Iraq: May 25, 2004

Archives

In Najaf, al Sadr gunmen continue to be pinned down and killed by constant pressure from American troops. It is feared that the gunmen will do some serious damage to one of the Shia shrines there, and blame it on the Americans. The al Sadr militia have not got many options left. The people of Najaf want the al Sadr gang gone, but are unable to do it themselves, so they stand aside and let the coalition troops do it.

There are almost daily car bombings in Baghdad. These attacks show little skill, and do little damage. But they indicate an active terrorist organization. Not giving, or seeking, much publicity, are several new Iraqi police organizations working on counter-terrorism operations. Apparently, these new police operations are expected to show they have the right stuff by nailing one or more of these Islamic terrorist organizations in Baghdad. One problem with the new Iraqi investigation squads is their tendency to use the traditional interrogation methods. These are considered war crimes by many in the West, and coalition officials have had to step in and stop the roughness. The Iraqis complain that this is limiting their progress, and they have not got time to learn new interrogation methods. 

 

X

ad

Help Keep Us From Drying Up

We need your help! Our subscription base has slowly been dwindling.

Each month we count on your contribute. You can support us in the following ways:

  1. Make sure you spread the word about us. Two ways to do that are to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
  2. Subscribe to our daily newsletter. We’ll send the news to your email box, and you don’t have to come to the site unless you want to read columns or see photos.
  3. You can contribute to the health of StrategyPage.
Subscribe   contribute   Close