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Smoke rises from the cemetery, following the explosion in the holy city of Najaf, May 14, 2004. U.S. tanks pushed deep into Najaf's ancient cemetery in a fierce battle with guerrillas loyal to insurgent cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. Photo by Faleh Kheiber/Reuters
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=5145439
U.S. Tanks Thrust Into Iraq Cemetery at Holy City
Fri May 14, 2004 05:27 AM ET
By Suleiman al-Khalidi
NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - U.S. forces intensified their war against Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr on Friday, for the first time sending tanks into Najaf's vast cemetery to blast guerrilla positions among its tombs.
There were also clashes with Sadr's Shi'ite Mehdi Army militia in the nearby holy city of Kerbala as the United States and main U.S. ally Britain fought mounting outrage around the world over the abuse of Iraqi prisoners.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said on Thursday the scandal would not wreck America's mission when he made a surprise visit to Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison where U.S. troops abused and sexually humiliated Iraqi detainees.
At least three U.S. tanks moved deep into the Najaf cemetery after dawn -- a city within a city covering several square kilometers (miles) where Shi'ites from all over the world wish to be buried within sight of the city's sacred shrines.
They blasted suspected positions of Sadr's guerrillas, who have been using the sprawling graveyard to stage hit-and-run attacks on U.S. positions on the edge of the holy city. Clouds of white smoke rose as shells burst among the tombs.
Guerrillas fought back on the Muslim day of prayer with rocket-propelled grenades and mortars.
U.S. commanders have said they will try not to encroach on holy sites, including the Imam Ali shrine where Sadr has taken sanctuary.
But they said this week the "illegal militia" must be disbanded and their patience was wearing thin after more than a month of fighting across southern Iraq.
Gunfire and explosions could also be heard elsewhere across the city, 100 miles south of Baghdad.
In Kerbala, U.S. troops as close as one km (half a mile) from the city's most sacred buildings made loudspeaker announcements calling on people to stay out of the area. Helicopters dropped leaflets urging Sadr to give in.
RUMSFELD FIGHTS BACK Continued ...
The prisoner abuse scandal has shredded U.S. credibility among Iraqis. Some now question whether U.S. rule is much better than that of Saddam Hussein, who had thousands tortured at Abu Ghraib.
"Like most Americans I was stunned. It was a body blow," Rumsfeld said during Thursday's unannounced visit to Abu Ghraib jail.
Rumsfeld has been fending off calls for his resignation over the scandal which is threatening President Bush's bid for a second term in November elections.
Some analysts say they are even wondering whether the photographs of prisoners being abused will have the same effect as television pictures of the Vietnam War which eventually turned many Americans against it.
An order signed by Bush said the State Department would take over the lead role for most U.S. operations in Iraq from the Pentagon after the transfer of sovereignty on June 30.
Diplomats hope this may make allies who opposed the U.S. occupation more enthusiastic about joining the effort to rebuild the shattered country.
The order, signed this week, was made public on Thursday.
Rumsfeld, Bush and others have been trying to confine the damage caused by the abuse scandal to the seven military police reservists charged over the affair.
But the Red Cross and others say they warned the Pentagon months ago about systematic torture in Iraq. A new Red Cross report has also criticized the U.S. treatment of detainees at Guantanamo Bay, a Pentagon official said during Rumsfeld's trip.
The Los Angeles Times said the first Abu Ghraib soldier to face trial will tell his court martial in Baghdad next week the abuse was committed without the knowledge of commanders -- a view that contradicts defenses being aired by some of Specialist Jeremy Sivits's co-accused.
Sivits will plead guilty, the Washington Post said, citing legal documents.
U.S. lawmakers viewed further pictures from Abu Ghraib and said they showed inmates apparently being forced to commit sodomy, wounds possibly from dog bites, dead bodies and "sadistic torture." Continued ...
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=5145439&pageNumber=2
Some top Republicans urged they be kept under wraps, saying they could endanger U.S. forces overseas.
American civilian Nick Berg was beheaded, probably by an al Qaeda group in Iraq, this month in what they said was a reprisal for the abuses. His father added to the pressure on Bush.
"My son died for the sins of George Bush and Donald Rumsfeld. This administration did this," Michael Berg said.
The top al Qaeda leader in Saudi Arabia said Osama bin Laden's group was helping Muslim militants fighting to expel U.S. forces from Iraq, according to a statement posted on Islamist Web sites on Friday.
"In our jihad in the Arabian peninsula, we are serving the Iraqi cause and helping the mujahideen there who we are in constant contact with and are supporting," said the statement, attributed to Abdulaziz al-Muqrin.
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