TEHRAN TIMES: PAKISTAN FORCES ORDERED TO HIT BACK AT US FORCES

This is from the Tehran Times, so take it for what it's worth. But if it's true, by all means, let's get it on.

The Pakistani Army has been given orders to retaliate against any unilateral strike by the Afghanistan-based U.S. troops inside the country.

Army Spokesman Maj Gen Athar Abbas confirmed the orders in a brief interview with Geo News on late Thursday night.

The decision was made on the first day of the two-day meeting of Pakistan's top military commanders to discuss the U.S. coalition's ground and air assault in Waziristan region which killed dozens of civilians.

Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani chaired the meeting which began in Rawalpindi on Thursday at the Army General Headquarters.

Pakistan's military commanders expressed their determination to defend the country's borders without allowing any external forces to conduct operations inside the tribal belt bordering Afghanistan, sources said.

A senior official said the military commanders also discussed the implications of the American attacks inside Pakistan and took stock of the public feeling.

“In his statement, Genral Kayani has represented the feeling of the entire nation, as random attacks inside Pakistan have angered each and every Pakistani,” he said.

Earlier on Wednesday, Kayani rebuffed the American policy of including Pakistani territory in their operations against the al-Qaeda and Taliban linked militants hiding in the areas near Afghan border.

Also, Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani noted that Kayani's remarks on country's defense were true reflection of the government policy.

The army decision followed bloody incursions by the U.S. ground troops into tribal belt as well as a string of missile strikes by CIA-operated drone aircraft.

The reaction also comes after U.S. President George W. Bush approved U.S. military raids on militants inside Pakistan without Islamabad's agreement.

The development also brought into the open the increasing mistrust between the Americans and the Pakistanis over how to handle the Taliban and al-Qaeda linked militants in Pakistan's tribal areas.

IRANIAN RAPID DEPLOYMENT FORCES TRAINING

We better think twice before moving in on these guys.

MOOKIE IS BACK: SAYS "THINGS ARE ABOUT TO GET BUTT WILD UP IN HERE"

Mookie's talking smack again. This time he means it.

Commanders of the Mahdi Army are still finalising plans for an elite resistance unit that will target US troops in Iraq.

The leader of the Sadr movement, Muqtada al Sadr, announced more than two weeks ago that a specialised armed group would be set up to carry out guerrilla attacks on American troops. The rest of the movement’s Mahdi Army militia – thought to number about 100,000 – were to put down their weapons and concentrate on political and spiritual resistance to the US presence in Iraq, he said.

The militia commander said Sadr would personally oversee who was selected for membership and would chose only the most capable, most loyal of his followers.

“The goal is to fight and expel the Americans from this land and we will be thinking of that every day,” Khafagy said. “But it will be a fight that takes place at certain times and places, according to the right circumstances.”

The last gasp effort of man trying desperately to be relevant. Let us know how that works out for ya Mook.

BIG CRACKDOWN IS COMING TO SADR CITY

The Iraqi government is telling residents of Sadr city to get out. This is a clear sign that a smackdown is coming.

Iraqi security forces, after more than of 40 days of intense fighting, on Thursday told residents to evacuate their homes in the northeast Shiite slum of Sadr City and to move to temporary shelters on two soccer fields.

The military's call, indicating the possibility of stepped-up military operations, came as Iraqi security forces raided the radio station run by backers of Shiite cleric Muqtada al Sadr and militants launched rockets at a coalition force operating base in the southern port city of Basra, killing two contractors and injuring four civilians and four coalition soldiers.

Two soccer fields in east and northeast Baghdad are expected to receive some 16,000 evacuees from the southeast portion of the city where the fighting has been most intense.

Frankly, I would evacuate the entire city in this fashion with the understanding that anyone left will be considered an enemy combatant. Then I would establish checkpoints for return to ensure that arms were not re-entering the city. Not full proof by any means, but certainly a better alternative to sporadic engagements that accomplish nothing.