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• “We will not leave the shrine until the Americans get out of Najaf. We will kill,” said Ugil Abdel Hussein, 32, a member of the Turkmen minority from the northern city of Kirkuk.
• Hundreds of tribesmen met inside the shrine and vowed their support. One of them called on all of Iraq’s tribes to hold a national conference Wednesday to end the Najaf crisis.

  “All Iraqi tribesmen are invited to try and end this bloodbath in Najaf,” said Sheikh Kassim Khafaji, addressing more than 100 tribesmen.

• “These people are a deterrent to the Americans because they are civilians. They are here so that the Americans won’t attack the Imam Ali shrine,” said Sheikh Ahmed Shaibani, a senior Mehdi Army commander and top aide to Sadr.
• “I will lie on the ground in front of the tanks, or I will kill the Americans to defend Sadr and Najaf,” said Fadil Hamed, 30, standing among a group of men who said they walked to Najaf from the southern city of Basra.

My best friend for the past 26 years died this evening. He was 54 and finally gave up his long battle with leukemia. I saw him yesterday and he was in so much pain. I am glad that pain is gone, but very sad that Mike is gone.

Some of you knew Mike. Without Mike, there would be no Antiwar.com. I would have long ago given up political action if it weren’t for his constant prodding and pep talks.

Mike insisted I use my political time efficiently and get on the Web, urging me to secure the Antiwar.com domain back in 1995.

Mike gave me constant input and advice to help build Antiwar.com. He wrote one article for us, Superman vs. the War Party.

Mike was very active in the Libertarian Party, and held many positions and ran for office once or twice. His views on the LP are most notable in his "Turning Burnout Into Victory."

I love Mike and I will miss him so much.

FIVE people were killed when US forces carried out multiple bombing raids in the flashpoint Iraqi city of Fallujah, a doctor said today.

“Five people were killed and six wounded,” said the medic from Fallujah general hospital.

“The Americans fired seven missiles.”

So far today.

Ever wonder where the term “anti-Iraqi forces” used to describe the Iraqi anti-occupation guerillas came from?

Those of you who are regular readers probably saw the story where the BBC crew was held hostage in Nablus by Israeli Troops. Now, finally, we get their story, fresh from the BBC Website.

Apparently storming the homes of random civilians and using them to shoot children in crowds is what passes for an Israeli Right to Self Defense these days.

Of course the IDF murdering (or in this case trying to murder and simply wounding) Palestinian children is nothing new. Hardly a week goes by in which at least one such story doesn’t wind up on our website. What makes this interesting though is that we’ve got the eyes and ears of BBC journalists within the actual residence the IDF was occupying, and while their cameras and whatnot were confiscated, they still tell the tale, in vivid detail.

Its probably the most interesting article you’ll see this weekend, unless American massacres in Iraq are something you really get into.

Iraqi conference walkout protests Najaf bombings

A NATIONAL conference, hailed as Iraq’s first experiment in democracy for decades, got off to a rocky start today when more than 100 delegates walked out to protest against fighting in the holy city of Najaf.

Dozens of people leapt out of their seats as soon as UN special envoy to Iraq Ashraf Jehangir Qazi finished his opening speech. “As long as there are air strikes and shelling we can’t have a conference,” some shouted.

Yahya Mussawi, from a Shiite Muslim political grouping that helped defuse a spring uprising by militia leader Moqtada al-Sadr, jumped on the stage before he was forced down by chief organiser Fuad Maasum.

“Part of democracy is that you listen to the Iraqi people. It is time that you heard us and we ask that military operations stop in Najaf immediately and dialogue takes place,” Mr Mussawi shouted.

“Listen to us, prime minister, listen to us,” said the protesters, as Mr Maasum announced a 30-minute break in the proceedings.

Iraqi guerillas also demonstrated their opinion of the “conference” by shelling it.

The Iraqi National Conference, intended to help shape democracy, was interrupted Sunday by protesters who demanded an end to violence in Najaf.

Minutes after the disruption, a series of mortar rounds landed less than a mile from the conference site in Baghdad’s Green Zone. Two people were killed and 17 others wounded, according to Iraq’s Interior Ministry.

The attack took place despite a daytime curfew for central Baghdad designed to head off violence during the conference.

Meanwhile, near Sawaya,

A Dutch soldier was shot dead and five others injured seriously in a shooting incident in Iraq on Saturday, the Dutch defence ministry said in a statement.

According to reports reaching here, the 29-year-old military policeman, who was among some 1,200 Dutch troops stationed near the southern town of Samawa, was killed when an attack took place on a military vehicle near the town of Ar Rumaythah, north of Samawa, the statement said.

Shortly after the attack, US military, including a Black Hawk helicopter, came to help with the medical evacuation.

And, a Ukrainian soldier was killed Sunday in a land mine explosion southeast of Baghdad, a spokesman for the multinational forces said. The blast occurred in the area of Suwayrah, 25 miles south of Baghdad, in the Ukrainian troops’ area of responsibility.

Update: One US soldier was killed early Sunday when a roadside bomb exploded in northern Baghdad, the US military said in a statement.

Update:

“A major assault by forces will be launched quickly to bring the Najaf fight to an end,” Interior Ministry spokesman Sabah Kadhim said.

“This matter has to be brought to conclusion as fast as possible and we want to bring the situation to normalcy soon.”

Police ordered Iraqi and foreign journalists out of Najaf.

“From now on this city is closed,” a senior police officer told reporters.

Police chief General Ghaleb al-Jazairi said he was under orders from the Interior Minister that all journalists, local and foreign, leave within hours.

Mohammad Kazem, an Iraqi correspondent for Iranian television, was detained at gunpoint by police in the middle of a live broadcast from a rooftop.

I’m sure the journalists are being ordered out of Najaf out of concern for their safety.