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Iran, Hezbollah support al-Sadr
Sheik Moqtada al-Sadr, the Gee, what a shock! Sheik al-Sadrâs bid to spark a widespread uprising in Iraq comes at a particularly pivotal time. The United States is conducting a massive troop rotation that leaves inexperienced troops in some locations, including Fallujah, which is west of Baghdad and where Sunnis have mounted another series of rebellions. Sheik al-Sadr, who has traveled to Iran and met with its hard-line Shiâite clerics, is an ardent foe of the United States who wants all foreign troops to leave. The United States suspects that his goal is to create a hard-line Shiâite regime in Iraq modeled after Tehranâs government. Military sources said Sheik al-Sadr is being aided directly by Iranâs Revolutionary Guard, which plays a large role in running that country, and by Hezbollah, an Iranian-created terrorist group based in Lebanon. One of the sources said these two organizations are supplying the cleric with money, spiritual support and possibly weapons. "Iran does not want a success in Iraq," the source said. "A democratic Iraq is a death knell to the mullahs." Ring that bell, Quasimodo!... When the 82nd Airborne Division first tried to subdue Fallujah in the summer, units went block by block to locate insurgents. Now, in the second intense battle for the city of Saddam Hussein loyalists, intelligence collection has improved and U.S. Marines can target specific dwellings. "The plan is not to go house to house, street to street. We are trying to get insurgents," Capt. Ed Sullivan told Agence France-Presse. Mr. Hillen said such precision operations mean that the Marines are getting good intelligence. "If you have good intelligence beforehand, which is the key to the whole Fallujah-type operations, you can at the same time be precise and overwhelming. Weâve been in and around Fallujah for quite some time, and Iâm sure we have some pretty good intelligence sources there." Posted by: mojo 2004-04-07 |
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