RE: Wife swapping Mehdi Army
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RE: Wife swapping Mehdi Army - 5/16/2007 12:43:31 PM
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azinorum
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quote:
ORIGINAL: azinorum
Ok so I was wrong! 
Prince Harry will be deployed to Iraq with his regiment, the head of the British army has said. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6609385.stm
No wait a minute, I was right after all. 
Prince Harry not to serve in Iraq
Prince Harry will not be sent to Iraq, the head of the British Army has said.
LINK: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6663053.stm
_____________________________
Religion + Politics = disaster
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RE: Wife swapping Mehdi Army - 5/17/2007 1:27:27 AM
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Lion of Babylon
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I dont get it. If they feel Iraq is too dangerous to send young Harry then why did they announce he would be deployed in the first place? Did the danger level rise dramaticaly in the past month? His public relations people should be sacked.
On the other hand who gives a sh*t.
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RE: Wife swapping Mehdi Army - 5/19/2007 3:34:57 AM
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zimzim
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I dont like the name of this post but I also do like the mehdi army. This is a report for AP with pics.
Al-Sadr's Followers Becoming Less Unified
Splits are emerging in the powerful Mahdi Army of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, with some calling themselves the "noble" fighters are cooperating with Americans to root out factions they feel have gone too far by killing civilians and embezzling funds. AP's Lauren Frayer reports from the scene in Baghdad.
http://hosted.ap.org/specials/interactives/_international/iraq_mahdi/index.html?SITE=NYONE
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RE: Wife swapping Mehdi Army - 5/20/2007 12:50:49 AM
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azinorum
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"For the first time, I am really thinking we will have to leave."
The words of Ali, a friend of mine, recently. He told me how members of Moqtada Sadr's Mehdi militia had recently come knocking at his apartment building. They demanded one of his neighbours give up his flat. They needed it as a safe house, in case US forces came looking for them. The neighbour was cornered, my friend said. He made excuses. "So you don't like the Mehdi," the militia men responded. The man was terrified my, friend said. What could he do?
It is all getting too close, he said. The other day, he rushed home from work to move his family out, because a firefight had broken out nearby.
"We have gunbattles in the area every two or three days now."
Ali is like many Iraqis. He was happy to see Saddam Hussein overthrown. And in many respects life has got much better for him and his family - primarily because he earns far more than he used to as a doctor.
The extra cash has made it worth hanging on, despite the constant chaos and violence, the lack of basic services like electricity. He doesn't want me to say what he does now - or his real name - to protect his identity.
STORY CONTINUES: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6669773.stm
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RE: Wife swapping Mehdi Army - 5/20/2007 1:10:29 AM
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azinorum
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The movement of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has embarked on one of its most dramatic tactical shifts since the beginning of the war.
Since Sadr emerged with force after the U.S.-led invasion, he has sought to create a Shiite-led state guided by Islamic law with a strong central government.
In 2004, his militia battled U.S. forces in Najaf, bolstering his authority and appeal across sects. But his credibility as a would-be unifier of Iraq suffered after his militiamen engaged in widespread revenge killings of Sunnis following the February 2006 bombing of a revered Shiite shrine in Samarra. His movement remains in flux, at times in turmoil, over the approach toward Sunnis, the proper timing of a U.S. withdrawal and Sadr's political involvement.
U.S. policy toward Sadr often appears contradictory. American soldiers are more cautious in conducting raids, understanding the movement's social dimensions and popular roots. U.S. military leaders no longer cite Shiite militias as the biggest threat to Iraq's stability, emphasizing the insurgent group al-Qaeda in Iraq instead.
At the same time, the military is attempting to contain Sadr. U.S. military leaders say they are preparing to increase the number of U.S. and Iraqi soldiers patrolling the streets of Sadr City, the cleric's stronghold in Baghdad.
"The Americans are trying to picture the Mahdi Army as being a tool of Iran," said Karim Abu Ali, a Sadr spokesman in Baghdad. "It is baseless."
Sadr is now dispatching Shaibani to speak with Sunni religious leaders in Syria, Egypt and across the Persian Gulf to seek their help in approaching Sunnis inside Iraq.
