Muqtada al-Sadr: "I'm giving the last warning and the last word to the Iraqi government -- either it comes to its senses and takes the path of peace ... or it will be (seen as) the same as the previous government," Sadr said, referring to Saddam Hussein's fallen regime... "If they don't come to their senses and curb the infiltrated militias, then we will declare an open war until liberation." (Reuters)
Muqtada al-Sadr has been riding the fence, trying to convince the US he is on their side, still trying to lead his followers, stay in the good graces of the Iraqi government (sort of), and the good graces of Iran. Looks like the gig is up and his true colors come shining through. Pat Dollard sums it up nicely:
Let’s face it, Al Sadr and his Mahdis want a government and an army within a real government and a rule army. It’s called shadow rule. That shit just isn’t going to fly, and as that hippy junky Jim Morrison said, “This is the end.”
The comments at Pat Dollard are very interesting, go check them out.
His issued his warning after Iraqi soldiers swooped on the Mehdi Army's stronghold in the southern city of Basra. Iraqi officials said they now controlled the Hayaniya district.The dawn raid by government troops there was backed by a thunderous bombardment by U.S. warplanes and British artillery. [snip]
Sadr has threatened to formally scrap a ceasefire he imposed on the Mehdi Army last August, a move that could trigger a full-scale uprising.
In his statement, Sadr did not refer to the ceasefire, but his spokesman in the holy city of Najaf, Salah al-Ubaidi, said the cleric was not bluffing.
"We mean every word," Ubaidi told Reuters.
Other reading:
Newborns' DNA targeted for state research, profiling
'What good is the privacy law if government warehouses data?, WND
Hillary Speaks Out Against MoveOn.Org, Stop the ACLU
Pope Critical of American Culture, Peace and Freedom II
re: Mossad. Neither of us know what Mossad is doing or will do, nor do we know whether CIA is in Iran either. I suspect that they might be. The question is targetted assassination.
Posted by: Stormwarning | April 21, 2008 at 06:21 AM
Courtney: Thanks for that news and update. Good news for Great Satan and Little Satan.
Stormwarning: Mossad? I have a feeling the Mossad as well as the US are 'in' Iran, just like they are 'in' Pakistan.
Posted by: Debbie | April 20, 2008 at 11:29 PM
To satisfy all sides? That is a losing proposition if I ever heard one. Kofi Annan has no credibility. And truthfully, I've never quite given Muth much either. From my perspective, and a long standing position at that, al Sadr is perhaps the most dangerous man in Iraq, and may be in the Middle East. especially now that he's been made a puppet of the Iranian gov't, al Sard's position as a charismatic leader is not to be fooled with or minimized.
Knock-knock?
Who's there?
Can you say, Mossad (only because the US doesn't have the beytsim)?
Posted by: Stormwarning | April 20, 2008 at 02:57 PM
Amer Taheri had a great piece about al Sadr right when Basra stated to cook. Essential, Iran tends to follow a Hitlerian kinda mode - a myriad of agents and agencies that often compete and conflict even while pursuing the same goal.
Anyone notice that every since Basra started that Iraq and Great Satan have been wacking Sadr City and all we hear from Mookie is "Hey, ya'll better stop or else."
Reuters reported the Surge cats said they were driving Mahdi Army out of rocket and morter range. If you check a map of Sadr City and GRAD rockets have a range of like 20 Kilometres (13 miles for the unmetric)that is one big drive. Most likely, the new Iraqi Army guys and Great Satan are taking the 'Army' out of Mahdi Army.
SwEeT!!
Posted by: courtneyme109 | April 20, 2008 at 02:43 PM
Machiavelligz, MK, and Skunkfeathers:
Yep, we should have dealt with Sadr some way OTHER than diplomatically. We had to deal with him at some point, sooner would have been better than now.
TMR: I feel you pain and sure, I feel the same way you do at times. We had great success in the first days of the Iraq war, but our actions after that were very poorly planned.
Stormwarning:
Mr. Muth is a 'diplomat', who formerly was an adviser to Kofi at the UN ... He's been advising Sadr, and acting like a PR rep for Sadr. His goal? To satisfy all sides, giving the US the appearance of success while at the same time keeping Sadr on the sidelines and possibly getting Sadr a place at the table when all is said and done. Looks like Sadr has jumped ship.
Posted by: Debbie | April 20, 2008 at 01:53 PM
Often, depending on the post topic re: al Sadr, the position here changes. For the record, I have believed al Sadr to be dangerous since the moment his poster was placed in the Square from which Hussein's statue had been toppled.
I wonder, what does "Herr Muth" think now?
Posted by: Stormwarning | April 20, 2008 at 07:48 AM
Problem is that he's in Iran...
Is it just me or are you guys gettingn a little tired of this whole Iraq thing. By that I mean, it almost seems like we are banging our collective heads against the wall for some people who don't appear to give a crap about how things go one way or the other...
Dare I say we should tell these folks, they ar eon their own and just leave,,, if we aren't going to be unmuzzled and do what needs to be done over there, then why stay?
It's like super sizing your dates meal when you know damn well your not gonna get any action... pointless...
Posted by: TRM | April 20, 2008 at 07:11 AM
Take him out, period. He's been asking for it; accommodate him.
Posted by: Skunkfeathers | April 20, 2008 at 04:10 AM
They should have dealt with this fellow years ago. He won't go away until they do. Best get on with it when the chances are good of crushing him.
Posted by: MK | April 20, 2008 at 02:34 AM
How long have we been screwing around with this guy?
Surely a few well placed jdams could take care of him and his closest aides.
This is simply ridiculous!
Posted by: Machiavelligz | April 19, 2008 at 11:42 PM