What a bozo. Actually, what a pair of bozos, Bush and Maliki. Maliki took personal command of this "action" in Basra by the Iraq Army. He told the militias that they had three days to put down their arms. Now the US military has been called for back up, the militias have another week to sell their weapons to the government. Who do you think will foot the bill for these weapons? And do you seriously think they'll turn in anything except obsolete, broken, unneeded guns?
The United States stepped up its direct support for the Iraqi government offensive against Shiite Muslim militias Friday by using U.S. aircraft to bomb two targets in the oil hub of Basra, the British military said.
The U.S. military also continued its air strikes in Baghdad's Shiite Sadr City neighborhood, which is largely under the control of the Mahdi Army militia of firebrand cleric Muqtada al Sadr, and Kadhemiyah neighborhood, an area also dominated by the Mahdi Army, according to residents.
The expanded U.S. air support came as Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki climbed down from his previous ultimatum that Shiite militias must disarm by Friday. In a new statement, Maliki gave the gunmen until April 8 to turn in their weapons for financial rewards.
At a news conference in Washington Friday, President Bush said that the violence in Basra and other parts of Iraq are "a defining moment in the history of a free Iraq."
He called the Iraqi government's offensive in Basra a reaction to "criminal elements."
Bush said, "Any government that presumes to represent, you know, the majority of people must confront criminal elements, or people who think they can live outside the law. And that's what's taking place in Basra and in other parts of Iraq."
He said that while there have been other defining moments in Iraq's recent history, "the decision to move troops — Iraqi troops — into Basra talks about Prime Minister Maliki's leadership."
Bush said that he talked to the Iraqi prime minister about the decision to act, and asked, "Would he, in representing people who want to live in peace, be willing to use force necessary to bring to justice those who, you know, take advantage of a vacuum, or those who murder the innocent?
"His answer was, 'Yes sir, I will,' " Bush said.
"One of those things that's been well-known is that Basra has been a place where criminality has thrived," Bush added. "You know, it's a port. A lot of goods and services go through there. And . . . from the beginning of liberation, there have been criminal elements that have had a pretty free hand in Basra. And it was just a matter of time before the government was going to have to deal with it."
The death toll in Basra climbed to 120, according to the government health office there, while Sadr's office in Sadr City said 78 people had been killed there.
The level of violence in the Basra dropped on Friday while the Mahdi Army holding on to its strongholds in the area, British military spokesman Maj. Tom Holloway said from Basra. But clashes continued and interrupted Friday prayers at one of the major mosques.
In his sermon, Imam Wasfi al Hareishawai criticized the government for not alerting residents so they could stock up on supplies.
"Iraqi security forces were mistaken to apply the security plan without notifying the citizens to take their precautions because a humanitarian crisis will occur in Basra," he said. "We support a security plan that is enforced upon everyone equally without targeting a specific political trend."
Many Iraqis view the offensive, directed by Maliki and involving forces from the Badr Organization, the military wing of the Shiite Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq and a rival of Sadr's movement, as an opportunity to destroy Sadr's forces prior to provincial elections in October.
The Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI) is the most powerful Shiite party in Iraq, but it trails the Sadr movement in popularity, especially among poorer Shiites. Provincial elections could undercut ISCI's power in the south.
McClatchy Newspapers 2008