Action -><- Reaction, Iraq in the news

Things had been quiet in Iraq, such that news from Afghanistan is on the front page, not news from Iraq. That didn't last -- the Shiites launched an offensive and the Iraqi and US military are pushing back. Big Time. From the Washington Post:

Iraq, U.S. Launch Crackdown
Operation in Southeastern Border City Meets Little Resistance

Iraqi and U.S. troops launched a military operation Thursday in the city of Amarah, a Shiite militia stronghold on the Iranian border, meeting virtually no resistance.

In a move that angered followers of anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, Iraqi troops detained the vice governor of Maysan province, who also serves as the mayor of Amarah, the provincial capital. Sadrist leaders in Maysan have vowed to cooperate with Iraqi troops but have suggested that the government is trying to expand its presence in Sadr strongholds to weaken the movement politically before provincial elections scheduled for the fall.

The operation, dubbed Promise of Peace, is Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's fourth major push this year against fighters and banned weapons in Iraqi cities that have been largely lawless for years. Earlier crackdowns targeted the southern port city of Basra, Baghdad's Sadr City district and Mosul in the north.

Amarah, which has roughly 450,000 residents, is one of the main gateways along Iraq's border with Iran. It has not been particularly violent in recent years, but U.S. and Iraqi officials say that having control over the city will allow them to reduce the flow of weapons and Iranian-trained fighters into Iraq.

Maysan Gov. Adel al-Muhoudir said that recent discussions between the government and local leaders had helped the operation start smoothly.

"Calm is surrounding the streets of the city, and the Iraqi forces are in control of all its access points," he said. "There is extraordinary cooperation from citizens."

al-Sadr is a persistent nuisance and should have been taken out years ago. Good that they are operating in Amarah -- Iran has been funding and supplying the terrorists, giving haven to Saddam's WMDs and other resources (see this post from March 30, 2004). It will be good to get that hole plugged...