Najaf: The Silence of a Siege

Even a war zone looks peaceful in most places, most of the time. As American forces here battled rebels loyal to the radical Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr here last week, the fighting was described as fierce or block by block. It was not. Outside the huge cemetery that was the focus of the battle, most of Najaf has been quiet, though tense.On Thursday, even as news reports described a major new offensive, Army commanders spent much of the afternoon buying and distributing food from local merchants. They were rewarded when a group of children led them to a large weapons cache, including artillery shells and explosives, and to the man who had buried the arsenal. He was detained, American commanders said.Full Story