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LoungeMachine
03-04-2007, 08:05 AM
Maliki warns insurgents of wider crackdown
04 Mar 2007 12:01:37 GMT
Source: Reuters
Iraq in turmoil


By Dean Yates and Ahmed Rasheed

BAGHDAD, March 4 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Sunday told insurgents fighting his U.S.-backed government to accept an olive branch or face a security crackdown that will cover "every inch" of Iraq.

The U.S. military said it was preparing to set up a security outpost in the Shi'ite militia stronghold of Sadr City "in the very near future" in what will be a test of Iraqi and U.S. determination to tackle one of the toughest areas of Baghdad.

Maliki also said he might announce a long-awaited cabinet reshuffle within two weeks. He is expected to replace under- performing ministers in a revamp he has promised for months.

Speaking at a conference aimed at speeding up reconciliation among Iraq's warring factions, Maliki said political consensus could be achieved only if Iraq was stable.

Maliki has been pleased with the early results of a U.S.- backed security crackdown in Baghdad called Operation Imposing Law. The offensive has reduced sectarian death squad killings although car bombings are still common.

"We do not need to implement security measures except against those who reject the language of reconciliation and dialogue, those who insist on restoring the past," Maliki said, in a reference to Sunni Arab insurgents loyal to Saddam Hussein.

"We present in our hand a green olive branch, and in the other hand we present the law ... Operation Imposing Law started in Baghdad, it will cover every inch of Iraq."

Shi'ite officials have said his government could collapse if the crackdown fails to put a brake on sectarian violence that threatens to plunge Iraq into full-scale civil war. U.S. commanders say it will take months to see concrete results.

TAKING ON MILITIAS

Maliki, a Shi'ite, has pledged to tackle Shi'ite militias as vigorously as Sunni insurgents, although some Sunni leaders are sceptical and accuse him of being half-hearted in attempts to placate minority Sunni Arabs who were dominant under Saddam.

The prime minister did not say if insurgents who stopped fighting would be given an amnesty.

An Iraqi police source said security forces were beginning to set up checkpoints around the edge of Sadr City, a stronghold of the Mehdi Army, a militia loyal to radical cleric Moqtada al Sadr who is a key political ally of Maliki.

How the plan is implemented in Sadr City is being closely watched as a test of Maliki's determination to be even-handed.

U.S. military spokesman Captain Curtis Kellogg said a Joint Security Station with Iraqi and U.S. forces would be established in Sadr City soon.

"The plans are in the works to have that in there in the very near future so we have some people working in and out of there," he said when asked about reports of operations in Sadr City on Sunday. A Reuters photographer who lives in the area said he had seen or heard of no unusual military activity.

In a news conference, Maliki said cabinet changes might be unveiled "either this week or next". He gave no hints about who he would replace in his cabinet, which is mostly made up of members of Shi'ite, ethnic Kurd and Sunni Arab parties.

In early November, Maliki called for a "comprehensive" reshuffle "to send a message to all ministers that they may be replaced if they don't succeed".

U.S. commanders say the aim of the Baghdad push is to create a "breathing space" to allow politicians to reach a consensus.

LoungeMachine
03-04-2007, 08:11 AM
4 YEARS after the fall of Baghdad, and we still need to "carve out" some breathing room?

Is the road to the airport secure yet?

Electricity on for more than 4 hours a day?


How's construction coming on the world's largest embassey??

:rolleyes:

Nickdfresh
03-04-2007, 12:31 PM
.."We present in our hand a green olive branch, and in the other hand we present the law ... Operation Imposing Law started in Baghdad, it will cover every inch of Iraq."

Shi'ite officials have said his government could collapse if the crackdown fails to put a brake on sectarian violence that threatens to plunge Iraq into full-scale civil war. U.S. commanders say it will take months to see concrete results....

No shit!

It's not about an "Islamofascist Caliphate!" It's about the division of Iraq's oil revenues between the three ethnic groups, which is why the US needs to pressure the Shiite's into giving the Sunnis a piece of the oily pie, so we can get the hell out.

And Malki IS SCARED, because despite the fact that the Shias outnumber the Sunnis by 3-1 population wise, he well realizes that they would probably lose the civil war without US infantry, air power, and armor, in some ways, because the Sunnis fighting the Shias are a lot like the Israelis fighting the Arabs --they're just better organized and more motivated (how's that for an offensive analogy to everybody:))...