Sadr senses an opportunity in recent moves by Sunni insurgent groups to break away from militants influenced by al-Qaeda in Iraq, and in the threats by the largest Sunni political bloc to leave the government, which opens the possibility for a new cross-sectarian political alliance, his aides said.
Sadr's political followers have had informal talks with Sunni politicians and insurgent groups in the past month. "We think there is some possibility to have a closer relationship," said Hussein al-Falluji, a legislator in the Iraqi Accordance Front, the largest Sunni political bloc.
Abu Aja Naemi, a commander in the 1920 Revolution Brigades, said Sadr's representatives have had informal discussions with his group.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...051901307.html
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RE: Wife swapping Mehdi Army - 5/20/2007 1:47:34 PM
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Lion of Babylon
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"No...America...occupier out"
Sun, 20 May 2007 07:46:41
Hundreds of residents in the Al-Ubaidi district, Baghdad demonstrated against US tactics in hunting for Mehdi army members.
"We call on the parliament and the government to take a swift action to put an end to the destructive acts in Ubaidi district and its neighbouring areas where US warplanes are dropping their fire on the heads of the
people," announced one of the organisers, Hassan Ouda.
Chanting "No, no to America" and "Get out, occupier", protesters burned the American flag.
"There is no man in the house. I am living alone with my daughters. They terrified us to the point that I feel sick today. Why do all these raids? What do they want? We do not hide criminals. Can God accept this," said a resident.
A joint Iraqi-U.S. forces raided a populated neighbourhood in northeastern Baghdad during early hours on Saturday looking for members of the Mehdi Army.
The raids were part of a US-led forces' program to target suspected members of a cell alleged to be smuggling sophisticated roadside bombs known as explosively formed penetrators.
AM/HAR
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RE: Wife swapping Mehdi Army - 5/20/2007 1:50:14 PM
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Lion of Babylon
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Azinorum you owe me one.
British forces arrest Sadr movement leader at Basra airport
Posted : Sat, 19 May 2007 12:48:00GMT
Author : DPA
Baghdad - British forces Saturday arrested a leading figure from the Sadr movement led by the Shiite cleric and militia leader Muqtada al-Sadr in the southern Iraqi Basra city, independent Voices of Iraq news agency said, citing witnesses. "British forces this morning arrested Sheikh Aws al-Khafaji at Basra airport while he was on his way to travel from Iraq," one source was quoted as saying. Another witness said that the arrest occurred in the departure hall of the airport.
Sheikh Aws al-Khafaji is a leading figure from the Sadr movement. He was deputed by al-Sadr to be the Friday sermon imam in the southern Iraqi city of Nassiriyah.
Earlier Friday, Iraqi security forces raided the houses of 10 Sadrist officials in Hindiyah near Karbala city, arresting members of their families, Voices of Iraq news agency reported, citing a source at al-Sadr's office.
The source did not give the names of the officials whose families were arrested Friday night, the reason for the arrests, or whether the officials were present when the forces raided their houses.
Hindiyah district is 20 kilometres east of Karbala, which is 108 kilometres south-west of Baghdad.
The political movement of US critic al-Sadr has been having disagreements with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government owing to al-Maliki's refusal to define a timetable for a US pull-out.
The Sadr movement occupies 30 seats in the 275-seat Iraqi parliament under the umbrella of the so-called Mahdi Army, the largest armed militia in Iraq.
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RE: Wife swapping Mehdi Army - 5/23/2007 2:49:46 AM
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azinorum
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Cheers LOB.
Below is a report which is self explanatory. I hate when they call this moron a "revered Iraqi cleric". Does anyone know if habibi Muqtada is still in Tehran?
The Secret US Plot to Kill Sadr
By Patrick Cockburn
The US Army tried to kill or capture Muqtada al-Sadr, the widely revered Shia cleric, after luring him to peace negotiations at a house in the holy city of Najaf, which it then attacked, according to a senior Iraqi government official.
The revelation of this extraordinary plot, which would probably have provoked an uprising by outraged Shia if it had succeeded, has left a legacy of bitter distrust in the mind of Mr Sadr for which the US and its allies in Iraq may still be paying. "I believe that particular incident made Muqtada lose any confidence or trust in the [US-led] coalition and made him really wild," the Iraqi National Security Adviser Dr Mowaffaq Rubai'e told me in an interview. It is not known who gave the orders for the attempt on Mr Sadr but it is one of a series of ill-considered and politically explosive US actions in Iraq since the invasion. In January this year a US helicopter assault team tried to kidnap two senior Iranian security officials on an official visit to the Iraqi President. Earlier examples of highly provocative actions carried out by the US with little thought for the consequences include the dissolution of the Iraqi army and the Baath party.
