BREAKING: Iraq Civil War Has Officially Started

... So Where's the Media Report?

Bushie's troubles are just beginning, folks. Basra has split off from Iraq rule, ending unity -- which means the fighting in Iraq is going to get a whole lot worse (hard to imagine, though that is) than it is now.

And despite this rather serious turn of events, the media has not reported the story and Bush continues on his merry way, ramping up the threats against Syria and Iran.

Armageddon, anyone?

Security worsens in Basra as council rejects PM’s decision
By Nidhal Al-Laithi
Azzaman, August 10, 2006

The provincial council in the southern city of Basra has turned down an order by Prime Minister Noouri al-Maliki to dissolve and pass its responsibilities to an emergency committee.

Following a meeting, the council issued a defiant statement saying it would not abide by Maliki’s order.

The council is backed by powerful militias who wield immense power in the province.

The province’s security forces and the 10th army division deployed in Basra have declared allegiance to Maliki.

However, it is not clear whether the city’s police forces and army would move against the council if asked by Maliki, who is also the commander-in-chief.

If they do they will risk clashing with the heavily armed militias and causing bloodshed in the city, home to more than 2 million people.

Maliki had dissolved the council and stripped it of its powers.

He formed a new committee to run Basra’s affairs particularly the security forces.

The committee says it has the support of the city’s police and the army division stationed there.

Basra, where most of Iraq’s oil output and exports originate, is now one of the most violent places in the country.

Militias of religious parties control the city and government offices in it.

They are reported to have most of the 18,000 workers at the Southern Oil Company on their side and they frequently have threatened to halt oil production and exports if the government tries to limit their influence.

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Photo: Al-Sadr. (Source Unknown)

Also see:

• Chances dim for peace in Baghdad

  "U.S. officials have said that the Mahdi army and al-Sadr are trying to model themselves after Hezbollah and its leader Hassan Nasrallah, and become a state within a state. Besides having its own militia, Sadr holds 32 seats in the Lebanese parliament, more than any other party, and walks a fine line between embracing and rejecting the political system.
  
  Two U.S. military officials, who requested anonymity because of the security implications, said they're seeing signs that the Sadrists are adopting the same tactics as Hezbollah. In the past month, 62 percent of rocket and mortar attacks launched toward the Green Zone, the seat of the Iraqi government, came from Sadr City, one of the military officers said.
  
  U.S. officials have been hesitant to attack the Mahdi army publicly, out of fear that doing so would spark more violence, and they've said that the Baghdad offensive will go after all criminal elements, regardless of sect.
  
  Supporters of t he militias say they are the only forces capable of defending Shiites, noting that up until those forces took control of neighborhoods, Sunnis were slaughtering Shiites."

• Hundreds of Fallujah Police Disappear After Threats

  "A Fallujah police major who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals said that at least 1,400 policemen had left their jobs since Friday, 400 of them above the rank of officer."

Technorati tags: Iraq, Civil War, Basra, Moouri al-Maliki, Al-Sadr, Bush, Foreign Affairs, news, commentary