Here is an exceprt from George Paine's Warblogging.
But first this from Christopher Alibritton of Iraq 3.0
Allbritton indicates that heaving fighting is occurring in the cities of Baghdad, Fallujah, Basra, Amarah, Nasiriyah and now Najaf. Since "almost 77 percent of the population lives in those cities," he reports, "that's most of the country."
He continues: "There has been underreported fighting and assassination attempts in Mosul, and Tikrit is probably locked down tight by the American military."
Now for Paine:
Four Options in Iraq
Reports: City of Najaf Falls to Insurgents
George Paine
April 06, 2004
http://www.warblogging.com/archives/000820.php
There is a general rebellion in Iraq now. The Sunnis and the Shi'ites, together, are challenging the occupation.
There are now four options:
First, the American military can brutally put down the rebellion: killing anyone they see with a weapon, arresting anyone they see without a weaopn. Twenty-four hour curfews and a liberal application of force, together, could restore Coalition control over much of Iraq. There are obvious problems with such an approach, though. Resentment, mistrust and a damaged reputation are only three.
Second, the CPA could begin negotiations with the rebels to get them to stand down. Some compromise would be necessary, but a power sharing agreement should be reachable. The disadvantages are clear: such a process would be undemocratic and make America appear weak and subject to intimidation.
Third, the CPA could attempt to set the Shi'ites and Sunnis against each other. This is unlikely to work (the Shi'ites and Sunnis have a common enemy at the moment and appear to have agreed to wait to kill each other until after the occupation is broken) but it could work. The CPA, military and CIA, together, could probably succeed to some extent by attacking both sides and trying to blame the attacks on the other.
Or, fourth, the Bush Administration could decide that it's simply not worth it and leave the country to warring Kurds, Shi'ites and Sunnis. The only problems: America appears ridiciulously weak and the meanest, baddest mother in Iraq accedes to the throne. Don't expect him to be better than Saddam.
The current situation is untenable, neither of our four options good. Everything having to do with Iraq from this point forward will be extremely painful. Already, in the past three days, more than twenty American soldiers have been killed in the violence.