April Through September, 2004. Summary and Analysis

The early spring of 2004 sees an immense increase in the hostilities in Iraq, featuring the shelling of Fallujeh and the holy city of Najaf by Coalition forces in response to the murder and mutilation of four American contractors in Fallujeh. Riverbend tries to reconcile herself with what is happening in her country as Iraq looks set to implode.

Riverbend starts this section of blogging by reacting to the events in Najaf; which started as a demonstrating in the holy city by Moqtada Al-Sadr's supporters and ended with fourteen demonstrators shot dead. The 'firebrand cleric' Al-Sadr is a younger Shia conservative who calls for an insurgency in the south of Iraq against the shootings, and Najaf erupts into urban warfare. In the next blog entry Riverbend tries to imagine what is happening as the news is released that...