Bush hails Iraq militia crackdown

Bush hails Iraq militia crackdown
US President George W Bush has praised Iraqi PM Nouri Maliki's "bold decision" in ordering Iraqi forces to crack down on Shia militias in the city of Basra. Heavy fighting continued in the city for a third day between militias and security forces, with violence in other parts of southern Iraq and Baghdad. The clashes have claimed more than 130 lives since Tuesday. Mr Maliki vowed that he would continue the fight against the militias for as long as was necessary.

The Mehdi Army has been calling for negotiations since Maliki breached the detante and decided to change the power structure in Baghdad, with the US and Britain sitting on the sidelines and Maliki keen to impress with all the new over kill hardware he’s been given, there is all the necessary ingredients for a major atrocity to occur here, which will be the exact sort of thing to renew and restock radicalism.