Bloody Battle for Holy City of Najaf
Fierce Iraqi defenders and 130 degree temperatures are taking a heavy toll on US occupation forces
by
Ernesto Cienfuegos
La Voz de Aztlan
Los Angeles, Alta California - August 11, 2004 - (ACN) While the two fraternal brothers of the "Skulls and Bones Society" are campaigning for the US presidency and arguing over who is the greater pathological liar, US Marines are getting blown to bits by RPG's in Iraq's holiest city. The toll of dead US occupation soldiers will soon rise dramatically when, and if, the Pentagon launches what they say will be "the final assault on Najaf".
Approximately 4,000 U.S. Marines from the 1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment and two other U.S. battalions have mobilized around Najaf in recent weeks for a possible all out attack to capture or kill Shiite Cleric Muqtada Sadr and his 2,000 Mahdi Army that is defending the city.
Maj. David Holahan, executive officer of the 1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment said today that they had developed plans to carry out a military assault on the city, but it is not clear when the attack might take place or whether it would include entering and desecrating the "Imam Ali Mosque", one of the most sacred sites in Islam.
The "Imam Ali Mosque" at Najaf is a spectacular gold-domed mosque that enshrines the tomb of Ali ibn Abi Talib, the Prophet Muhammad's cousin and the husband of his beloved daughter, Fatima. Ali is the first of 12 Imams. Most Shiites revere 12 Imams as successors and descendants of Muhammad. The Imams have divine powers to intercede between God and the Believer. The 12th Imam is believed not to have died in the ninth century but to have been "hidden." He is expected to return as the Mahdi, a powerful Messianic figure. Damage or desecration by US soldiers of the "Imam Ali Mosque" could spark an "Iraqi Implosion" and the fall of Iyad Allawi's US installed puppet regime.
Najaf is to 120 million Shiite Muslims what the Vatican is to Roman Catholics. A military assault on the city will galvanize Shiites all over the world and millions of other Muslims against the US occupation with dire unforseen consequences for the American people.
Judging from the horrors that occurred at the Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad, it is possible that some undisciplined and morally corrupt US troops will attempt to destroy or desecrate the "Imam Ali Mosque". This is etched clearly and deeply in the minds of the 2,000 Mahdi Army defenders, creating the potential for the looming battle to become one of the bloodiest yet in the US war against Iraq. If the US military assault proceeds, extremely heavy casualties on both sides will be the result.
US occupation soldiers have already suffered a number of casualties in skirmishes in and around Najaf's cemetery which is also considered a very holy place by Shiite Muslims. Maj. Gen. Martin Dempsey, commander of the 1st Armored Division, blew up a number of graves and a response by Mahdi defenders killed at least 5 US Marines.
The Najaf cemetery has centuries of religious history and it is where Shiites want to be buried. Shiites believe that Imams have the capacity to act as intercessors between Shiites and God on the day of the Resurrection. That is why many Shiites prefer to be buried in the cemetery in Najaf. This is in order to be in close proximity to the Imam so they will be among the first resurrected. The desecration of the tombs at Najaf only adds to the rage against US occupation forces that Iraqis and Muslims have.
A US military assault on the holy city of Najaf and desecration of the "Imam Ali Mosque" could result in a major turning point in this so called "War of Civilizations". The 120,000 US troops presently occupying Iraq would be hard pressed to control 14 million "raging" Shiites living in the region and many millions more Muslims around the world.
