Al-Sadr Pulls Fighters Off Iraq Streets
March 30th, 2008 . by TexasFredBAGHDAD (AP) - Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr said Sunday that he was pulling his fighters off the streets nationwide and called on the government to stop raids against his followers and free them from prison.
The Iraqi government quickly welcomed al-Sadr’s apparent move to resolve a widening conflict with his movement, sparked Tuesday by operations against his backers in the oil-rich southern city of Basra.
Al-Sadr’s nine-point statement was issued by his headquarters in the holy city of Najaf and broadcast through loudspeakers on Shiite mosques. It said the first point was: “taking gunmen off the streets in Basra and elsewhere.”
He also demanded that the Iraqi government stop “haphazard raids” and release security detainees who haven’t been charged, two issues cited by his movement as reasons for fighting the government.
Full Story Here:
Al-Sadr Pulls Fighters Off Iraq Streets
al-Sadr blinked. And you can bet it wasn’t from fear of the Iraqi army or police, it was because of the raids being conducted by U.S. aircraft, ground support being provided by the U.S. military and artillery barrages being provided by British forces, had it not been for those 3 factors, Iraqi forces, such as they are, would be locked in a bloody struggle right now, or, should I say, more of a struggle than they already are?
This is the question I asked in a post on Tuesday, “Will al-Sadr and his cohorts blink 1st? Will al-Maliki have to return the balls he appears to have found once this is over? Is there going to be a massive push into Sadr City and Basra to oust these radical vermin?”, al-Maliki and al-Sadr both rattle their sabres and now I wonder, is al-Sadr truly a man of his word, will he be capable of controlling the actions of his Mahdi army thugs?
We shall see I suppose, time will tell, but I am reasonably sure this will not be the last we hear from al-Sadr and his Mahdi army, they will continue to be a thorn in the side of the Iraqi government as they try to establish a working democracy in Iraq.
I also wonder, has al-Maliki got the balls to actually pull this off? Does he have the power to stop his police from surrendering to the Mahdi army and turning their weapons over to them? “We can’t fight our brothers in the Mahdi Army, so we came here to submit our weapons,†one policeman said on condition of anonymity for security reasons.”, Shiite Leader Al-Sadr Defies Iraq Gov’t
I am, quite frankly, a bit surprised that al-Maliki is still alive, given the preferred methods of removal from office incorporated by the Iraqi insurgents, maybe the man has more to him than has been seen so far, maybe it’s because American forces and some really sharp private security forces have protected him that well.
Or maybe the puppeteer is pulling the right strings.
All I know for certain is this, I am very tired of hearing that even more American troops have died for this cause, I am tired of hearing how many BILLIONS of our tax dollars are being poured into a nation that will, in all likelihood, never return a penny of that cost to us, I am tired of hearing how we are fighting to help establish a true democracy in an Islamic nation, a nation consumed by a religion that will never allow democracy to live, they can’t allow it to live and remain an Islamic nation, Islam and democracy are in direct opposition to each other.
And another thing I am tired of is this, I am tired of being told that this Debacle in Iraq is making us safer here in the USA.
If our shores, ports and borders were actually secure, if our immigration laws, as well as the issuance of travel and student visas were well regulated and policed, there would be no way that any of the insurgents in Iraq could possibly make their way into this nation and do us harm.
As retired U.S. Navy Commander Jeff Huber of Pen and Sword said a while back, and I loosely quote, “How are they going to threaten us if our borders are secure? Attack us with their air force? Sail their navy over here with an invasion force? An air force and navy they don’t have?”
Cmdr. Huber has also points out some of the same facts that I have, on numerous occasions, we don’t have to worry about an invasion by radical Islamic terrorists and/or insurgents that would come here from Iraq or other places, they’re already here, they are living right here in the USA, right now, and it’s only a matter of time until they strike the American people.
I am only guessing with this statement, but I am of the opinion, so far, the reason we haven’t seen terrorist attacks in the USA is because of the ARMED citizenry of America, the radical insurgent factions of Islam, those that would conduct terrorist attacks on our shores, are FULLY aware that if they were do so, something like HALF of the population of this nation would rise in anger and strike out against ALL Muslims in America, with NO concern as to whether they were striking radical terrorists or innocent bystanders, it would simply be the fact that they were Muslims, and that my friends is a cold hard truth.
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I have a more pessimistic take on this. Look who demonstrated what in the last few days:
1. Al-Sadr proved he can start violence when he wants to, and he can stop the violence when he wants to.
2. Al-Maliki proved that he practically powerless to stop what al-Sadr starts.
So if anyone wins this battle, it’s al-Sadr, in my view. He will start up the fighting again, at a time and place of his own choosing, and there’s not much anyone can do about it.
I liked the ending comment about the armed citizens of the USA and was reminded of another responding post to this blog some time ago relating a story about how Vietnam responds to possible Muslim terrorists: the Communist government said they would “detain or slaughter the entire Muslim population in the country”, hence no attacks.
Looking back into recent history with a view of current events in Iraq, Saddam Hussein (despite being a terrible killer himself) doesn’t look so bad. One can tell he wouldn’t have tolerated terrorism either as it would have been a threat to his power.
I doubt very much it was U.S. air power that got Muqtada al Sadr’s men off the streets of the Basra. First of all, they’re not off the streets at all. al-Sadrs’ minions still man roadblocks and checkpoints and they still control whole neighborhoods of Basra.
The Iraqi Army has been infiltrated by not only al Sadr’s men, but men from Sunni militias. The Pentagon has even acknowledged this. Every analyst who looked at the Battle for Basra has concluded the Iraqi government did not win. Because Muqtada al Sadr’s militia is still intact and continues to impose their own tax, levies and cultural sway.
In fact, several wire stories pointed out that rather than U.S. airpower, it was the influence of clerics from Tehran that persuaded al Sadr to pull his fighters from the battle. And if that is true, than Bush & Co. have not only badly miscalculated by putting the Shi’ites in power in Iraq, they’ve laid the foundations for a dual Islamic Iran-Iraq state.
Jude, you know it, I know it and anyone with a brain knows it, but you’ll NEVER get the Bush Bots to admit it, and they’ll call YOU a traitor to the ’cause’ for saying it… They think Bush, and his policies are sheer genius, but remember this:
TexasFred, you are so right about it.