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By TERENCE HUNT, AP White House Correspondent
January 29,2007
WASHINGTON -
President Bush said Monday the United States "will respond firmly" if Iran escalates military action in Iraq and endangers American forces. But Bush emphasized he has no intention of invading Iran.
Right. Bush had no intention of placing a permanent war force in Iraq either, but he has done so.
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By KIM GAMEL, Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD, Iraq -
Iraq's army announced Monday it killed the leader of a heavily armed cult of messianic Shiites called "the Soldiers of Heaven" in a fierce gunbattle aimed at foiling a plot to attack leading Shiite clerics and pilgrims in the southern city of Najaf on the holiest day of the Shiite calendar.
Senior Iraqi security officers said that as part of the plot, three gunmen were captured in Najaf after renting a hotel room in front of the office of Iraq's most senior Shiite spiritual leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, with plans to attack it.
The fierce 24-hour battle was ultimately won by Iraqi troops supported by U.S. and British jets and American ground forces, but the ability of a splinter group little known in Iraq to rally hundreds of heavily armed fighters was a reminder of the potential for chaos and havoc emerging seemingly out of nowhere. Members of the group, which included women and children, planned to disguise themselves as pilgrims and kill as many leading clerics as possible, said Maj. Gen. Othman al-Ghanemi, the Iraqi commander in charge of the Najaf region. The Article
It is truly amazing how well the Iraqi has finally done with the backing of the additional 'escalation' troops provided by the United States! The U.S. hasn't even sent them all to Iraq yet! What a difference a few extra thousand troops can make in just a few weeks after 130,000 or so couldn't do this kind of backup in 4 years!
If things continue to go this well in Iraq, maybe we can get our people back home by the summer? I'm being a wise ass so don't take this to seriously.
