lily
01-06-2007, 02:41 PM
Impecable timing! It's a miracle. A miracle I say! (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16489616/)
Al-Maliki: ‘Baghdad security plan is now ready’
Prime minister slams critics of Saddam’s hanging; new violence hits capital
Updated: 2 hours, 33 minutes ago
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq’s prime minister said Saturday that Iraqi forces will
lead a new effort — with U.S. help — to wrest control of Baghdad’s
neighborhoods from militias and other sectarian killers.
“The Baghdad security plan is now ready, and we will depend on our armed
forces to implement it with multinational forces behind them. Field leaders
will ask for help from these forces if needed,” Prime Minister Nouri
al-Maliki said in a speech at the 85th anniversary celebration of the Iraqi
army.
Iraqi forces will begin a neighborhood-by-neighborhood assault on militants
in the capital this weekend, as a first step in the new White House strategy
to contain Sunni insurgents and Shiite death squads, key advisers to the
prime minister said.
“The Baghdad security plan will not offer a safe shelter for outlaws
regardless of their ethnic and political affiliations, and we will punish
anyone who hesitates to implement orders because of his ethnic and political
background,” al-Maliki said Saturday.
The first details of the new plan — a fresh bid to pacify the capital —
emerged Friday, a day after President Bush and al-Maliki spoke for nearly
two hours by video conference. Bush was also expected to detail his vision
of a new strategy in the coming days.
It was unknown whether the new effort had begun by Saturday afternoon. There
was no evidence of elevated American or Iraqi troop levels on Baghdad’s
streets, and there were only routine levels of violence.
Al-Maliki: ‘Baghdad security plan is now ready’
Prime minister slams critics of Saddam’s hanging; new violence hits capital
Updated: 2 hours, 33 minutes ago
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq’s prime minister said Saturday that Iraqi forces will
lead a new effort — with U.S. help — to wrest control of Baghdad’s
neighborhoods from militias and other sectarian killers.
“The Baghdad security plan is now ready, and we will depend on our armed
forces to implement it with multinational forces behind them. Field leaders
will ask for help from these forces if needed,” Prime Minister Nouri
al-Maliki said in a speech at the 85th anniversary celebration of the Iraqi
army.
Iraqi forces will begin a neighborhood-by-neighborhood assault on militants
in the capital this weekend, as a first step in the new White House strategy
to contain Sunni insurgents and Shiite death squads, key advisers to the
prime minister said.
“The Baghdad security plan will not offer a safe shelter for outlaws
regardless of their ethnic and political affiliations, and we will punish
anyone who hesitates to implement orders because of his ethnic and political
background,” al-Maliki said Saturday.
The first details of the new plan — a fresh bid to pacify the capital —
emerged Friday, a day after President Bush and al-Maliki spoke for nearly
two hours by video conference. Bush was also expected to detail his vision
of a new strategy in the coming days.
It was unknown whether the new effort had begun by Saturday afternoon. There
was no evidence of elevated American or Iraqi troop levels on Baghdad’s
streets, and there were only routine levels of violence.