For a view from the Left, BooMan Tibune writes of the Ashura battle:

"... either U.S. forces just helped kill 250 Sunni extremists or they just helped kill one faction of Shiites that were fighting the more mainstream factions. What's the truth of the matter? It's hard to say. But it does look like a small army gathered in an orchard near Karbala and were preparing to launch a sort of 'Karbala offensive' that might have been reminiscent of the 'Tet offensive' of the Vietnam War."

While I agree with BooMan's comment that "U.S. forces just helped kill 250 Sunni extremists or they just helped kill one or more factions of Shiites that were fighting the more mainstream factions," and have no problem with our forces doing either or both, I disagree in the reach of relating what happened at Ashura to Tet in Vietnam. That is, unless the reference is a reminder that we can win the battles but lose the war because of public opinion. Indeed, "... a small army gathered in an orchard near Karbala and were preparing to launch a sort of 'Karbala offensive'," but the difference in magnitude and military/political objectives appear to trump any basis for comparison.

However, BooMan's use of the Tet offensive analogy appears that it could be as much of a literary device as it does a political point, and one that makes his post all the more interesting, and gives the Assura battle an historical perspective that I appreciate. No strong disagreement with either on my part though, just wanted to beg to differ a bit on the Tet matter.

Updates:
CNN reports that it was the Messianic Shi'ites:

Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani and other top Shiite religious figures were the apparent targets of a plot by a Muslim messianic cult intent on seizing the Shiite holy city of Najaf, Iraqi officials said.

The plot was thwarted by an intense battle that began early Sunday when Iraqi police and troops were dispatched to go after the insurgents. U.S. forces took the lead Monday as the fighting wound down, an Iraqi police official said.

The cult believed their plan to seize the Shiite holy city and assassinate top Shiite clerics would bring about the coming of the Mehdi, a Muslim messiah, the official said.

In other words, al-Sadr's hands are dirty, again.

Omar at Iraq The Model believes the story of the two Iraqi sources. " ...After all it's hard to believe that Sunni insurgents could establish a base that hosts several hundreds of armed men this close to Najaf."

The Political Pit Bull has much more on the Najaf battle - What Happened in Najaf Over the Weekend?