Uprising By Shiites in Basra Underway; British Pouring Artillery into City

Sky News Live Feed ^ | 03/25/03 | TonyInOhio

[shadowman99]

Aww geez, not this Shiite again!!

[xJones]

Didn't the New York Times tell us this morning that the inhabitants of Basra loved Saddam?

Why, yes, they did. In fact they gave reasons why a popular uprising in Basra could NOT be hoped for.

[smiley]

LOL!!!!......too funny

[dfwgator]

Tom Daschle is deeply saddened by this uprising.

[netmilsmom]

Took a while for the locals to get the idea that we mean it this time after they were left high and dry last time.

---

You got that right!
I heard on a local talk radio station on the weekend that all the Iraqi's have shortwave radios. They know the real story. The man who was talking was a Professor in the states who still has family in Iraq. He was credulous that the Iraqi government thought that the people only watch IraqTV. They listen to VOA as well. And BBC radio.

[nicmarlo]

AND it empowers the Iraqis to know THEY CAN WIN with our help....this will be a contagion spread throughout Iraq!!!

[The Vast Right Wing]

But why aren't they welcoming us with a parade? Hopefully this will shut the newsies defeatest attitudes up for a while.

[First_Salute]

Yep.

Our military objective is to destroy the grip which Saddam's terror has upon the people, so that they can begin to believe in their freedom.

His grip is being destroyed, but it does require some finesse.

Desert rats in daring raid, The Evening Standard (U.K.), March 25, 2003, by David Taylor; posted at FR by MadIvan, March 25, 2003.

The Desert Rats killed 20 of Saddam Hussein's most fanatical followers in a daring raid, it was revealed today [March 25, 2003].

The men of Zulu Company of the Royal Fusiliers, part of the Desert Rats, launched a daring night-time attack on the local Ba'ath party headquarters in Basra in the most dramatic action yet by UK forces in the Gulf.

The men later posed proudly with a trophy of war, a painting of Saddam Hussein.

A few hours later the southern port of Umm Qasr was declared "safe and open" after days of street fighting. Umm Qasr will allow the Allies to land vital humanitarian aid with the first shipment expected within 36 hours.

The drama involving the Desert Rats took place in Zubayr, seen as a hotbed of resistance led by Ba'ath party loyalists.

A mixed force of Desert Rats and Royal Marines stormed a building identified as the Ba'ath party's key regional headquarters in the early hours of today.

They killed 20 Ba'ath party officials, Special Security Organisation members and Fedayeen fighters, Saddam's personal militia.

A senior Ba'ath party official was taken prisoner and is to be questioned on his knowledge of the resistance effort in and around Basra.

The commander of British forces in the Gulf, Air Marshal Brian Burridge, promising similar actions in the future.

He said: "We made it quite clear to them that we, the British Armed Forces are up for this and you are going to have a very hard time."

British forces now plan to use their expertise of operations in Bosnia and Kosovo to separate the Ba'athist regime from the local populace.

A senior military source said: "We want to split the oppressive regime away from the people who do not want to resist us. The local population are not interested in fighting."

[Jeff Head]

LOL ... it sure is.

[goldstategop]

Shiite Arabs are 60% of Iraq's Muslim population; 20% are Sunni Arabs and 20% are Sunni Kurds.

[TonyInOhio]

Irregulars using human shields to approach British forces, firing, and then running back into city.

Briefing officer says he won't say much about disposition of forces or operations.

Main thrust is humanitarian relief, especially water.

[randita]

Approximately 1000 irregular forces in the city, along with some elements of the 51st Regular Army.

The 51st was the one Saddam, in his "live" appearance praised yesterday for their courage, even though the 51st surrendered within the first two days of fighting.

So Saddam was prescient. The 51st were courageous, but their courage is now arrayed against Saddam. LOL

[areafiftyone]

On BBC's breaking news ticker!

[VRWCmember]

It was only a matter of time before the shiite hit the fan over there.

[Dialup Llama]

>The ants have figured out they have the power.

They just needed someone to show them that. And it looks like they have been getting that help.

[Enterprise]

Great reposting point! Why they're not cheering - BWAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA - It's because they're too busy throwing out members of Saddam's Murder Inc. regime!

[Vets_Husband_and_Wife]

If what we are hearing is true.. this is just the beginning..and this is GREAT news!!!

We agree with those who say the Iraqi's are just waiting to make sure we MEAN IT THIS TIME!!! President Bush Senior left Iraq because of the dictates of the UN. Thus we left those who rose up against Saddam standing naked and alone. There were horrendous retributions, and many Iraqi's remember that.

We need to continually ASSURE them that we are in this one for as long as it takes!!!

Again, this is great news. Lets hope it sticks!

[mabelkitty]

I don't know.

It would take me a heck of a lot longer to come around after what happened in Gulf I.

But then again, if I was so desperate and prayed for death every day under Saddam rule, I think I would come around in about five days.

[epluribus_2]

wanna bet there were some special ops inside working to get this started all along? Surround city and light candle.

[LS]

Wow! The media libs will HATE to report this!