The Battle for Sadr City

[Buzz Clik]

Terry Gross http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7666323">interviewed Martha Raddatz yesterday about her new book, The Long Road Home: A Story of War and Family. Raddatz talks of the Battle for Sadr City for the first minutes, but the story is compelling. This battle marked the recognition point in which we realized without doubt that we were not keeping the peace in Iraq but fighting insurgents. Radditz discusses the battle tactics on both sides, the tragedies, and the progression of the battle. Eight US soldiers died and more than 70 were wounded in one night.

Without any other context, this is a sad tale.

As the story continued, my thoughts drifted to past discussions about the battle in Mogadishu, Somalia that was the basis for the movie, Blackhawk Down. For years after that battle, the right blamed Clinton for being incompetent and short-sighted for getting us into that mess without proper support. Listen to what happened in Sadr City, and even the exaggerations concerning Clinton leveled by the right pale in comparison.

To this day, Sadr City is unsafe.

[Kagemusha]

1. Unsafe? It's about to be subject to a large US/Iraqi troop incursion.

The story's not over by any means. But, it is where Cindy Sheehan's son bit the dust too.

[Buzz Clik]

2. Yes, I understated the reality in Sadr City.

It's out of control, and it's about to get worse.

The whole country is a sad mess.