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Uprising By Shiites in Basra Underway; British Pouring Artillery into City
Sky News Live Feed ^ | 03/25/03 | TonyInOhio

Posted on 03/25/2003 9:14:57 AM PST by TonyInOhio

Just monitored on Sky News: embedded reporter says Shiites in Basra have begun, in his words, a "popular uprising" against the Saddam forces still in the city. British Army units are "pouring" artillery into the city (likely isolated areas) preparing to move in.


TOPICS: Breaking News; Foreign Affairs; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: antisaddam; basra; embeddedreport; iraq; roadtobaghdad; shiites; uprising; war; warlist
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To: Coop
Figures!!!
561 posted on 03/25/2003 10:50:28 AM PST by Vets_Husband_and_Wife (A closed mind is like a parachute that won't open...... dangerous and fatal.)
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To: Grampa Dave
Today's allies can be tomorrow's enemies and vice versa.

Understood. But if Americans in the 1980s were told that the Afghans we were aiding would eventually become our enemies and would end up shooting back at American soldiers with the AK-47s we supplied them, perhaps they would be as skeptical as I am about trusting anyone in government.

562 posted on 03/25/2003 10:52:08 AM PST by Alberta's Child
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To: areafiftyone; TonyInOhio
Thanks for the info!
563 posted on 03/25/2003 10:52:15 AM PST by k2blader (If one good thing can be said about the UN, it is that it taught me how to spell “irrelevant.”)
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To: dep
Thanks. Outraged Ditz fitz for Zahn!

564 posted on 03/25/2003 10:52:20 AM PST by Rummyfan
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To: Paradox
ZULU is a great movie. Especially in the end when they formed three ranks with the redoubt. Only movie I ever saw where the slain enemy bodies piled up in front of the defenders. Most movies the slain bodies simply disappear. Minor detail overlooked by the director I guess.
565 posted on 03/25/2003 10:53:43 AM PST by Fee
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To: Vets_Husband_and_Wife
Reports are coming out that there is a bit of confussion going on over the POPULAR UP RISING! According to some news sources, SKY reporter reported the up rising from a source within basra, but that there were no eye witness or journalists to confirm the scene! Geez! Don't know what to make of it!!
566 posted on 03/25/2003 10:54:35 AM PST by RoseofTexas
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To: TonyInOhio
FWIW, from Debka:

Basra Shiites riot against Iraqi regime and army Tuesday afternoon. Shiite militias backed by British and American warplanes and helicopters in armed clashes with Iraqi units in city.

DEBKAfile intelligence sources: Majid Khoei, son of legendary Iraqi Ayatollah at head of 3,000-man US-backed Shiite militia is leading Basra unrest to stir up Shiite anti-Saddam uprising
567 posted on 03/25/2003 10:54:41 AM PST by overtaxed_canadian
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To: LS
See my post #532. You have no idea whether "the adults" will be in charge even two years from today, let alone for the length of time it is going to take to rebuild Iraq.
568 posted on 03/25/2003 10:55:41 AM PST by Alberta's Child
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To: All
There is a great link up on Free Republic that tells about how our Brit Cousins are smashing the Baathists of Soddam:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/875133/posts
569 posted on 03/25/2003 10:55:42 AM PST by Grampa Dave (Stamp out Freepathons! Stop being a Freep Loader! Become a monthly donor!)
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To: TonyInOhio
More from Sky News

BASRA: ANTI-SADDAM RIOTS
Rioting is taking place in Basra by locals opposed to Saddam Hussein, reports say.

British forces are firing on Iraqi troops who are trying to crush the uprising, the reports add.

Reporter Richard Gaisford, who is with troops just west of Basra, said British intelligence officers told him about the civil uprising.

The Scots Dragoon Guards officers told him Saddam loyalists were firing mortar rounds at the attackers.

UK troops responded by firing artillery shells at the Iraqi positions, Gaisford said.

Two large explosions have been heard in the city centre and there are reports the ruling Ba'ath Party HQ has been hit.

Gaisford said the officers had earlier told him intelligence from the southern Iraqi city suggested that local people had indicated they would welcome the Allied forces but were in fear of Saddam loyalists.

"Now it seems they have had the courage to stand up to Saddam Hussein and his regime and they will be supported by British forces," Gaisford said.

Gaisford said British troops were preparing to enter the city centre when dawn breaks in Iraq.