The attempted assassination or abduction took place two-and-a-half years ago in August 2004 when Mr Sadr and his Mehdi Army militiamen were besieged by US Marines in Najaf, south of Baghdad.
Dr Rubai'e believes that his mediation efforts--about which he had given the US embassy, the American military command and the Iraqi government in Baghdad full details--were used as an elaborate set-up to entice the Shia leader to a place where he could be trapped.
Mr Sadr emerged as the leader of the Sadrist movement in Baghdad at the time of the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003. It had been founded by his father, also a cleric, who had confronted Saddam's regime in the 1990s and had been murdered by his agents in 1999. Its blend of nationalism, religion and populism proved highly attractive to Iraqi Shia, particularly to the very poor.
Although Mr Sadr escaped with his life at the last moment, the incident helps explain why he disappeared from view in Iraq when President George Bush stepped up confrontation with him and his Mehdi Army militia in January.
Dr Rubai'e said: "I know him very well and I think his suspicion and distrust of the coalition and any foreigner is really deep-rooted," and dates from what happened in Najaf. He notes that after it had happened Mr Sadr occupied the shrine of Imam Ali in Najaf as a place of refuge. Dr Rubai'e had gone to Najaf in August 2004 to try to mediate an end to the fighting. He met Mr Sadr who agreed to a set of conditions to end the crisis. "He actually signed the agreement with his own handwriting," said Dr Rubai'e. "He wanted the inner Najaf, the old city, around the shrine to be treated like the Vatican."
Having returned to Baghdad to show the draft document to Iyad Allawi, who was prime minister at the time, Dr Rubai'e went back to Najaf to make a final agreement with Mr Sadr.
It was agreed that the last meeting would take place in the house in Najaf of Muqtada's father Mohammed Sadiq al-Sadr who had been murdered by Saddam's gunmen with two of his sons five years before. Dr Rubai'e and other mediators started for the house. As they did so they saw the US Marines open up an intense bombardment of the house and US Special Forces also heading for it. But the attack was a few minutes premature. Mr Sadr was not yet in the house and managed to escape.
Although Dr Rubai'e, as Iraqi National Security Adviser since 2004 and earlier a member of the Iraqi Governing Council, is closely associated with the American authorities in Baghdad, he has no doubt about what happened.
He sees the negotiations as part of a charade to lure Mr Sadr, who is normally very careful about his own security, to a house where he could be eliminated.
"When I came back to Baghdad I was really, really infuriated, I can tell you," Dr Rubai'e said. "I went berserk with both [the US commander General George] Casey and the ambassador [John Negroponte]." They denied that knew of a trap and said they would look into what happened but he never received any explanation from them.
The US always felt deeply threatened by Mr Sadr because, unlike the other Shia parties, he opposed the occupation and demanded that it end.
There were two attempts to crush his movement in 2004, neither of which was successful. The first, at the end of March, began with the closure of his newspaper and the arrest of one of his close advisers. A warrant for Mr Sadr's own arrest was issued. A US general said his only alternatives were to be killed or captured.
The US authorities appeared to have little understanding of the reverence with which the Sadr family was regarded by many Iraqi Shia.
The crackdown provoked a reaction for which the US was ill-prepared. The Mehdi Army, though poorly armed and untrained, took over part of Baghdad and many Shia cities and towns in southern Iraq. The US had to rush troops to embattled outposts.
A second crisis began in Najaf in August and this time the US and the recently appointed government of Iyad Allawi appear to have decided to smash Mr Sadr and his movement for ever. But they dared not assault the shrine of Imam Ali, one of the holiest Shia shrines.
Other Shia parties suspected that once Mr Sadr was dealt with they would be marginalised. The crisis was finally defused when Grand Ayatollah Ali al- Sistani, after undergoing medical treatment in London, returned to Najaf and negotiated an agreement with Mr Sadr under which he withdrew but did not disarm his forces.
