Despite being reinforced by 5 battalions, the Iraqi army is having a hard time dislodging Mehdi Army units from neighborhoods they control in Basra.Information gathering on both the Basra offensive and American actions in Baghdad against the Mehdi is an adventure. Media reports are contradictory and the spin coming from the the Administration, war opponents, media outlets with their own agenda, and anti war opponents makes trying to discover what is happening very difficult.However, there are a couple of sources that we have relied on in the past who have proved to be as accurate as is possible in a war zone.Bill Roggio has been to Iraq many times and has sources in the military as well as the Iraqi Army. He reports some limited successes for the Iraqi Army but also their inability to make much headway against the heavily armed Mehdis:Basrah has been the scene of the majority of the fighting. Major General Ali Zaidan said that 120 Mahdi Army and other Shia terrorists have...(Read Full Post)