My Forecast: We will capture Basra
I make this forecast with 100% certainty. We 1 will capture Basra.
Maliki Gives Shiite Militias 72 Hours to Halt Fighting
A day after launching a huge operation that ignited heavy fighting in two of Iraq’s largest cities, Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki gave the Shiite militias controlling the southern oil city of Basra an ultimatum on Wednesday: lay down their weapons within 72 hours or face more severe consequences.
As the fighting in Basra and Baghdad intensified on Wednesday, the American military command, speaking for the first time about the crackdown, characterized it as an Iraqi-led operation in which American-led forces were playing only an advisory role.
We will capture Basra. Again.
Basra Offers a Lesson On Taking Baghdad - New York Times - April 7, 2003
The British thrust into the center of Basra is a signal achievement in its own right. But it is also important for the larger allied campaign to topple Saddam Hussein and win the battle for Baghdad.
Allied commanders hope that the capture of Basra, Iraq’s second-largest city, will be a vivid demonstration that the government is fast losing control of major population centers and that the fate of Mr. Hussein is sealed. That, they hope, will encourage resistance to Mr. Hussein in Iraq, including in Baghdad.
What’s more, I forecast that we will capture Basra again in 2013.
- Or, if you prefer, our allies, the U.S.-backed Iraqi government [↩]
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