Iraqi police have reportedly taken control of the Imam Ali Mosque, which fighters loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr have been using as a giant foxhole. Seventy-seven Iraqis were killed in the overnight battle to gain control of the mosque.

"The Imam Ali Mosque shrine complex is a very sensitive site for all concerned and we are working very closely with the Iraqi security forces to ensure that we have the right people going into the shrine and ensure that the least amount of damage is done to that site," declared U.S. Army Lt. Col. Myles Miyamasu.

Why? The shrine complex is sacred, but so are human lives. Insurgents were using that holy site as a sanctuary. If the U.S. Army used that mosque as a barracks, do you think the Islamic extremists would hesitate to bomb it? What the insurgents were doing in the Imam Ali Mosque violates the laws of war. If the place got leveled it would be the responsibility of those using it for warfare inside, not those responding to the attack on the outside.

The example of the Imam Ali Mosque illustrates the level of civilization exhibited by both sides in this conflict. By using a mosque as a hiding place, the Shiite insurgents count on the civilization of their foes to ensure their safety. By not leveling the mosque, the Americans show greater concern for the Shiite holy site than the Shiites themselves.

All I know is with Iraqi police now in control of Imam Ali Mosque shrine complex. They have discovered that the interior has to be considered as the most noxious, offensive, putrid, rancid, evil-smelling God Box ever built.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/20/international/middleeast/20CND-IRAQ.html?hp

All this bs in Iraq is creating more terrorists than it kills or captures.