Coalition Forces Involved in Basra Fight

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although the press has tried to imply this was ALL IRAQI FORCES....

BAGHDAD — American military forces for the first time conducted air strikes on targets in Basra late Thursday, joining Iraqi security forces in trying to oust Shiite militias in the southern port city.

The American forces entered the battle at the request of the Iraqi Army, which asked the Americans to strike two militia strongholds in the city, according to Capt. Chris Ford, an Arabic-media spokesman for the British military.

The air strikes are the clearest sign yet that the coalition forces are becoming involved in the fighting in Basra. The assault on militia forces there has been presented by President Bush and others as an important test for the American-trained Iraqi forces, to show that they can carry out a major ground operation against insurgents largely on their own.

But the participation of coalition forces suggests that the Iraqi military has been unable to successfully rout the militias, despite repeated assurances by American and Iraqi officials that their fighting capabilities have vastly improved.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/29/world/middleeast/29iraq.html?_r=1&hp=&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print