Iraqi Shiite Uprising Poses Serious Threat to U.S. Occupation

Interview with Michael Schwartz, sociology professor at the State University of New York, conducted by Scott Harris

Heavy fighting over the past month on two fronts in Iraq has resulted in the deaths of nearly 100 U.S. soldiers and an estimated 1,000 Iraqi civilians and combatants. The American siege of Fallujah was halted after an uneasy ceasefire was brokered to avoid further bloodshed in the defiant city. Combat there has taken the lives of 600 to700 Iraqis, many of them civilians. Negotiators attempted to reach an accord that would end the fighting if insurgents in Fallujah agreed to give up their heavy weapons.

In southern Iraq, another standoff continued in the Shiite holy city of Najaf, where militia members loyal to Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr have seized control , while 2,500 U.S. troops surrounded the area. As in Fallujah, Iraqi negotiators are working to defuse the situation. The intensifying conflict in Iraq came as the newly-elected Spanish Prime Minister Zapatero followed through on his campaign pledge by announcing the rapid removal of his nation's 1,300 soldiers from Iraq. In an indication of a further erosion of the U.S. coalition in Iraq, the nation of Honduras followed Spain's lead and announced their own withdrawal of 370 troops.

Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Michael Schwartz, professor of sociology at the State University of New York, who examines the threat posed by the Shiite uprising and the multiple challenges now facing the U.S. military occupation of Iraq.

Read Michael Schwartz's article, "What Triggered The Shia Insurrection?," www.TomDispatch.com, April 12, 2004
Related links:

"'Coalition of the Willing': Spain, Honduras to Pull Out Troops, and Thais Look Shaky," by Gustavo Palencia, in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Sydney Morning Herald (Australia), April 20, 2004

"Bush Appoints schwartz Iraq Ambassador," DemocracyNow! Interview, by Amy Goodman, April 20, 2004

"America's UN Ambassador and White House Nominee for State Department Post Could Undermine U.S. Credibility in Battle Against Terrorism," Between The Lines interview, by Scott Harris, Week Ending Oct. 26, 2001.

John schwartz had been the U.S. ambassador in Honduras during the time of the "dirty" wars in Central America in the 1980s.

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