Aide to Shi'ite Cleric Sadr Held by U.S. in Baghdad

[IndianaGreen]

Looks like Bremer still wants war with all the Shias!

Aide to Shi'ite Cleric Sadr Held by U.S. in Baghdad
Tue Apr 13, 2004 04:38 AM ET

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - An aide to radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr was detained by U.S. troops in a Baghdad hotel on Tuesday and taken away in an armored U.S. military vehicle, witnesses said.

An Iraqi policeman and other witnesses said Hazem al-Araji, a cleric and aide to Sadr for a northern Baghdad district, was led out of a service entrance of the Palestine Hotel and into a waiting vehicle before being driven off.

Tribal sheikhs who have been trying to negotiate Araji's release said he had not been arrested but merely detained for questioning.

Araji was seized as he was trying to leave the hotel after being interviewed by Italian journalists.

REUTERS

Related CNN story:

Iraqi clerics say coalition 'must pay' for crisis

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/04/13/iraq.main/index.html

[IndianaGreen]

1. CNN just showed a video of the "arrest"

it took place as the cleric attended a conference with tribal leaders. There was a scuffle between our Waffen SS and Iraqis.

This is another blunder in the long series of blunders that Paul Bremer has committed.

On edit:

Tribal leaders demanding cleric's release.

[FlemingsGhost]

6. A bargaining chip (n/t)

Dems

[IndianaGreen]

2. Guardian: U.S. Troops Arrest Al-Sadr Representative

Why don't we serve him pork, or distribute Bibles in Baghdad? Bremer must want this war really bad! Bremer should be the one under arrest!

U.S. Troops Arrest Al-Sadr Representative

Tuesday April 13, 2004 9:31 AM

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - U.S. troops arrested a representative of anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr as he attended a meeting of tribal leaders at a hotel in Baghdad on Tuesday.

Hazen al-Aaraji was detained as he entered the conference hall at the Palestine Hotel. His bodyguards tried to prevent the arrest, but stepped aside when confronted by the soldiers.

Troops took al-Aaraji to the neighboring Sheraton Hotel.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-3971493,00.html?=ticker

[drfemoe]

3. Are they just going to publicly execute this guy?

War in Iraq
Militia backs off; U.S. set for siege
Shiite cleric is still target
From Star news services
April 13, 2004

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- A week after seizing control of Najaf, members of a militia loyal to a radical Shiite Muslim cleric relinquished its hold on police stations and government buildings Monday as U.S. soldiers mobilized in preparation for an assault on the city.

Still, a U.S. commander said the American mission remained to "kill or capture" the cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr.

The withdrawal of al-Sadr's forces, the continuation of a cease-fire in Fallujah and the release of seven kidnapped Chinese civilians amounted to the most positive developments for U.S. occupation forces since a two-front war with Shiite militiamen and Sunni Muslim insurgents erupted.
...
But Shiite members of Iraq's U.S.-appointed Governing Council urged the occupation authority to seek a negotiated solution with al-Sadr, using senior Shiite clerics as interlocutors. Several Shiites on the council want legal proceedings against al-Sadr to be delayed until the planned handover of sovereignty on June 30 in exchange for a commitment from al-Sadr to dissolve his militia.
...
http://www.indystar.com/articles/6/137702-7286-010.html
:crazy:

[sampsonblk]

4. They must free this guy immediately

You can't call for a truce and then arrest the other guy when he comes for talks. This is the news of the day, especially if they insist on holding him. This is BAD for business.

[IndianaGreen]

5. Apparently he was released later

The problem is that Krazy Kimmit and Paul Bremer are hell-bent on waging war on all Shias, perhaps because the only Shia they like is Chalabi.