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| Iraq | ||
| Sadr orders fighters off Iraq streets | ||
| 2008-03-30 | ||
Iraq's radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr on Sunday ordered his fighters off the streets, paving the way for an end to clashes with security forces that have killed hundreds of people. "We want the Iraqi people to stop this bloodshed and maintain Iraq's independence and stability," Sadr said in a statement with his seal released by his headquarters in the holy city of Najaf.
Sadr's latest call came after six days of fighting between Shiite fighters and Iraqi forces in the southern port city of Basra, Baghdad and several other Shiite regions that have killed at least 270 people. He said he took the decision as it was his "legitimate responsibility to stop the bleeding of Iraqis, to maintain the reputation of Iraqi people, the unity of land and people, to prepare for its independence and liberation from the dark forces and to quell the fire of division by the occupier and its followers." Sadr's call came after negotiations in Najaf that began on Saturday between representatives of his movement and the Iraqi authorities. The Iraqi capital and Basra both remained under curfew on Sunday although there was a lull in the fighting, according to residents of affected neighbourhoods. Maliki had given a 72-hour deadline to Shiite fighters in Basra to disarm after launching an offensive against them last Tuesday but the call was ignored by the militia. "Sadr has told us not to surrender our arms except to a state that can throw out the (US) occupation," Haider al-Jabari of the Sadr movement's political bureau told AFP on Saturday. The same day, Maliki vowed to press on with his assault in Basra, saying the militiamen were "worse than Al-Qaeda." "Unfortunately we were talking about Al-Qaeda but there are some among us who are worse than Al-Qaeda. Al-Qaeda is killing innocents, Al-Qaeda is destroying establishments and they (Shiite gunmen) also," he said. Basra, Iraq's crucial oil hub, is the focus of a turf war between the Mahdi Army and two rival Shiite factions -- the powerful Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council (SIIC) of Abdel Aziz al-Hakim and the smaller Fadhila party. The stand-off there has spread to other Shiite areas of Iraq, including the sprawling Shiite neighbourhood of Baghdad's Sadr City, the bastion of Sadr loyalists. Pedestrians and vehicles stayed off the streets of the Iraqi capital for a third straight day of curfew, while Basra was relatively calm, residents said. On Sunday, the US military acknowledged that its ground troops had started participating in the Basra assault. A team of American special forces joined the battle in Basra, combining with Iraqi troops in an operation that killed 22 militants on Saturday, the military said. The joint operation was in a known "criminal stronghold" in western Basra, a US military statement said. US and British forces have said they have been giving air support to operations since Tuesday. British troops have deployed outside their base on the edge of Basra in support of the Iraqi operations, British military spokesman Major Tom Holloway said on Sunday. "There are no plans for our troops to enter the city. We are providing other forms of support," he told AFP. This includes air support and surveillance as well as logistical back-up including refuelling helicopters and supplying ammunition and medical supplies. | ||
| Posted by:lotp |
| #27 PAYVAND > US TAKING SIDES WITH BASRA?; + IRANIAN.WS > ALTERNET.ORG - WHO IS THE IRAQI ARMY? "Good Guy" BADR CORPS is a Shiite Militia closer to Iran than rival Sadr's Mahdi Army!? Also from PAYVAND > IRAN, AZERBAIJAN, AND RUSSIA TO HOLD RAIL CONFERENCE, + RUSSIA AND CHINA UNLIKELY TO WELCOME IRAN INTO SCO ORGANIZATION. However, IRANIAN.WS/TOPIX > CHINA WELCOMES IRAN MOVE TO JOIN SCO [wid some reservations]. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2008-03-30 22:11 |
| #26 NS n TW...thanks for your wise council. Above all, we need to look at this sit through Iraqi eyes - not our own - if we are to discern what is going down. I see 2 things...Maliki's street cred just got a big boost... and Iraq (cough cough, Maliki) is not about to shake off Iran any time soon, and may even be lookin' to cut a deal. |
| Posted by: Rex Mundi 2008-03-30 21:05 |
| #25 FOX NEWS > MCCONNELL -it is highly likely that should Iran successfully unilater master the nuclear enrichment cycle, PROLIFERATION WILL TAKE PLACE, + IRAN AND POTEN OTHER ME NATIONS WILL INEVITABLE DESIRE TO [immediately/quickly?]DEV NUCLEAR WEAPONS??? |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2008-03-30 19:00 |
