US air strikes target militants in Iraq, clashes kill 15

I. Citation: ‘US air strikes target militants in Iraq, clashes kill 15’ The Jerusalem Post. April 10, 2008.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1207649983548&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

II. Summary:

On Thursday, after some fighting between U.S. forces and Shi’ite militants which killed fifteen people, a building in Baghdad’s Sadr City was bombed by a U.S. air strike. As a result of this and other clashes, David Petraeus advised George W. Bush to delay the pullout of twenty thousand troops from Iraq, which Bush is expected to follow. However, Prime Minister of Iraq, Nouri al-Maliki disagrees with George Bush, and wants U.S. troops out as soon as possible, believing that Iraq is self-security capable. The goal of Petraeus is to have 20,000 troops out by the end of July, leaving about 140,000 troops left in Iraq. Petraeus believes that Al-Maliki was responsible for arming Shi’ite militants fighting U.S. and Iraqi forces, which Al-Maliki denies. During the fighting in Sadr City, residents continue to flee from the city, which has been having increasing air strikes on the city. It is home to 2.5 million people and is a stronghold of the Mahdi Army militia Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. U.S. forces have been fighting for control of the city for 10 days. Al-Maliki has been criticized for stopping Shi’ite militias, himself being a Shi’ite, which has increased the retaliation and violence.

III. Reaction:

A.) The AP World Theme that relates to this article is state-building, expansion and conflict because it shows the conflict in the Middle East between U.S. and Iraqi forces and Shi’ite militia.

B.) The violence in Iraq has declined last year, after al-Sadr, the cleric of the Mahdi Army declared a cease fire. It also decreased after the amount of American troops in Iraq increased and Sunnis revolted against Al- Qaida in Iraq, reducing their power. In the past, the U.S. was supporting Iraq and Saddam Hussein in their war against Iran, doing whatever necessary to ensure victory. Then, the U.S. invaded Iraq in 2003, as a mission to find weapons of mass destruction, and as been in ever since.

C.) This article was written by the Associated Press, which means it could have been written by a variety of people. It may have been written by an Israeli reporter, an American in Iraq, or an Iraqi, since it was written in Baghdad.

D.) The writer of this article seems to be in favor of al-Maliki, because they describe the reasons why the U.S. should back out of Iraq and how Iraq is ready to maintain their own status.

E.) A point of view that is missing from the article is from either George W. Bush because he could help better describe the situation in Iraq and what his plans for the future are. They only include views from the prime minister of Iraq, Iraqi residents and some U.S. governmental officials. It would also be helpful to hear from a U.S. soldier because they would be able to describe how the violence is escalating or decreasing in Sadr city.

F.) I think that the Iraqi government should make an effort to evacuate and help the residents of Sadr city, until the U.S. forces have gained control of the city. This would help to decrease the casualties as a result of getting caught in crossfire and air strikes. I think it was very helpful for al-Maliki to crackdown on the Shi’ite army because it will help assist the U.S. on their fight against terrorism. It also shows that Iraq is willing to work for security in the country.