COUNTER-PRODUCTIVE

That sums up most of our post-war efforts in Iraq.

Sadr City clashes hit Iraqi civilians hard
US and Iraqi forces have been battling Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army there since March 25.
By Sam Dagher Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor
from the April 11, 2008 edition

In this densely populated Shiite district that has become the latest front in the US and Iraqi campaign against Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia, the youngest residents are among those suffering most.

Since March 25, when clashes with the Mahdi Army started in Basra, Baghdad, and other parts of southern Iraq, at least 142 people have been killed and 800 wounded in Sadr City alone, according to Qassim al-Suwaidi, the hospital's director. Nearly one-third of the victims have been women and children, he says.

But as previous standoffs in Sadr City have shown in the past four years, military action here that has killed countless civilians seems only to strengthen support for the Mahdi Army.