Sky News Foreign Editor Tim Marshall said that if the reports were true, it would be a "crucial moment" in the Iraq war.

He said it could trigger more uprisings across parts of Iraq - which the British and American governments had hoped for.

Marshall said the majority of the people around Basra were Shi'ite Muslims, who had been oppressed by Saddam's regime.

Saddam's ruling Ba'ath Party are predominantly made up of Sunni Muslims.

Earlier, British military sources said about 20 of Saddam Hussein's henchmen were killed and a key party official captured in a raid by British forces near Basra on Monday night.

570 posted on 03/25/2003 10:56:03 AM PST by kattracks
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To: Poohbah
They don't want to do anything that would tend to prop up an Arab state right next door to them. Iranians are Persian; ethnicity counts for a LOT.

But, I thought we were the evil racists?

571 posted on 03/25/2003 10:56:12 AM PST by dinasour
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To: Alberta's Child
Kissinger did all of his thinking with his little head, if you get my drift.
572 posted on 03/25/2003 10:57:00 AM PST by brewcrew (It is useless to attempt to reason a man out of a thing he was never reasoned into. - Jonathan Swift)
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To: All
OH SHIITE!!

British source says unaware of any Basra uprising

KUWAIT, March 25 (Reuters) - British military officials said on Tuesday they had no information on any popular uprising in Iraq's second city of Basra, but added that they would do everything possible to encourage such a revolt.

"We don't know anything about a Basra uprising," said a British military source in Central Command in Qatar.

British television networks have said there are reports of an armed uprising in the city.

A British spokesman in Kuwait said British and U.S. forces wanted the people of Basra to attack soldiers loyal to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

"We'll help them every which way we can," said British spokesman Chris Vernon, adding that British forces were looking to weaken Saddam's power structure in the city and had captured a top official of his Ba'ath party there earlier in the day.

"We are helping them when we took out probably the most senior Ba'ath party guy in Basra this morning. That will have sent a shockwave through them," Vernon told a news conference.

573 posted on 03/25/2003 10:57:37 AM PST by areafiftyone (God Bless George Bush and Tony Blair!)
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To: PhilDragoo
That's just what the American people want...another person from Arkansas in the Oval office, or proximate to it....
574 posted on 03/25/2003 10:58:00 AM PST by ken5050
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To: Grampa Dave
Now that the UN is irrelevant and after Powell weeds the rats out of the state department, there will be changes how we respond to nations when this war on terrorism is over.

1. Powell won't even weed rats out of his own basement.

2. This "war on terrorism" is never going to end -- it is designed to be a cash cow for government that will last forever.

575 posted on 03/25/2003 10:58:52 AM PST by Alberta's Child
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To: Alberta's Child
Again you should like PB. Arming those Afghans resulted in the financial breakup of the USSR. So we had to come in after a decade to kill some baddies.

The Iraqis kept the Iranians from taking over the middle east, and now we are taking care of the bad Iraqis.

It is real easy to be a nit picker. You really are a PIA at times with your negative anti America replies. You sound like the left wingers who mouth "We support the troops but hope your officers and administration gets killed!"
576 posted on 03/25/2003 10:59:07 AM PST by Grampa Dave (Stamp out Freepathons! Stop being a Freep Loader! Become a monthly donor!)
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To: mabelkitty
I don't want to sound imperialistic or colonial or anything like that, but we really need to help Africa. If we don't, we will only be creating another breed of terrorist.

Okay, how about you take on that project while our folks are busy with Iraq, Al Qaeda, North Korea, the economy...?

577 posted on 03/25/2003 10:59:43 AM PST by Coop (God bless our troops!)
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To: Dog
We need Spec Ops in there to see what is going on....these people need to know we are coming....

Major Bob can't believe we are going to wait 8 to 12 hrs...

Major Bob to ground control...

Major Bob to ground control...

578 posted on 03/25/2003 10:59:52 AM PST by jriemer (We are a Republic not a Democracy)
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To: areafiftyone
British source says unaware of any Basra uprising,

Rats. Thats why we need MULTIPLE INDEPENDANT sources for our information. In this case, all the media were quoting Sky news....

579 posted on 03/25/2003 11:00:10 AM PST by Paradox
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To: Grampa Dave
"Ok Vey!"

I thot that wuz... Oie Vey!!!

580 posted on 03/25/2003 11:01:07 AM PST by SierraWasp
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