 Under pressure from Iraqi government troops and the American military, Moktada al-Sadr called on his followers to stop the bloodshed, unite with all Iraqis and focus their firepower on driving out the “occupation forces,” meaning the United States military and its foreign allies.
The statement, read at Friday prayers, appeared to be part of a carefully calibrated political strategy of keeping Mookie alive reaching out to his “Iraqi brothers” while threatening any Iraqis who work with the occupying forces.
| So he's already crying like a Nancy-boy ... |
It echoes the one Mr. Sadr, a rabidly nationalist Shiite cleric, made last year when he asked his Mahdi militia to halt its most aggressive activities, including most sectarian killings. That gambit improved his image nationally while allowing him to build up his own forces.
| So he's trying to repeat the magic, not quite realizing that Basra and Sadr City are no longer his ... |
In the statement Mr. Sadr, who is believed to be hiding in Iran, issued eight edicts in an effort to open the way for a negotiation with the Iraqi government, but also to shore up his own support. He instructed his followers to “to wage open war against the Americans” but forbade them from “raising a hand against another Iraqi citizen.” He also urged the Iraqi Army and Iraqi police to stop cooperating with the Americans, and he asked the government to purge the militias within the ranks of the police and the army. He said he would oppose any American military bases in Iraq.
He also issued a “final warning” to the Iraqi government to end its crackdown or face an “open war until liberation.”
But he quickly softened the threat, saying, “If we have threatened with an open war until liberation, we have meant by it a war against the occupier.”
| Yeah, yeah, nancy-boy, why don't you come home and talk bad to us ... |
The very public effort to calm the situation follows nearly a month of open fighting in Sadr City, Basra and several provinces in southern Iraq. It appeared to reflect an effort by Mr. Sadr to ensure that he'll still be alive in October his movement is able to compete effectively in local elections scheduled for October. |