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Article: Iraq's new leader gets tough--by unleashing the U.S. Marines. Can that win him respect? Taunts, Traps and Tests.
- Article from:
- Newsweek
- Article date:
- August 23, 2004
- Author:
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Byline: Rod Nordland and Scott Johnson (With Eve Conant in Washington)
Ayad Allawi wants respect, and for as long as anyone can remember in Iraq, that means showing that you're the toughest s.o.b. around. So when radical Shiite militiamen attacked a police station in Najaf, the new prime minister called on U.S. Marines to crush the rebellion. Planes bombed and strafed, and infantrymen blasted their way across a vast cemetery last week, flushing out enemies who hid amid tombs and catacombs. Before long, soldiers battled militiamen in a half-dozen cities across the south. By the time truce talks collapsed on Saturday, several hundred Iraqis and six Americans were ...