One of Ours

Sadr's aide and head of his office in Najaf, Qays Al-Khaz'ali, has declared the latest looting and killing spree going on in several Iraqi southern cities as an Intifada against the occupation. Speaking on behalf of Muqtada, he stated that they will certainly not calm down any soon because the Quran orders them not to; "Fight those who fight against you". And he has also made it clear that they stand united with their 'Sunni brothers' in Ramadi, Fallujah, and Adhamiya in the resistance.

Muqtada himself though doesn't seem as if he has made up his mind yet. I believe the fool senses that he has blundered seriously. Earlier yesterday he issued an announcement to his followers to cease the 'demonstrations', and that he had left the Kufa mosque and took refuge at Imam Ali's shrine in Najaf, typically hiding among civilians and holy sites like the coward he is...

...Sadr has set up offices in almost every city, town, and village in the south. And I have mentioned earlier that they had assumed full control over my small village where I work in the Basrah governorate weeks ago, terrorizing IP officers, civil servants, and doctors but nobody was listening...

...I was standing outside with neighbours yesterday afternoon gossiping when a car drove by, threw a couple of fliers at us, shouting "read them, may Allah increase your reward". The fliers were signed by a group which called itself Saif Allah Albattar (Allah's striking sword) at Ramadi, Fallujah, Adhamiya, and Diyala, which advised Iraqis to remain home on April 9th (the anniversary of the occupation), stating that they would not be responsible if anyone failed to do so. Someone else talked about another group called the Iraqi Islamic Army (groups like these seem to pop up every other day) which claimed its responsibility for the killings of the 4 Americans in Fallujah last week, decribing them as 'Jews'.

Anyway, it seems that fighting is ongoing in Sadr city, northeast of Baghdad...

...Al-Jazeera, which I have never witnessed being any more hateful and provocative until this day. They keep displaying headlines like 'Occupation forces target more women and children in Sadr city' or 'Resistance in Fallujah forces occupation forces to withdraw from locations'...

...No one knows where it is all heading. If this uprising is not crushed immediately and those
militia not captured then there is no hope at all. If you even consider negotiations or appeasement, then we are all doomed.

University academics are hampering efforts to defend western democracy against Islamist threats because they are fundamentally hostile to the UK's security services, according to a leading professor.

...In his paper, published in today's Times Higher Education Supplement, Professor Glees - who is director of the centre for intelligence and security studies at Brunel University - says: "There is still a marked suspicion of professional security activities, even in the defence of liberal democracy... Some senior members of Britain's diplomatic community and more than a few members of Britain's academic community believe that security and intelligence services do not provide the answer to the problem but are, in fact, its cause."

Academics are mainly "hostile to the idea of intervention in international affairs and have, since 1980, harboured strong suspicions of American motives".

Professor Glees will also claim that political correctness makes it difficult for academics to attack Islamic fundamentalism or oppose student societies that demand the destruction of western society...The extent to which radical Islamic ideas are brewing in UK universities will "come as shock" to people in years to come...

...Ted Kennedy - patron of special interests and political hack.

How do we re-establish the working relationships we need with other countries to win the war on terrorism and advance the ideals we share?
And how can we possibly expect President Bush to do that?

He's the problem, not the solution. Iraq is George Bush's Vietnam, and this country needs a new President.

No, Teddy. The problem is you - politicians like you could help us win the war, but instead you try to defeat your own country to serve your self interests. Iraq isn't Vietnam (here's a little reminder for you - your brother started a war that consisted of decades of conflict and 58,000 KIA).

You want Iraq to be Vietnam. And I don't think you give a damn about my friends serving there today.

How many servicemen and women out there support Ted Kennedy? Anyone?

Update: I guess I should also add a disclaimer that I find Senator Kennedy to be a vile creature who is baiting insurgents to attack our troops. He's basically informing them that it'll take just a few more hits for America to run away.

What do you think the effect would be if all of our Senators were behind the President, our military and our allies, and said, "You attack our forces in Iraq, and we will destroy you."?

Surely you’re watching what’s happening now in some neighborhoods in Iraq.. let me explain something about this militia.. ( you’ll never hear a similar explanation in any TV channel or radio stations… but this is the truth and the real picture of Muqtada’s group)..
...That angry dumb and silly boy is not respected by many religious leaders ...
...that foolish boy has many thieves following him...
...many idiots still remember his father and they feel that he continues his father’s message in Islam...
...I’m afraid the world will say that Iraqis don’t deserve the liberation because of those people..
Here in Basra, few Muqtada’s men are preparing themselves, hiking among the people and in front of banks and shops waiting for another looting and robbery acts and spreading rumors about the situation in other provinces.. they say that the governmental institutes are robbed and everything lost..etc..trying to breach the peace.. some of them are carrying sacks to rob the bank if their ‘leader’ will succeed and control Iraq!!
Got the picture of this militia?!...

...districts here in Basra came to a great idea, the Sheiks of many tribes held a meeting and decided to sign on papers promising that any person dares to breach the peace in their areas will be arrested or killed immediately and no one will protect him even if he was one of their tribes.. this meeting relieved the people so much…

...Nearly a similar situation happened in 1999 in ‘Al-Sadr city’ when Saddam killed Muqtada’s father.. the angry people in that disgusting neighborhood made a simple chaos in the beginning , do you know what happened ? do you know how Saddam dealt with them?... a few cars went there immediately and a few men got out of the cars carrying different types of guns and rifles and started to fire continuously at them until all those people entered their houses and many of them were killed and left on the streets… then Saddam’s men completed their mission and went back..

I don’t want to say that the same thing should be done.. but I just want to say that the GC and CPA must control this freedom because it’s used improperly..

...One popular journalistic theme is that the Iraqi security forces are failing. They are fighting and dying beside Coalition forces. Have some of the Iraqi forces broken and ran? Yes. When mobs attack in overwhelming numbers a police outpost, the Iraqi police ran. So would have I. You too. But the Iraqi police returned...

... They are not trained to the best levels. Yet. They are simultaneously engaged with the enemy as well as being trained. The popular journalist theme is that they run. Some have. Most have not. And they are getting better and bigger. Al-Sadr attacks now before the Iraqi forces are strong enough and can defeat him...

...The terrorists have changed tactics from attacking soft, civilian targets to hitting the Coalition military. Most Iraqis and Coalition states do not doubt the outcome of the battle.

But the terrorists are buoyed by the successful retrenchment of the Spanish government as a reaction to a single attack in Spain. Terrorist are attacking in force the Ukrainian, Spanish and Polish forces in the Coalition. Like the Tet offensive, al-Sadr does not expect to have a military win but to permanently damage the will of the Iraqis and the Coalition...

...''As I understand it, he was protecting his comrades, doing his duty,'' Morris said. He said three other troops also in the Humvee were not injured. Officials have not released details about Geoffrey Morris' death.

Morris said his son firmly believed in his mission. ''It meant a lot to him to be a defender of his country, but also the defender of the right of the Iraqi people to choose their government and how they want to live,'' he said.

When the two last talked about a week ago, the younger Morris once again told his father about his duty. ''He said, 'As soon as they stop killing each other, stop killing us, we're out of here. But we're not leaving until the job is done.'

''He did not want to die but he said many times and in letters . . . 'If I do die, Dad, I want you to know that I am right with God and everything will be OK.' ''...