes to cut out of Iraq and felt the surge would do no good and only help them to get more converts to their side.

Lo and behold, the surge worked well enough that even the MSM decided to print some on it. Varoius Democratic leaders went to Iraq and reported on progress and no more votes to run were given. Of course, that was before the report.

In the weeks and days leading up to the report, Democrats and their 'base' have steadily been downplaying the report by calling Petraeus a 'bush-mouthpiece' and saying his report is lies and 'cooked' for the Whitehouse (yes he was confirmed 81-0, had to have been a few D's in that vote) before they even laid eyes on the report. With the news on the MSM and from the Democrats that took the time to visit the war zone, they knew they had to jump out in front of this thing.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Republicans accused Democrats on Monday of embracing "character assassination" against Iraq war commander General David Petraeus, hours before his key testimony to the US Congress.

Pent-up political fury over the war spilled over before the appearance by Petraeus and US ambassador to Baghdad Ryan Crocker before the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs and Armed Services committees later Monday.

The flare-up was sparked by a full-page advertisement in The New York Times placed by anti-war liberal campaign group MoveOn.org, reading "General Petraeus or General Betray US? Cooking the Books for the White House."

White House spokesman Tony Snow said that the advertisement represented a "boorish, childish, unworthy attack.

Top Democratic Senator Joseph Biden said on NBC that he did not agree with the sentiments of the advertisement, but also disagreed with Petraeus's expected conclusion that the current troop surge in Iraq was working and should be extended.

"I really respect him, and I think he's dead, flat wrong," Biden said of Petraeus on NBC television.

"The truth of the matter is that ... this administration's policy and the surge are a failure."[link] {emp. mine-LN}

Notice the last quote from Biden, remember, this is BEFORE he heard the report. Do you honestly think he'll pay ANY attention to what the General says? The Democrats are convinced that they have a 'mandate' to stop the war, yet they are too cowardly to actually do so. There is an election coming up and they feel (rightly I think) that ending the conflict as a party would damage their chances in '08.

I realize that Republicans aren't saints (they have a lot that needs to be fixed in the party so conservatives like me can again feel comfortable with them) but they are the best bet we have to keeping this country safe and on track economically. Until or unless a Conservative party emerges, I will continue to support Republicans over Democrats for precisely these reasons.

(other news on the report here)

Victory Caucus

Stand by the American Mission in Iraq

Iraq is now the central front in the War on Terrorism - not because Americans want it to be but because America's enemies have said so and made it so. Al-Qaeda and Iranian-backed militias are determined to drive the United States out of Iraq. Al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups would then use that country as a safe haven from which they can mount attacks on the U.S., its interests and allies.

We recognize that the U.S. involvement in Iraq has divided Americans and that our leaders have made mistakes. We also recognize the cost of this war, not only in financial terms but, more importantly, in the loss of more than 3,000 of our bravest men and women. The issue, however, is not how or why U.S. forces became engaged in Iraq but, rather, what is happening there now and what would happen if we were to leave too soon. (link)

Click through to read the rest and sign the petition.

Trackback weekend over at StoptheACLU.