Posted on 06/26/2004 12:26:45 PM PDT by KriegerGeist
Plans ready for Baghdad crackdown
From: Talek Harris in Baghdad | The Weekend Australian | June 26, 2004
IRAQ'S defence minister said today he had drafted drastic measures to deal with unrest in Baghdad and was considering imposing a state of emergency in parts of the violence-wracked country.
"We have an urgent plan for Baghdad and also for a state of emergency for other provinces," Hazem al-Shaalan told a press conference, without saying what either measure would involve. It was the first time any official had named an area where emergency measures would be used. Some form of martial law looks increasingly likely in at least parts of Iraq, which has remained dangerously unstable since the US-led invasion last year, after the country's caretaker government takes power on June 30.
The minister's tough comments came after scores of people died in a wave of attacks across northern and central cities this week. Around 300 people have been killed by insurgents since the interim government was unveiled on June 1.
Mr Shaalan hinted the draconian measures would be imposed only in hotbeds of the resistance. "It depends on the degree of danger in any particular area," he said added, speaking alongside interior minister Falah al-Naqib.
A likely target is Fallujah, west of Baghdad, where hundreds died in clashes with US forces in April.
The defence minister stressed that no final decision had been taken on whether to impose emergency measures.
"We have not taken any decision on declaring any state of emergency or of course we will inform everybody," he said.
Emergency law could be declared in one city or region or more, he said, as he defended the measures under consideration as falling within Iraqi law.
He said any actions would be co-ordinated among the defence, interior and justice ministries. He fended off criticism that martial law in a country, recovering from decades of authoritarian rule, went against the will of the people.
"It is the people who want stronger measures in Iraq, but we are just considering it. We have come to build democracy and building democracy requires patience," Mr Shaalan said.
Prime minister Iyad Allawi and Iraq's justice and interior ministers have also spoken of imposing emergency measures after their caretaker government takes power on June 30.
US Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, who held talks with Mr Allawi in Baghdad last week, has said Washington and Baghdad might "mutually agree" on martial law in some parts of the country.
Nobody has yet clarified what the measures would involve, but martial law and states of emergency are usually associated with curfews, controlled movement, extra-judicial detentions and military rule.
Ping! This ought to get interesting!
If the media thought Abu Gharib was bad......wait until the Iraqis get their hands on Zarqawis boyz...
Iraq is about to get locked down..
Crack down on the whole damn country... if you do it piece by piece, the terrorists will just move to a different part. It's time the Iraqis dealt with this themselves... if they want their country back, they have to show that they can handle it.
"It is the people who want stronger measures in Iraq, but we are just considering it. We have come to build democracy and building democracy requires patience," Mr Shaalan said.
Media whining already..
Why is Fallujah still a problem? Same reason al-Sadr is still a problem. Somebody in Washington is not letting the Marines in Iraq do their job and clean out the roach nests.
The media will trot out the "American puppet-state" line of argument. They do not care whether or not the Iraqis are free. The Iraqis greatest sin throughout their entire history is that the new government is now allied with America.
They have played this game with every newly formed country that allies with the US and the west instead of the Soviet sphere of influence.
From all accounts I've seen, the commanders on the ground recommend this Fallujah approach. The SecDef begrudgingly let them try it.
Of course, that doesn't stop people from posting over and over and over that Bush/Rummy/Powell/Condi are to blame.
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