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Iraq-Jordan
Sadr snarls defiance
2004-04-05
The radical Iraqi Shiite cleric that the United States has labeled as an "outlaw" said on Monday that Iraqis were not afraid to die and would stand up to America's military might.
Yeah. They were gonna defend Sammy with their blood, too...
In a signed statement, Moqtada al-Sadr demanded coalition forces stop attacks Iraqis and cease arrests of those suspected of involvement in the worsening insurgency inside Iraq.
"And don't arrest nobody for murder, either!"
"They (the U.S.-led forces) have the money, weapons and huge numbers, but these things are not going to weaken our will because God is with us," according to the statement, which was sent to The Associated Press by the Qatar-based satellite TV station al-Jazeera. "Tell them (coalition forces) that we don't fear death and martyrdom gives us dignity from God," the statement said.
"We feared it last year. And the year before. But not this year, by Gum!"
The United States announced Monday that an Iraqi judge had issued a murder arrest warrant for al-Sadr's over his alleged involvement in the April 2003 murder of a rival Shiite cleric. Violent demonstrations by his supporters in at least four Iraqi cities on Sunday took the lives of 52 Iraqis, eight U.S. soldiers and a Salvadoran soldier in one of the deadliest days since the U.S.-led invasion. Al-Sadr, who was holed up Monday in a mosque in the city of Kufa, south of Baghdad, surrounded by armed followers, said in the statement that captured former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein should stand trial and that a new Iraqi government should be created without involvement from outside forces. Al-Sadr also demanded the coalition put on trial coalition soldiers who have committed "crimes" against Iraqis. He was apparently referring to troops who have killed or injured Iraqi civilians but have been cleared of any wrongdoing.
Posted by:Fred

#15  Reynolds updated - the coup/civil war never existed:
UPDATE: D'oh. This seems to regard last night's events, not something new. I was thrown by the time difference, I guess. Still news, but not new news. On the other hand, it's still going on
Posted by: Frank G   2004-04-05 8:40:22 PM  

#14  Fred - That sucks like an F5 - but rings true...
Posted by: .com   2004-04-05 8:07:43 PM  

#13  My guess is that Sadr will be in Teheran or Damascus by Friday.
Posted by: Fred   2004-04-05 8:04:03 PM  

#12  Right CS. I think, as I've said before, we should simply drop a MOAB or three on the mosque. This would pretty much remove him and his henchmen and leave his supports for cleanup with nothing to fight for. This would also show that we do not consider mosque's entirely off-limits.

Stop treating it as a call for 'law enforcement'.
Posted by: CrazyFool   2004-04-05 7:56:41 PM  

#11  Martyr him NOW!
Posted by: Cyber Sarge (VRWC CA Chapter)   2004-04-05 7:50:27 PM  

#10  "Tell them (coalition forces) that we don't fear death and martyrdom gives us dignity from God"

I say we need to implement a high caliber self-esteem program that will give them all the "dignity" they can handle.

Posted by: Zenster   2004-04-05 7:42:06 PM  

#9  "outlaw"? "arrest warrant"? This is not a police issue, this is FUCKING WAR. Time to give this Sadr-masochist a MOAB enema.
Posted by: Hyper   2004-04-05 6:11:18 PM  

#8  zayed over at healingiraq has an interesting take on the events there. "A coup d'etat is taking place in Iraq at the moment."
Posted by: GK   2004-04-05 6:06:14 PM  

#7  "No good deed goes unpunished nor unappreciated in Iraq."

Change Iraq to Arabia or Islam, Mark, and you got a deal!

I wonder, is there anyone here still arguing for restraint, civility, and carrot over stick?

What we're seeing is SOP for the culture / religion.

As far as I'm concerned, I still believe Fallujah should be taken down piece by piece per OS's cordon, section, sweep, cleanse specs. Taking all tribal leaders and religious leaders into custody, per Wretchard's speculation, makes sense too. That is how you break Fallujah - and the rest of the Triangle.

As for Sadr / Mad Mullahs attempt to foment total anarchy, the answer to warfare Arab-style ( you know what I mean here, I'm sure) is warfare US-style. If the cordon on Sadr City is still in place, begin to shrink it and kill anything that doesn't come out waving a white flag and naked as a jaybird. Where Sadr is hiding out (the moskkk in Kufa) just issue an ultimatum: Surrender or Die - you have one hour. Schedule a few B1's to make high-speed / low altitude overpasses at the 45 minute mark. At one hour, if he hasn't come out. Blow the fucking moskkk off the face of the Earth. Period.

Anywhere else the Shi'a open fire - give it back 10x in their turn.
Posted by: .com   2004-04-05 5:59:09 PM  

#6  It's a pity when a son tries to follow in his father's footsteps but has neither the aptitude nor the abilitiy to succeed. Sadr is the sort of pathetic loser that usually is arrested for shoplifting or indecent exposure and whines to the media about how he's being abused. Only in the fever swamps of a would-be theocracy could he be taken seriously. In fact, he'smoved to number one on the hit parade with a bullet.
Posted by: RWV   2004-04-05 5:43:41 PM  

#5  Instapundit (at 4:45 pm) is posting a note from an Iraqi blogger. The blogger says that civil war is breaking out in the capital.

I think the reason civil war is breaking out (if it's true) is because the jerk cleric (Sadr) and his hard boyz have less fear of the US military than they did Saddam while he was in power. No good deed goes unpunished nor unappreciated in Iraq. It's times like these when I think our (read US military) reputation for decency hurts more than it helps. I mean really, who gives a damn if they ever love us? I'd much prefer the US to be feared. The reason Sadr feels able to get away with his antics now is because we (read US military forces) are not sufficiently feared. I lay the blame for this at the feet of our politicians. If domestic politics begin to run the war in Iraq we're soooooo screwed and all will have been for naught.
Posted by: Mark   2004-04-05 5:38:46 PM  

#4  Drag his miserable hide outta that mosque, chain him to the back of an M-1A1 and take him for a scrape around the whole town as a lesson to the next turban who thinks he's gonna be allah's capo.
Posted by: Rex Mundi   2004-04-05 5:11:15 PM  

#3  Someone put a bullet through this guy's turban. PLEASE.
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama   2004-04-05 4:47:29 PM  

#2  Demand away, Turban-boy.

This mook needs to get ventilated.
Posted by: mojo   2004-04-05 4:01:17 PM  

#1  "We...we...we". Yep, sounds like he's ready to fight to the last "follower".
Posted by: tu3031   2004-04-05 3:57:38 PM  

00:00