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U.S. Prepares to Enter Najaf

HeadlineApr 26, 2004

In Najaf a U.S. general warned Sunday U.S. troops will soon be sent into the Shiite holy city to crush cleric Muqtada Sadr. Brigadier General Mark Hertling said, “We’re going to drive this guy Sadr into the dirt. Either he tells his militia to put down their arms, form a political party and fight with ideas not guns, or he’s going to find a lot of them killed.” The U.S. has vowed that if they enter Najaf they will avoid attacking sacred sites. But the head of the US occupation Paul Bremer accused Sadr of stockpiling heavy weaponry in mosques and schools in Najaf. The UN Envoy to Iraq Lakhdar Brahimi warned against going into Najaf. He said “Sending the tanks hauling into a place like this is not the right thing to do, and I think the Americans know that extremely well now.”

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