By Linda Gale
Nolen
lindagale@excite.com
May 14, 2004
Deja vu American Indians, Romans, Greeks, Vietnam,
et al.Men who
don't remember HISTORY, or more likely, never learned
it in the first place, have plunged us into a time warp. Months ago they
knew
an attack on Najaf, the holiest of holy cities in Iraq, was a very bad
idea. But they did it anyway. And
to add insult to injury, our illustrious Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt
claims the Iraqis did the damage to the golden dome of the Imam Ali
mosque themselves.
Talk about disturbing hornets' nests. The
repercussions from this no-brainer attack are beyond supposition at this
point in time. To damage (not totally destroyed, so far, but stay tuned
for that) any country's holy place brings out a fury not unlike that of
mother
lions or tigers,or bears OH MY!, when their babies are threatened.
It's a fight to the death, for certain.
There'll
be no civilized talks around a big round table.
This is not negotiable.
This is now war with capitols letters, WAR.
This is the beginning of the MAJOR combat that Bush
claimed was over on May 1, 2003.
I
expect the next news flash will be to report all of the various
countries now angered enough to join the Iraqi's in killing every
American on their soil. No more just
telling the Yankees to GO HOME. No more talk, period. Or
I could be wrong. Maybe the
Bushites will come up with a way to leave and
still convince some Americans they just came
home because they gave Iraq their freedom and they were at the stage
where they could run their own country.
Yeah, that's the ticket. I can hear it coming from Bush's ear and out of
his mouth any minute now. News at 6 p.m. -
be there.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2004-05-14-iraq-fighting_x.htm?csp=24
U.S.
storms into Najaf, battles with al-Sadr's militiamen
NAJAF, Iraq (AP) —
Friday, May 14, 2004
Excerpts:
One
of Shia Islam's holiest shrines was
slightly damaged by apparent
gunfire,
prompting
calls for revenge and even suicide attacks.
Top aides of radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr threatened to unleash more
attacks across the once-calm Shiite south and in the fetid Shiite slums
of slums of Baghdad. One
even urged citizens to register for suicide
squads, starting Saturday.
In
Baghdad, Hamid al-Bayati, spokesman for a mainstream Shiite group
represented on the Iraqi Governing Council, called the fighting
in Najaf,the world's greatest center of Shiite theology and scholarship,
a "big
mistake"
that could inflame sectarian passions.
"America
is the enemy of God," fighters shouted.
Four
holes, each approximately 12 inches long and 8 inches could be seen on
the golden dome of the Imam Ali mosque, burial place of Imam Ali IbnAbu
Talib, the Prophet Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law and Shiites' most
revered saint.
It
is located about 100 miles south of Baghdad on a high desert plateau
overlooking
the world's largest cemetery where Shiites aspire to bury their dead.
Militia
members blamed the Americans for the damage,
but Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt,
the chief U.S. military spokesman in Iraq,
said al-Sadr's men were probably responsible:
"The
Americans had better leave Iraq after this,"
said Jassim Mohammed, 22.
Another man, Abu Zahraa al-Daraji, 22, added:
"The Americans have crossed a red line."
