Al-Sadr has had just about enough

[SHRED]

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Al-Sadr's stand down last Summer was of far more significance and impact in quelling the violence in Iraq than "The Surge" ever was or could have hoped to be.
Looks like our government, instead of buying him off, has now chosen to attack him with the rag tag Iraqi military.

Not good.
Not good at all.


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Sunday, Apr. 20, 2008
Al-Sadr Threatens Iraq, U.S. with "Open War"
By Mark Kukis and Abigail Hauslohner/Baghdad

Militia leader Muqtada al-Sadr aired his sternest threat yet to the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, vowing "open war" unless the U.S.-backed military assault on his followers ends.

"I am giving you my final warning," al-Sadr said in a written statement calling for a halt of attacks against his militia strongholds in Baghdad and southern Iraq. Al-Sadr's message urged the Iraqi government to end its crackdown and take the "road of peace." If not, al-Sadr said, "I will declare it open war until liberation."

The Shi'ite cleric's demand, issued late Saturday night in Iraq, amounted to his toughest talk yet in the crisis, which began late last month when Iraqi forces attacked al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia in a bungled Basra operation. Fighting continued since then in Baghdad and areas of southern Iraq where the Mahdi Army has a strong presence. Officials in the Maliki government said Iraqi security forces swept into the section of Basra controlled by the Mahdi Army without resistance Saturday as U.S. and British bombs fell in the area in support of the operation.

In Sadr City, the militia's base in east Baghdad, heavy fighting erupted again Saturday night as the Mahdi Army continued street battles with Iraqi forces backed by U.S. airstrikes and American ground troops. At least 13 were reported to have died in overnight clashes.

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1732495,00.html

12 killed in Baghdad clashes, Iraqi officials say
By BUSHRA JUHI – 1 day ago

BAGHDAD (AP) — Twelve people died in overnight clashes in Baghdad's Sadr City district, which has become a chief battleground between U.S. and Iraqi forces and the Mahdi Army of anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, police and hospital officials said Saturday.

Iraqi troops also kept up the pressure on Shiite militants in the southern city of Basra, where they fanned out through a stronghold of the Mahdi Army.

In Sadr City's general hospital, officials said 71 people were admitted for treatment of injuries received in the fighting. The hospital also received 12 bodies, said an official who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to release the information.

The fighting came amid reports that Iraqi troops backed up by U.S. forces were trying to recapture a position in the district abandoned a day ago by a company of government soldiers.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gkx-3oYeFwuWKCusr2jrojs98w8wD904QCGG2



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[Warpy]

1. He's one of the few guys with enough clout to

unite the country and kick us out, the Iraqis being armed and trained by us just like the Vietnamese were in the early 70s.

That it will eventually happen is inevitable.

The real lesson of Vietnam and now Iraq is NEVER GET INVOLVED IN ANOTHER COUNTRY.

[panader0]

2. You are right

and not only don't get involved militarily, but don't let our big corporations bend the arms of foriegn countries either.

[Pavulon]

3. Agree and disagree...

This is now a negotiation. He is maneuvering for his cut of the pie. Hopefully they will continue to settle out their bullshit so we can leave.

He is one man and can, and probably will be killed if he starts a conflict. At this point the US is committed to some resolution here. No candidate is going to walk away from Iraq. They say they will, but they will not.

US intervention is not a bad thing when there are clear goals, world support, and a really good reason.

Rwanda and the Yugoslavian collapse warranted the US stepping in. One happened and one did not. The US has great power and should use it properly.

Iraq served no purpose, it has not furthered American interest, and did not begin with a proper plan.

That is clearly documented.