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| Iraq-Jordan |
| Sadr folds, at least for now |
| 2004-08-31 |
| Rebel cleric Muqtada al-Sadr called on his followers to end their uprising against U.S. and Iraqi forces while he considers forming a political movement, senior al-Sadr officials said Monday. Al-Sadr has backed off other commitments in the past, but a truce would be a major victory for interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi by removing a serious insurgency and potentially bringing many of the Shiite cleric's followers into the effort to build a peaceful democracy. The al-Sadr announcement came amid conflicting reports on Iraq's vital oil exports. Iraqi oil officials and the governor of Basra state said exports were shut down after a rash of pipeline attacks. However, world oil prices decreased as traders said other reports suggested some oil was still flowing. At the New York Mercantile Exchange, October contracts for light sweet crude fell 90 cents a barrel to $42.28 — well below peaks above $48 a barrel in mid-August. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #9 Hey wait a damn second! I paid big money to see the last drop of blood? What kinda arab crapola is this? I want my money back, you present yourself as a martry, by god you carry out the contract. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-08-31 6:00:35 PM |
| #8 Rafael: But that means incessant fighting, destruction, and a big political headache, not to mention ammunition for the LLL, for eons to come. This is going to happen with or without Sadr around. The difference is that with |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2004-08-31 3:05:55 PM |
| #7 Don't flatter Sadr - most people tend to think that if you take out the head, it's over. That's not the case with an ideology-based movement like jihadism. You have to kill all of the adherents who are prepared to fight to the death. Yeah, I see the point, but I guess I just have a thin skin where ill-behaved children are concerned (and yeah, Sadr is just like one of those little bastards). This guy comes in and shits all over everything, gets the big smackdown, and then is allowed to retreat out of arm's length, giving him the opportunity to do the same thing all over again later on. Just thinking about this merry-go-round is maddening. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2004-08-31 2:56:19 PM |
| #6 And there is no one more suitable for sending these men to their deaths like sheep to the slaughter than Sadr. But that means incessant fighting, destruction, and a big political headache, not to mention ammunition for the LLL, for eons to come. |
| Posted by: Rafael 2004-08-31 2:42:19 PM |
| #5 BAR: Absent Sadr's death, this "calling off" doesn't mean a damn thing. If Sadr is killed, someone more capable will take the reins. Hard to see how anyone else could be this incompetent, seeking a face-to-face pitched battle with the best trained and equipped force in the world for this kind of thing. It was like the major combat phase of the Operation Iraqi Freedom all over again. Don't flatter Sadr - most people tend to think that if you take out the head, it's over. That's not the case with an ideology-based movement like jihadism. You have to kill all of the adherents who are prepared to fight to the death. And there is no one more suitable for sending these men to their deaths like sheep to the slaughter than Sadr. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2004-08-31 2:32:48 PM |
| #4 He'll be back and he'll keep coming back until somebody wises up and kills the bastard. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2004-08-31 12:43:25 PM |
| #3 this is what Iraqataglance says about Sadr Tuesday, August 31, 2004 .. I am in Basra now, nothing new… The news is soooooooo miserable regarding the truce with Muqtada and his thugs..the same crap will happen again..I'm sure of that..Huh..a truce..I thought that the government will put an end to that fat kid.. Just wait for a month and see what will happen… New arms, new 'fighters' will join this militia again.. I'm so upset, what about the massacre in his 'courts'? what about the stolen treasures? What about their weapons? Gloomy days are waiting for us……. |
| Posted by: mhw 2004-08-31 10:50:03 AM |
| #2 Absent Sadr's death, this "calling off" doesn't mean a damn thing. When insurgent forces are being/have been pounded down on the battlefield, their typical response is to scale back their efforts to whatever degreee necessary and use time to their advantage. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2004-08-31 10:30:26 AM |
| #1 Tater's stuck between a rock and a hard place. The Iranian mullahs don't really care if he gets whacked, they'll just promote the next in line to lead the "Saderist Movement" (spit). Sistani will get his revenge, count on it - maybe not next week, but he's a patient man and has lots of relatives. |
| Posted by: mojo 2004-08-31 1:33:12 AM |