| #24 The best would be some form of "internecine power strugle" within Tater Tots, and if necessary, making it look that way would do too. Toten Tater With a Whimper. |
| Posted by: twobyfour 2008-03-30 17:44 |
| #23 "For that we have decided to withdraw from the streets of Basra and all other provinces." Didn't say they were quitting, just getting off the streets where they're dog meat. Betcha this means they're going to the alleys where theres more cover. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2008-03-30 15:33 |
| #22 ^^^^^The truth. The sooner the better. Sardr but wiser. |
| Posted by: Zebulon Angavick7428 2008-03-30 15:12 |
| #21 IMHO, Tater was given the white gloves treatment because of his father, Cleric What's His Name, oh, yes Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr. Tater has used the mantle of cleric for too long and it has worn thin. He has caused the murder of hundreds of innocents, and he needed to be taken out in August 2004 at an Najaf. But he wasn't. Tater and his Mahdi Army (militia) need to be ground into dust, as a lesson to the other militias out there. It is 2008, 4 years after the big show in an Najaf, and we are still screwing around with this criminal and tool for Iran. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2008-03-30 14:53 |
| #20 The game isn't worth the candle? I disagree. What President Bush started is a play for the entire Muslim Middle East. Iraq is in one sense just the staging ground, from which we threaten the status quo of Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and the rest of bankrupt, corrupt, jihadi-ridden region. I think we can count on President McCain not to pull out, regardless the frustrations and temptations. Whoever is elected after that will have to respond to the House and Senate full of War on Terror veterans, which should completely change the tenor of the discussions. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2008-03-30 14:30 |
| #19 I think I agree that at this point it is more beneficial to not allow Sadr a martyrs death. I think we should use this opportunity to pound his street thugs until Sadr is just a toothless podium pounder. |
| Posted by: Woodrow Slusorong7967 2008-03-30 14:03 |
| #18 I think its possible that one faction in Iran is backing Sadr, another is backing the Hakim gang, and another is working with any odd lots they can find, including former Al Qaeda types. |
| Posted by: mhw 2008-03-30 13:48 |
| #17 We need to think of all the _civilians_ who are going to be killed or blackmailed between now and when Sadr next provokes the national army. |
| Posted by: Abdominal Snowman 2008-03-30 13:25 |
| #16 A preemptive strike to reduce the ability of the Sadr masters in Tehran from trying a Tet during the fall American elections. Don't think the people in the Iraq government aren't aware of the game and its impact upon their future. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2008-03-30 13:06 |
| #15 It still isn't clear whether Iraqis have the political will to shake off Iranian influence. They don't; not all by themselves. Shiites have to decide whether or not they are going to let Iran run their country by proxy. No, old Iraqi shiites who cannot change their minds and continue to submit to Iran need to die, preferably of natural causes, and be replaced by younger ones who can change and understand they don't have to live that way. If they are going to let them do that, there is no point wasting our time with them any longer. No. If we aren't willing to wait till all the old ones die and the new generations are ready to take over, we're wasting our time and should submit to Qom now. It took several generations with the Japanese and Koreans. There is no reason to think the ME mentality can do it faster. So maybe it will take 60 years instead of 40. But we've got to try. Because the alternative isn't pretty. For anybody. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2008-03-30 13:04 |
| #14 It could also be a first in the arab world - a failed, living, discredited, and unimprisoned/unexecuted leader. Like Bin Ladin? Nah, I prefer my Arab "leaders" dead. |
| Posted by: regular joe 2008-03-30 12:56 |
| #13 It's a necessary step for a civilization to take if it wants to move toward political maturity. Sadr is clearly no RE Lee, nor Jeff Davis, and perhaps only one step this side of John Wilkes Booth, but if Maliki can retain power, step down peacefully, and keep Sadr marginalized throughout, he may accomplish more than simply and literally killing him outright. It occurs to me that John Wilkes Booth didn't shoot at Lincoln, miss, and then offer a truce. This is what, the fourteenth time Sadr has pulled this stuff? He always manages to kill civilians, kill troops, get his own guys killed, and then go back to being a "partner for peace." |
