Iraq: War Within a Breath

War within a breath
It's land or death
War within a breath
It's land!

Their existence is a crime
Their seat their robe their tie
Their land deeds
Their hired guns
They're tha crime

-------RATM, War Within a Breath

Fighting Erupts in Fallujah After Dark

FALLUJAH, Iraq (AP) - Explosions shook Fallujah after dark Tuesday as new fighting erupted, and a U.S. AC-130 gunship hammered targets in the city.

The AC-130 fired its heavy guns into the northern part of Fallujah, the area where a battle broke out the night before in the Jolan neighborhood. Sustained blasts were heard for more than 10 minutes Tuesday.

One Marine was killed Monday night during the fighting in Jolan, a poor district where Sunni insurgents are concentrated.

The violence came as Marines were pushing ahead with plans to send patrols into the city in hopes of establishing a semblance of control over the insurgent stronghold west of Baghdad.

Earlier, U.S. troops fought militiamen near Najaf, killing 64 gunmen and destroying an anti-aircraft gun. An American soldier was killed Tuesday in Baghdad, raising the U.S. death toll for April to 115 - the same number lost during the entire invasion of Iraq last year.
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couple of notes here:
the death count for the US is getting higher, and yes, it now looks like a continuation of the war, rather than a mop up job. you can bet that whatever the US loses, the enemy loses a hell of a lot more.

the use of ac 130 is telling in fallujah. this is a war machine, not a peacekeeping device. its a heavy, low flying fortress with massive amounts of fire power, generally used after the enemy has lost its AA guns, and has no ability to attack it. tanks, people, military columns, homes, fortresses are usually decimated at its appearance, and its kill rate is astounding. the residents of fallujah are really paying for their intransigence, and i can't really say i blame the US. if i were them, i probably would have done this a while ago.

Najaf: okay, the thing here is that iran is actually trying to get sadr out of his hole. they are using whatever influence they have within the shia community to get this thing resolved, which surprises me more than anything. apparently, the mad mullahs of iran don't like him and neither does sistani. meanwhile, the apparently hyperventilating 'arab street' is once again calm after the US invasion of parts of najaf. hmmm, is the bbc/cbc liberal media axis of disinformation once again completely wrong about everything.