US, Iraqi forces hold a top aide of Sadr's The government complained that it had not been consulted

[maddezmom]

~snip~

"There was no coordination with the Iraqi political leadership, and this arrest was not part of the new security plan," Sadiq al-Rikabi, the Maliki adviser, told Al-Arabiya television. "Coordination with the Iraqi political leadership is needed before conducting such operations that draw popular reactions."

~snip~

In an interview with an Italian newspaper, Sadr said the U.S.-Iraqi security crackdown already had begun. And he confirmed reports that 400 Mahdi Army fighters had been arrested.


The La Repubblica interviewer quoted Sadr as saying he feared for his life and stayed on the move constantly. Sadr said his militias would not fight back immediately because Islam forbids killing during the Muslim holy month of Muharram, which started yesterday for Sunnis and today for Shiites.

"Let them kill us," he was quoted as saying. "For a true believer there is no better moment than this to die: Heaven is ensured. After Muharram, we'll see."

more:http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/nation/16503693.htm?source=rss&channel=inquirer_nation

[xchrom]

1. ''After Muharram, we'll see."

i fear this will not go down well in the shiite community.

and this quote is just reflective of what stirring below the surface.

[rodeodance]

2. here is the link to original interview:

http://justworldnews.org/mt/mt-comments.cgi?entry_id=2346

...... It is said that you were present in the crowd at Saddam's execution. Is that true?

It's utter nonsense. If I had been there, they would have killed me also. As for Saddam, I'm certainly not going to cry for the man who massacred my family and my people by tens of thousands. The only thing is, I would have executed him in a public square so that all the world saw it.

=

If you were not there yourself, do you deny that there were a lot of your men in that room?

No, they were not my men. They were people paid to discredit me. To make me look like the person really responsible for that hanging. Listen to the audio again, the proof is that in reciting my prayer they left out some basic passages. Stuff that not even a child in Sadr City would ever have done. The object was to make Muqtadá look like the real enemy of the Sunnis. And they're getting away with it. At a time when I have been received with full honours in Saudi Arabia! But suddenly after that show under the scaffold, my spokesman al-Zarqání, who was on the pilgrimage to Mecca, has been arrested. A subtle way to let me know that I am no longer on their list of friends.

=

In any case, the war between you and the Sunnis goes on.

It is true that we are all Muslims and all sons of the same country, but they must first distance themselves from the Saddamites, from the radical groups, from men like Bin Ladin, over and above just repeating their "No" to the Americans. The only thing that will be enough is for their ulema to accept our conditions . So far they have not done so.

=............

[xchrom]

4. thanks -- fascinating interview.

al sadr represents in a small bushco's refusal to talk to and deal with people they disagree with.

now we have a stand off that looks like more violence is part and parcel of the recipe.

was there any part of this invasion that wasn't going to be a failure -- or prescribed to be a failure?

[maddezmom]

5. thanks for the link

I found the article on Le Republicca but couldn't figure out how to translate it. :hi:

[ClintonTyree]

3. Bush views Iraq as his country....

he won it, fair and square. Mission accomplished and all that crap. Bush will let the Iraqi government know about the things he's done after he's done them (if then), the same as here in the U.S. Bush wants to give the illusion of democracy in Iraq, purple fingers and all that.... :eyes: but things are going to be done Bush's way or no way at all. I bet the Bushies already have Maliki's replacement picked out because Maliki isn't playing the game by Bush's rules. The guy actually thinks he's in charge! Imagine that.

"America is playing with fire, and our patience is beginning to fade," said Abdul-Razzaq al-Nidawi, a Sadr aide in the Shiite holy city of Najaf. "This savage barbarian act will not pass peacefully." If nothing, the Iraqi people are patient. Bush's "surge" will come and go but you can bet this will come back to bite them in the ass when all is said and done.

[izzie]

6. I think this

Bush's "surge" will come and go but you can bet this will come back to bite them in the ass when all is said and done.------- Has about hit it on the head. Bush is the real bull in the china shop. I think it is the way he thinks. It is like he has no insight to anything. It is what people get when they put in a name and not talent into power. Rule by birth right has seen it days and this country knows it as does the world. Lets face it world, Bush was not born to rule.

[acmavm]

7. No, Cheney and the neos were not born nor are they fit to rule. If anyones

been paying attention to the articles here the past couple of days they would notice that it was Cheney who turned down the Iranian offer of negotiation and help with Iraq in 2003. They would have read the arrogant and dismissive remarks of Cheney in regard to the rule of law and the Constitution and how he got sick of dealing with the legislative body when he and his horrid colleages got bounced out of the places of power before. They would have read who Cheney has been able to keep Chucklenuts from listening to anyone else, to avoid paying attention to public opinion, that he is special with special powers that allow him to do anything.

Cheney is a very frightening man. Poopy set Cheney upon us when he asked him to find his idiot son someone to run as vice president. Cheney saw his opportunity to overpower a drooling idiot bastard and took it.

What I don't understand is whether or not Poopy and Cheney are still in cahoots, because all Poopy did before when he 'stepped in' after the election was to provide some cover and breathing room for these guy. Calmed down the peasants before they came running with their torches and pitchforks. Not we're back to the same old same old but they're being quieter about it, not so blatantly arrogant. And where's Poopy now?

[izzie]

8. Can not blame it all on Cheney as Bush holds the power

Bush may turn it over to Chaney and I think he has in some ways but and it is a big one, The power sits with Bush to give. I really see two more years of this madness and I do not think I will even be alive as we try to repair the mess this group has done. I think they will be even more madness as the power slips from this group. Hold on to your hats we are in for a two year ride and only God can help us in that last days when these Presidents go nuts and signs all those 'things' in the back room.