Fearing the surge will weaken his position in Iraq, he has ordered the Mahdi Army to resist American and Iraqi forces trying to put him out of business.
The renegade cleric Muqtada al-Sadr urged Iraqi forces to stop cooperating with the United States and told his guerrilla fighters to concentrate their attacks on American troops rather than Iraqis, according to a statement issued Sunday.
The statement, stamped with al-Sadr’s official seal, was distributed in the Shiite holy city of Najaf on Sunday ” a day before a large demonstration there, called for by al-Sadr, to mark the fourth anniversary of the fall of Baghdad.
“You, the Iraqi army and police forces, don’t walk alongside the occupiers, because they are your archenemy,” the statement said. Its authenticity could not be verified.
In the statement, al-Sadr ” who commands an enormous following among
Iraq’s majority Shiites and has close allies in the Shiite-dominated government ” also encouraged his followers to attack only American forces, not fellow Iraqis.
Our troops have had a hands-off approach to al-Sadr for far too long, due to his dual status as both an armed rabble-rouser and a legitimate politician. But if he has now decided that his forces will exclusively attack Americans, he’s putting his entire army and himself back in the US crosshairs. The sooner we deal with him now that he has declared war on us, the better.
The Mahdis have a big problem, though, and that is that they relinquished momentum to the US and Iraqi forces several weeks ago. They have been pushed farther to the margins in Baghdad, and the residents there do not want to see them return. Sadr’s flight and apparent refusal to return publicly makes them look weak and craven. The Iraqi forces present an even more difficult problem politically, as they are primarily Shi’ite and have growing support from the populace — and no matter what Sadr orders, it will be difficult to attack Americans without engaging the Iraqis as well.
Sadr has proven himself an adept politician, but a lousy general. Having him switch back into that role is a victory in itself for the American forces. Najaf residents recall the disastrous campaign Sadr staged there earlier in the Iraq war. His declaration in that city will likely result in more skepticism than enthusiasm, especially since Sadr keeps mailing in his orders from Iran.
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Go, Mooky! Right on, you rock! We need you to do your part to help assure a Bush defeat! We are helping you as much as we can, Mooky, but you gotta do it over there!
1. Yes, typical liberal. Go ahead and post your Bush hating rhetoric. Side with terrorists. Are you ready to worship Allah and buy a berka?
I think all BHDS cut and run types, especially the Democrite leadership, should be issued a Burqua and be required to wear it whenever they are in public. Men and women.
Women would be required to wear it as a reminder of the status of women in the Islamic theocracies. Leftist BHDS cut and run males would be required to wear the Burqua as a symbol of their lack of will to protect civilization and the future of their nation and families.
The color? Only one: yellow, of course.
The big man theory. If we could only get that one big guy that is causing us all that trouble things would be OK.
The vast majority of the American people do not support Bush. Even on the right his support is soft. If the 1 out of 3 Americans that say they support him REALLY did then those 100 million would be lined up at the recruiting stations trying to enlist. They may wave the flag and put a yellow ribbon on their cars but the real support is not there.
5-
No, because there is not just one, but Sadr is a biggie that has created a lot of problms and his demise would be a step in the right direction.
Speculation at best. Where is it that you come up with that? Polls?
Just a ridiculous statement. What are the ages of those 100 million people? What are the ages of the other 200 million? Isn’t the armed services a voluntary force? Therefore, those that want to sign up, do.Â
Another moron with this idiotic line of reasoning. Gee John Ryan, I guess you don’t really support the police and fireman in your community since you’re not a cop or a fireman. I guess you don’t care about the fight against aids since you’re not a health care worker. Following your logic what other things don’t you care about?
7- had not even thought of it that way Drake. Great points!
#4 BonBon I figured you’d like it and you didn’t dissapoint me! I joke about such things because sometimes some humor is the only positive thing about a situation.
The reality is sad, pathetic disgraceful, outrageous. That we even have people in this country, enjoying all the benefits that better Americans have sacrificed to make available, wanting America to lose.