Word: najaf
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...journey to the shrine of Imam Ali was a harrowing trip that would take me and photographer Thorne Anderson through the American cordon around Najaf, crossing a stretch of burned out no-man's land and then navigating the al Mahdi Army lines. It took roughly two and a half hours to go from the southeastern edge of the city, which forced us to cross open ground where snipers fired down on us from their perches in shattered buildings...
Last week reporter Phillip Robertson was one of the first Western journalists to make it into Najaf during heavy fighting between the insurgent forces of Moqtada Sadr and the U.S. Here is the account of his trip...
...Monday morning, a day before our walk into the old city of Najaf, we had gone to see Abu Mohammed, a commander in the al Mahdi Army. He was to be our connection with the underground network of Iraqis who knew how to navigate the American cordon around Najaf. Abu Mohammed explained that we would have to wait for a lull in the fighting if we wanted to cross the lines. The commander also said we might have to wait a long time before we got our chance. Young Mahdi Army fighters with wild eyes stopped by the office...
That's not true. We have in the U.N. Security Council resolution procedures for creating liaison and coordination between the various Iraqi authorities and the multinational force, starting from the Cabinet down to the provinces. And the role of the multinational force in Najaf--it's outside Najaf, it's not inside the city. There are Iraqi troops there, police. Let me put the record right. I spoke [Aug. 10] to the commander of the multinational troops, General [George] Casey, and he has no intention whatsoever of sending American troops into the Imam Ali shrine...
SHOWDOWN Both the U.S. and Muqtada al-Sadr have much at risk in the battle for Najaf...