But the most important phenomenon, which overshadows most of the other developments in Iraq, is the exposure of the Green Zone, the most secure location in Iraq, to daily rocket bombardments, something that has motivated many diplomats and journalists and parliamentarians who went there seeking safety, to flee from the Green Zone to outside of Iraq, following the fall of a large number of injured persons in this attack.
The lead editorial in AlQuds alArabi this morning lists a number of reasons why Bush's "good-news honeymoon" in Iraq is ending, including the sudden increase in deaths in the statistics for the month of March, the failure of Maliki to weaken the Sadrists, and what the editorialist calls the danger of a split in the Sadrist ranks, with one group devoting itself to combating the occupation forces. Then the editorialist says this:
But the most important phenomenon, which overshadows most of the other developments in Iraq, is the exposure of the Green Zone, the most secure location in Iraq, to daily rocket bombardments, something that has motivated many diplomats and journalists and parliamentarians who went there seeking safety, to flee from the Green Zone to outside of Iraq, following the fall of a large number of injured persons in this attack.
Note that this is a little different from the news reports in AlArab and AlQuds AlArabi itself, which talked about moving to safer locations within Iraq (the AlQuds news report referred to moves by American Embassy people to the big American base at the Baghdad Airport), not moving out of the country altogether.
In any event, the editorialist doesn't get into the question who is responsible for the rocket and mortar attacks on the Green Zone, but he does note the following:
The Maliki government is now fighting against two fronts: A Shiite resistance front represented by the Sadrist trend, and the Sunni resistance front, grouped around a number of banners, including Islamist and nationalist organizations. And there is AlQaeda among them. What this means is that it [the Maliki government] has suddenly lost its reason for being.
The latter remark meaning: The government not only doesn't have Sunni support, but now it has forfeited the supposed majority Shiite support that was its reason for being, and instead it now faces a double-barreled resistance, from both sides.
Arab reports on the Green Zone exodus so far:
* AlArab on Monday and Tuesday March 31 and April 1
http://arablinks.blogspot.com/2008/03/report-us-embassy-moving-elsewhere.html
Report: US Embassy moving elsewhere. Sunni group claims GreenZone attacks
http://arablinks.blogspot.com/2008/04/no-letup-in-greenzone-attacks-no.html
No letup in GreenZone attacks. No analysis. (But an update with an obvious guess where they are moving)
* AlQuds alArabi front page today Wednesday April 2
.
http://arablinks.blogspot.com/2008/04/alquds-alarabi-confirms-greenzone.html
AlQuds alArabi confirms the GreenZone exodus story
And this AlQuds AlArabi editorial, also today, noted above.
English language mentions of this, including by those who, in good times, aren't shy about using their excellent Washington contacts:
Zero
----------------------
Thousands of police officers who refused to fight Sadr are given the sack
March 31, 2008
Interior Minister Jawad Boulani has ordered the dismissal of thousands of police members and officers who allegedly refused orders to take part in the fight against the militiamen of cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.
The decision covers most of the police force in the predominantly Shiite neighborhoods of Baghdad and also several cities in the southern Iraq including Basra where most of the recent fighting took place.
The government’s crackdown on Mahdi Army, the military arm of the Sadr movement in the country, which started a few days ago, came to a halt yesterday.
Several cities in southern Iraq among them Baghdad and Basra were placed under tight curfews as battles between the militiamen and government troops raged.
U.S. occupation troops backed the government in its bid to disarm the militias.
But the Mahdi Army has once again emerged intact as the ceasefire announced yesterday does not call for the militiamen to surrender their weapons.
Thousands of police officers were reported to have refused fighting the militiamen and at least two army regiments joined them with their weapons in Baghdad.
More troops were said to have sided with the militiamen in Basra.
The move to sack police and army personnel sympathizing with Sadr is a risky step as it might derail the already fragile ceasefire.
The exact numbers of those who are covered by the move are not known but analysts say they should involve thousands of police officers and troops.
The analysts say those sacked will have no choice but to join the ranks of Mahdi Army with their weapons, boosting the militia’s strength and standing.
The recent fighting is said to have claimed more than 240 lives in the country since fighting began on Tuesday.
But the most important phenomenon, which overshadows most of the other developments in Iraq, is the exposure of the Green Zone, the most secure location in Iraq, to daily rocket bombardments, something that has motivated many diplomats and journalists and parliamentarians who went there seeking safety, to flee from the Green Zone to outside of Iraq, following the fall of a large number of injured persons in this attack.
Note that this is a little different from the news reports in AlArab and AlQuds AlArabi itself, which talked about moving to safer locations within Iraq (the AlQuds news report referred to moves by American Embassy people to the big American base at the Baghdad Airport), not moving out of the country altogether.
In any event, the editorialist doesn't get into the question who is responsible for the rocket and mortar attacks on the Green Zone, but he does note the following:
The Maliki government is now fighting against two fronts: A Shiite resistance front represented by the Sadrist trend, and the Sunni resistance front, grouped around a number of banners, including Islamist and nationalist organizations. And there is AlQaeda among them. What this means is that it [the Maliki government] has suddenly lost its reason for being.
The latter remark meaning: The government not only doesn't have Sunni support, but now it has forfeited the supposed majority Shiite support that was its reason for being, and instead it now faces a double-barreled resistance, from both sides.
Arab reports on the Green Zone exodus so far:
* AlArab on Monday and Tuesday March 31 and April 1
http://arablinks.blogspot.com/2008/03/report-us-embassy-moving-elsewhere.html Report: US Embassy moving elsewhere. Sunni group claims GreenZone attacks
http://arablinks.blogspot.com/2008/04/no-letup-in-greenzone-attacks-no.html No letup in GreenZone attacks. No analysis. (But an update with an obvious guess where they are moving)
* AlQuds alArabi front page today Wednesday April 2
.
http://arablinks.blogspot.com/2008/04/alquds-alarabi-confirms-greenzone.html AlQuds alArabi confirms the GreenZone exodus story
And this AlQuds AlArabi editorial, also today, noted above.
English language mentions of this, including by those who, in good times, aren't shy about using their excellent Washington contacts:
Zero
----------------------
Thousands of police officers who refused to fight Sadr are given the sack
March 31, 2008
Interior Minister Jawad Boulani has ordered the dismissal of thousands of police members and officers who allegedly refused orders to take part in the fight against the militiamen of cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.
The decision covers most of the police force in the predominantly Shiite neighborhoods of Baghdad and also several cities in the southern Iraq including Basra where most of the recent fighting took place.
The government’s crackdown on Mahdi Army, the military arm of the Sadr movement in the country, which started a few days ago, came to a halt yesterday.
Several cities in southern Iraq among them Baghdad and Basra were placed under tight curfews as battles between the militiamen and government troops raged.
U.S. occupation troops backed the government in its bid to disarm the militias.
But the Mahdi Army has once again emerged intact as the ceasefire announced yesterday does not call for the militiamen to surrender their weapons.
Thousands of police officers were reported to have refused fighting the militiamen and at least two army regiments joined them with their weapons in Baghdad.
More troops were said to have sided with the militiamen in Basra.
The move to sack police and army personnel sympathizing with Sadr is a risky step as it might derail the already fragile ceasefire.
The exact numbers of those who are covered by the move are not known but analysts say they should involve thousands of police officers and troops.
The analysts say those sacked will have no choice but to join the ranks of Mahdi Army with their weapons, boosting the militia’s strength and standing.
The recent fighting is said to have claimed more than 240 lives in the country since fighting began on Tuesday.
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