Renegades of Najaf

Now renegades are the people with their own philosophies
They change the course of history
Everyday people like you and me
We’re the renegades we’re the people
With our own philosophies
We change the course of history
Everyday people like you and me
--Afrika Bambaataa

The people who are going to turn this thing around are ordinary Iraqis. And for the most part we don't here the good news stories of local democracy and city halls in the small towns of Iraq, we here about the few area codes that are a problem. At some point when this battle is done, and Sadr is put down for good, Iraq might move on. I think the zealots really do need a big, drawn out battle to show for good that if Sadr and Iran lose this thing in Najaf, the chances of reverting to Saddam-esque state terror are gone. A three week battle where it was a race to Baghdad with the Republican Guard melted into the sand is not a battle the Iraqi counter-forces thought they lost for ever...Is it possible the US would draw out a battle for this purpose?

While Fallujah reverts to taliban extremism, the rest of the country has money poured into it, and families flee the neo-fascist horror of the Sunni mini state. Anyways, I'm more hopeful than most on this subject, but i'm a believer in democracy and the liberal state.

U.S. Pounds Iraq Shi'ite Rebels, Car Bomb in Baghdad
Tue Aug 24, 2004 01:59 AM ET
By Michael Georgy

NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - U.S. warplanes and artillery pounded Shi'ite militia positions around a shrine in the Iraqi city of Najaf, trying to break the will of rebels who have defied the interim government for three weeks.

In Baghdad, a car bomb targeting Iraq's education minister exploded early on Tuesday, killing two people and wounding three others, a bodyguard and witnesses at the scene said. Police said minister Sami al-Mudhaffar was unhurt.

Several mortar bombs landed near the Imam Ali mosque in Najaf after dawn on Tuesday following the fierce U.S. overnight raids. Heavy machine gun fire also broke out.

Here's the money shot:

Despite many threats from the government and a succession of U.S. air strikes in Najaf, the militiamen have refused to lay down their weapons and leave the gold-domed mosque in the southern city. The mosque is Iraq's holiest Shi'ite shrine.

U.S. aircraft and ground artillery launched several strikes overnight that rocked the area. An AC-130 gunship, equipped with rapid-fire cannon and howitzers, circled above while artillery and armored fighting vehicles struck on the ground.

AC-130's are only brought in if all the Anti-Aircraft artillery is toast and the enemy is weak. It is one of the most heavily armed and most lethal flying machines on earth. It wreaks havoc and can destroy lines of tanks and infantry in seconds. This is a heavy duty attack vehicle.

If this was a baseball game, the AC-130 would be the Closer with the 99-mph fastball. Serious stuff here, no monkeying around with small arms...from the beeb

Profile: AC-130 gunship

The AC-130 Spectre gunship which the Americans are using for special operations in southern Afghanistan was designed for close support of ground forces.
It is a development of the C-130 Hercules transport aircraft and as such is slow, flying at less than 300mph, but has a range of at least 1,500 miles without needing to refuel and can loiter over a combat area for some time.

The AC-130s are operated by the US Air Force's special operations group, based at Hurlburt Field, Florida.

They have several big guns projecting from the left side of the fuselage: either two 40mm cannons or a 25mm Gatling gun that can fire up to 1,800 rounds per minute, depending on the version, and 40mm and 105mm cannons.