Shiite factions clash in Iraq as Bush says he's in charge

[Spazito]

BAGHDAD (AFP) - Two leading Shiite factions clashed overnight in the Iraqi holy city of Karbala as US President George W. Bush (news - web sites) said he is in charge of operations in the war-torn country, where turmoil still reigns.



And as Washington seeks to secure support to rebuild Iraq (news - web sites) through a third revised draft UN resolution, the world's Islamic nations meeting in Malaysia will call on the Security Council to set a clear timetable for a US troop withdrawal from Iraq.

snip

latest incident followed spiralling violence around the country, where two car bombs since Thursday claimed the lives of 16 Iraqis, mostly security personnel, and three more US soldiers were killed in a span of 24 hours.


But Bush, whose army is still hunting for ousted strongman Saddam Hussein (news - web sites), believed to be behind the anti-US attacks, insisted he was in charge in Iraq and denied that the occupation, tying down some 130,000 US soldiers, had overstretched the American military.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20031014/wl_mideast_afp/iraq_worldwrap


(Hmmmm, given the headline and the content of the article, they aren't buying what Bush is selling!)

[bif]

1. Yep, George is in charge.

From http://george2.keenspace.com

[Barrett808]

2. Be sure to vote this one up

I gave it a "5".

[bemildred]

3. Where IS Al Haig anyway?

[Cocoa]

4. best headline today

I wonder, given what Bush told Brit Hume about not reading newspapers, how much his aides will tell him about this incident. Bush actually may believe he is in charge of the situation.

[Tempest]

5. Yahoo has changed the headline (as they typically do)

New headline:

Suicide blast hits Turkish embassy as Shiite factions clash in Iraq

[Spazito]

6. Boy, Rove must have Yahoo on speed dial!

I can't help but laugh, they are sooooo obvious!

[starroute]

7. Moqtadah al-Sadr making trouble again

Keep an eye on his name -- any time you see a reference to radical Shi'ites, it's always this one guy.

He's young, he's tied to the most extreme Shi'ite faction in Iran, he's on bad terms with the mainstream Shi'ite establishment in Iraq, he's got a private army, and he's doing his best to appeal to the most messianic elements in Shi'ite theology. All reasons to consider him bad news.