Healing Iraq: Coup Underway In Baghdad, Elsewhere in Iraq
Hat Tip: Instapundit
This ran last night, as well, along with Zeyad's note that the festivities seemed over... |
A coup dâetat is taking place in Iraq a the moment. Al-Shuâla, Al-Hurria, Thawra (Sadr city), and Kadhimiya (all Shiâite neighbourhoods in Baghdad) have been declared liberated from occupation. Looting has already started at some places downtown, a friend of mine just returned from Sadun street and he says Al-Mahdi militiamen are breaking stores and clinics open and also at Tahrir square just across the river from the Green Zone. News from other cities in the south indicate that Sadr followers (tens of thousands of them) have taken over IP stations and governorate buildings in Kufa, Nassiriya, Ammara, Kut, and Basrah. Al-Jazeera says that policemen in these cities have sided with the Shia insurgents, which doesnât come as a surprise to me since a large portion of the police forces in these areas were recruited from Shiâite militias and we have talked about that ages ago. And it looks like this move has been planned a long time ago.
No one knows what is happening in the capital right now. Power has been cut off in my neighbourhood since the afternoon, and I can only hear helicopters, massive explosions, and continuous shooting nearby. The streets are empty, someone told us half an hour ago that Al-Mahdi are trying to take over our neighbourhood and are being met by resistance from Sunni hardliners. Doors are locked, and AK-47âs are being loaded and put close by in case they are needed. The phone keeps ringing frantically. Baghdadis are horrified and everyone seems to have made up their mind to stay home tomorrow until the situation is clear. EFL; read the whole thing. At the moment, it looks like theyâre following the classic Tet pattern: even if they wind up losing, all they have to do is massacre enough civilians, and blame the US, just as happened at Hue, and all the useful idiots will be able to claim moral equivalence, and all the other usual arguments. If anyone has any interesting real information or analysis (not trolling), let me know.
Posted by: Phil Fraering 2004-04-06 |