Muqtada al-Sadr

[Joseph]

What does this man want? Does he want to be the Great Leader of Iraq?

Or does he want a Greater Iran with Iraq as a member state in a greater Iran.

[GePap]

He seems to want an islamic state ruled by Clerics similarly to Iran, thought not fully like Iran. Obviosuly he thinks he should be in the lead in any such state, or at least have a big part in it.

[Az]

copycat thread.

[Elok]

Al-Sadr wants a copycat thread? That evil, twisted ****er! Let's bomb him right away!

[Ned]

Muqtada is being financed by the Iranians. He will continue to fight until he is captured as he is just a tool.

[Kidlicious]

I wouldn't count your chickens before they hatch Ned.

[Ramo]

I sure did miss Ned and his bald assertions.

Welcome back.

[Ned]

Originally posted by Ramo
I sure did miss Ned and his bald assertions.

Welcome back.

Thanks Ramo!

[Ted Striker]

Al Sadr is teh gay

[Kidlicious]

But Ned, are you feeling OK. You haven't even called any of us freedom hating Al-Sadr lovers.

[Ned]

Kid, give me time.

[Sprayber]

Apparently his vow to fight to the death didn't really mean to his death.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=564&ncid=564&e=1&u=/nm/20040818/ts_nm/iraq_dc_279

Iraq Cleric Agrees to End Uprising, Demands Truce

By Michael Georgy

NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - A radical Iraqi cleric leading a Shi'ite uprising agreed Wednesday to disarm his militia and leave one of the country's holiest Islamic shrines, but only after a truce with encircling U.S. Marines.

The dramatic announcement appeared to avert a bloodbath after Iraq (news - web sites)'s interim government only hours earlier threatened to storm the Imam Ali Mosque in Najaf to teach Moqtada al-Sadr and his Mehdi Army militia "a lesson they will never forget."

Iraq's Defense Ministry Wednesday ordered Shi'ite militiamen in Najaf to immediately lay down their weapons and leave the shrine.

The ministry said in a statement radical cleric Sadr and his followers would be granted amnesty only after they abandon an armed uprising in Najaf and at least seven other cities.

The statement made no mention of an earlier demand by Sadr that U.S. Marines agree a truce before he would disarm his militia and leave the shrine.

Explosions and gunfire still echoed around the mosque after Sadr agreed to end his two-week rebellion, which has posed the biggest challenge to Prime Minister Iyad Allawi since he took over from U.S.-led occupiers on June 28.

"Sayyed Moqtada and his fighters are ready to throw down their weapons and leave for the sake of Iraq," Ali al-Yassiri, Sadr's political liaison officer, told Reuters.

"But they should stop attacking him first and pull away from the shrine."

Delegates at a meeting in Baghdad that chose an interim national assembly said Sadr had agreed to accept their demands to resolve the crisis that has killed hundreds, spread to seven other cities and rattled world oil markets.

Sadr's fighters have holed up in the shrine in the heart of the southern city, hoping U.S. and Iraqi forces will not dare to attack the holiest site for Iraq's majority Shi'ites.

Jalil al-Shumari, a delegate to the Baghdad meeting, read a letter from Sadr's office announcing the cleric had backed down.

"TEACH THEM A LESSON"

Defense Minister Hazim al-Shaalan had some six hours earlier said an assault was imminent on the golden-domed mosque.

"We will teach them a lesson they will never forget," Shaalan said in the city after meeting local officials.

American Marines and soldiers have been doing most of the fighting in Najaf, but Shaalan said Iraqi forces had been training to storm the shrine complex and that U.S. forces would not enter.

Sadr's acceptance of the demands marks a sharp turnaround for the icon of Iraq's impoverished Shi'ite youth, who had threatened to fight to the death if necessary.

The scion of a Shi'ite clerical dynasty and aged about 30, Sadr is the most powerful opponent of the United States and the interim government.

The director of Najaf's main hospital, Falah al-Muhana, said 29 people had been brought in killed or wounded in the clashes Wednesday, but there were no more precise figures. U.S. casualties are treated at their own bases.

Apart from Sadr leaving the shrine, the delegates demanded Sadr's men lay down their weapons and the cleric and his men disavow violence and participate in elections set for January.

ASSEMBLY CHOSEN

The Baghdad conference announced members of a new council to oversee the interim government.

A list of 81 government-backed candidates was chosen after four days of deliberations. The rest were made up of members of Iraq's now defunct governing council.

The meeting was prolonged for a day by disputes over Najaf and wrangling over the make-up of the council.

"This was an illegitimate process that was dominated by the government and did not represent the composition of Iraq," said independent delegate Jawad al-Ubaidi.

The council will be able to veto legislation with a two thirds majority, approve the 2005 budget and appoint a new prime minister or president should either quit or die in office.

A delegation from the meeting flew to Najaf Tuesday to try to broker a deal, but Sadr refused to meet them.

The Najaf uprising has exposed the government's reliance on U.S. troops, a big dilemma for Allawi ahead of January polls.

Allawi must be seen to tackle the challenge to his authority, but using heavy-handed tactics near Najaf's shrines could enrage the country's 60-percent Shi'ite majority.

Iraq's health ministry said Wednesday 21 people had been killed in clashes in Baghdad, Basra, Diwaniya and Najaf and dozens wounded in the past 24 hours. Clashes continued in the Iraqi capital.

In Baghdad, an American soldier was shot dead while on patrol in a suburb that is a Sadr stronghold, the U.S. military said. At least 707 U.S. servicemen and women have been killed in action in Iraq since the start of last year's U.S.-led invasion.

Insurgents also fired mortar rounds in Baghdad, with one landing near the venue for choosing the assembly. Two more mortar bombs were fired near the Interior Ministry in Baghdad. No casualties were reported in either attack.

But in the northern city of Mosul, a mortar bomb hit a market, killing five civilians and wounding 21, officials said.

[Ted Striker]

This is why handing over power to the Iraqis was so important back in June

The Americans could never make bold threats about storming the mosque. The Iraqis can, and it has legitamacy.


Ted Striker is again correct 100% of the time.

[Ramo]

I'll believe it when it happens. Sadr has promised to disband his militia a couple times before (when the US was running Iraq BTW). He may be just buying time.

“But there was skepticism whether Mr Sadr’s offer was genuine or merely a negotiating tactic to forestall an imminent all-out attack on the shrine by Iraqi government forces, which were fighting the cleric’s militia last night.”

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1286101,00.html

[The Mad Monk]

Back then the Iranians were still strongly supporting him; recently that support has been considerably diminished, either because we're getting better at intercepts, or because they've decided to cut their losses -- maybe both.