Complete story
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By the middle of the day on Thursday, the American-led forces were reported to have taken the city centre and were aiming to pin down the militiamen in their redoubt in the Imam Ali Mosque—the holiest place in the city, revered by Shia Muslims worldwide as the burial place of Ali, the son-in-law and cousin of the Prophet Muhammad.
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a couple of JDAMs could end this whole thing. obviously we won't do that for fear that the Shia world would rise up and retaliate...
it just seems to me that if you think that a location is so holy that it cannot be damaged then you shouldn't start a rebellion and then take refuge within said building. hospitals, schools, and churches become viable targets the minute a military force begins using them as a shelter or a military command post.
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Mr Sadr, believed to be holed up in the shrine with a large number of his men, has pledged to battle on “to the last drop of my blood” and urged them to fight on even after it has been shed.
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Sadr is obviously prepared to sacrifice the holiness of the sight in exchange for his attempt to gain more power in the country.
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on Wednesday, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, denounced the American military operation in Najaf as “one of the darkest crimes of humanity” and said that Muslims across the world would respond to it.
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Some of Mr Allawi’s officials have accused Iran of arming and encouraging the insurgents: last week Hazem Shalaan, the Iraqi defence minister, called Iran the “first enemy” of Iraq; this week he claimed that Iran was sending weapons to Mr Sadr’s militia. On Thursday he said Iraqi government forces had captured around 1,200 people in Najaf, “many of them non-Iraqis” who do not speak Arabic.
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what? Iran and Iraq aren't going to play nice? well who didn't see this coming?
it is time to either pull out and throw up our hands in defeat and admit that we can't handle rebels hiding out in parts of the city, or fight the way the military is meant to be used - no holds barred.
if the enemy is operating from a location and refuses to come out - you destroy the location. the enemy chooses the location of a battle, you must choose the outcome.