| Posted by: Abdominal Snowman 2008-03-30 12:53 |
| #12 It's cracking the whole "culture of honor/shame" zeitgeist. Japan suffered under it, but not for - what - 14 uninterrupted centuries. It has to be done before they can move on to compound interest, bankruptcy law, electrical engineering and similar intellectual pursuits. |
| Posted by: Harcourt Jush7795 2008-03-30 12:46 |
| #11 "Sadr alive, around and emasculated. It could also be a first in the arab world - a failed, living, discredited, and unimprisoned/unexecuted leader." A pathetic figure, in Tehran, in exile. |
| Posted by: Zebulon Unomolet6509 2008-03-30 12:41 |
| #10 It could also be a first in the arab world - a failed, living, discredited, and unimprisoned/unexecuted leader. Working to gainsay you, no luck. |
| Posted by: Zebulon Angavick7428 2008-03-30 12:39 |
| #9 It's a delicate challenge for Iraqi authorities to keep Sadr alive, around and emasculated. It could also be a first in the arab world - a failed, living, discredited, and unimprisoned/unexecuted leader. It's a necessary step for a civilization to take if it wants to move toward political maturity. Sadr is clearly no RE Lee, nor Jeff Davis, and perhaps only one step this side of John Wilkes Booth, but if Maliki can retain power, step down peacefully, and keep Sadr marginalized throughout, he may accomplish more than simply and literally killing him outright. Going after his follows is his big chance and he seems to be doing so fairly well, at least judging by the confused coverage of the MSM and others nowhere near the activity. |
| Posted by: Harcourt Jush7795 2008-03-30 12:25 |
| #8 Or Iran's backing a new horse & Sadr is being left hanging out to dry? It seems to me that Tater is the only game in town. |
| Posted by: gorb 2008-03-30 12:18 |
| #7 It still isn't clear whether Iraqis have the political will to shake off Iranian influence. Shiites have to decide whether or not they are going to let Iran run their country by proxy. If they are going to let them do that, there is no point wasting our time with them any longer. |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2008-03-30 12:03 |
| #6 We'll see if his followers follow his orders. He may have no real power to wield anymore. Iran may have supplanted him with one of their surrogates. |
| Posted by: Vortigern Grinegum4622 2008-03-30 11:56 |
| #5 Amen to that. I think it will take a while and a new generation of media types but one of these days Bush's efforts in the middle east will be recognized as a watershed in the political development of that region. One would hope that once Iraq becomes a successful democracy, Assad adn his cronies in Syria will be on thin ice as will the mullahs in Iran (which while not being well publicized, is in the midst of very nearly a civil war) |
| Posted by: Sock Puppet of Texas 2008-03-30 11:42 |
| #4 I for one hope Maliki takes this opportunity to pound Sadr and his goons into the ground until they achieve the consistenty of fine talcum powder. This is an important moment for Maliki, Iraq, and the Iraqi people. If Maliki can continue to show strength, the people will notice and they will follow his lead. Then some semblance of normality and national unity can begin to take hold in this devasted country, wherein the healing process can begin. If that happens, and it's still a big if at this point, when the dust settles and all is said and done, the Iraqi people will thank America for what we have done and Bush will finally get the credit he would rightfully deserve. |
| Posted by: eltoroverde 2008-03-30 11:01 |
| #3 A truce? Sadr is asking for a truce? A truce is a loss for the one asking. That's the Islamic way. Let's hope that Maliki doesn't relent, but instead goes on to finish the job. This may be his last good chance to do it. Who know who the crazy Americans are going to vote into office. If Sadr takes over, Maliki could become dog food. |
| Posted by: Titus Cloling7944 2008-03-30 10:57 |
| #2 sadr was taking losses, he always wanted the element of surprise, of course when his forces are forced to defend against initiative, they are not prepared for that. maliki should press his demands, and disarm these guys. Forcing iran to rearm them all over again. these on again off again commands, simply show he's a puppet. michael Yon was right, this IA offensive, forces sadr to negotiate not from strength but from weakness if this lasts another week, he could loose 15% or more of his fighters..maybe the USAF hit some of the tunnels they were counting on to hide? |
| Posted by: Thraviper Panda2099 2008-03-30 10:42 |
| #1 Hudna? Things not as dire for Maliki as NYT is presenting? Or Iran's backing a new horse & Sadr is being left hanging out to dry? |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2008-03-30 09:50 |