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| Iraq |
| Sadr's triumphant surrender |
| 2008-04-01 |
| Dave Price, "Dean's World" blog The media appear to be unanimous: by getting his butt kicked, surrendering control of Basra, and being mocked as an Iranian catspaw Sadr has ... succeeded. Many Iraqi politicians say that Mr. MalikiÂ’s political capital has been severely depleted by the Basra campaign Really? The same Iraqi politicians who were so opposed to Sadr they boycotted talks aimed at a peaceful resolution, calling it a "law and order" issue, thus preventing a quorum? and that he is in the curious position of having to turn to Mr. Sadr, a longtime rival, for a way out. Yes, how strange that he would talk to the enemy when negotiating that enemy's surrender. Bizarre, yet. Perhaps even unique in the annals of war. . . . I haven't seen the media swoon this hard over a militant anti-American in decades. Is Sadr the new Che? If we see Sadr T-shirts from the Code Pink store at CafePress, we'll know he's arrived. UPDATE: As usual, Bill Roggio has a much more realistic appraisal: The reasons behind Sadr's call for a cessation in fighting remain unknown, but reports indicate the Mahdi Army was having a difficult time sustaining its operations and has taken heavy casualties. "Whatever gains [the Mahdi Army] has made in the field [in Basrah], they were running short of ammunition, food, and water," an anonymous US military officer serving in South told The Long War Journal. "In short [the Mahdi Army] had no ability to sustain the effort" |
| Posted by:Mike |
| #3 (cue Black Knight) "Tis merely a flesh wound!" (Arthur) "But you've got no legs!" (BK) "The Black Knight Never Surrenders! Arr! I'll bite yer kneecaps off!" |
| Posted by: Querent 2008-04-01 12:57 |
| #2 If Mr. Tooth Decay had his head splattered by a sniper, the Times would probably see it as him suffering a "minor setback". |
| Posted by: tu3031 2008-04-01 09:23 |
| #1 The staff of Newsweek will shrink dramatically, after 111 staffers on its news and business sides accepted a buyout last week. MSM suffers from a serious case of Paleo Cause->Effect Denial Disease. I blame their long association and collaboration for the spread. Fortunately, their bedrock of senior citizens is literally dying out. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2008-04-01 09:09 |