The attempt to kill or imprison Mr Sadr was first revealed by Dr Rubai'e to Ali Allawi, the former Iraqi finance minister, who gives an account of what happened in his recent book The Occupation of Iraq: Winning the war, Losing the peace.
Dr Rubai'e said this weekend in Baghdad that he stands by his account given there. He does not think the Americans were planning to kill him along with Mr Sadr because he had a senior American officer with him almost all the time.
Muqtada al-Sadr is one of the most extraordinary figures to emerge during the war in Iraq, a pivotal figure leading a broad-based political movement with a powerful military wing.
The appeal of the 33-year-old Shia cleric is both religious and nationalist. He is regarded with devotion by millions. He is also a survivor and an astute politician who has often out-manoeuvred his opponents. The US and Britain have repeatedly underestimated the strength of his support.
The al-Sadrs are one of the great Shia religious families. His relative, Mohammed Baqir al-Sadr, was the founder of a politically active Shia movement and was executed by Saddam Hussein in 1980. Muqtada's father Mohammed Sadiq al-Sadr in effect founded the Sadrist movement in the 1990s. Finding he could not control him, Saddam Hussein had him murdered with two of his sons in Najaf in 1999, provoking widespread rioting.
To the surprise of all, the Sadrist movement re-emerged with Muqtada at its head during the fall of the old regime. In April 2003 it took over large parts of Shia Iraq. Its base was the vast Shia slum, renamed Sadr City, that contains a third of the population of Baghdad.
The US and its Iraqi allies regarded Muqtada as a highly threatening figure. Paul Bremer, the ill-fated US viceroy in Iraq after the invasion, detested and unwisely under-rated the Sadrists. When he moved against them in April 2004 he was astonished to see them take over much of southern Shia Iraq in a few days. Muqtada took refuge in Najaf.
There was a heavy fighting in August 2004 when the US made an all-out effort to eliminate Muqtada and his movement. Once again he survived, thanks to a compromise arranged by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.
His movement became less confrontational. It took part in the elections in 2005, winning 32 seats out of 275. The Mehdi Army was viewed by the Sunni as an organisation of sectarian death squads.
The US began increasingly to confront the Sadrists. But they were an essential support of the Iraqi government, making it difficult for the US to move against them. When the reinforced US forces in Baghdad did threaten the Mehdi Army, Muqtada simply sent his militiamen home, and disappeared from view.
* Patrick Cockburn is the author of 'The Occupation: War, resistance and daily life in Iraq', a finalist for the National Book Critics' Circle Award for best non-fiction book of 2006.
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RE: Wife swapping Mehdi Army - 5/25/2007 6:42:24 AM
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azinorum
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Heeeesss Baaaaack!!
Iraqi cleric back in public eye
Moqtada Sadr, the radical Iraqi Shia cleric, has appeared in public for the first time in months.
US officials said he had gone into hiding in Iran in January, ahead of the US troop surge in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. This was never confirmed. The cleric appeared at Friday prayers in Kufa, in eastern Iraq surrounded by bodyguards and aides. His reappearance came as the US Congress passed a bill allocating $100bn of new funding for the Iraq war.
Democrats had tried to build timetables for troop withdrawals from Iraq into the funding bill, but President George W Bush vetoed earlier legislation. Hours after the bill was passed by both houses of Congress, the US military reported that five of its soldiers had been killed on Thursday in attacks across Iraq. In Baghdad, insurgents blew a three-metre wide hole in a highway overpass linking two Sunni districts in the west of the capital. No casualties were reported.
Popular figure
Mr Sadr, in a characteristically fiery anti-American sermon delivered in Kufa, demanded that US forces leave Iraq.
He led the 6,000 worshippers in the mosque in chanting: "No, no for Satan. No, no for America. No, no for the occupation. No, no for Israel."
Mr Sadr leads the Mehdi Army, a Shia militia responsible for some of the sectarian killings in Iraq. The militia has become one of the targets of the US-led surge. During his absence from view, Mr Sadr withdrew six ministers loyal to him from the Iraqi cabinet in an effort to press Prime Minister Nouri Maliki to set a timetable for a US troop withdrawal. In 2004, the Mehdi army fought two serious rebellions against US forces but when the US began its security drive in Baghdad in February, Mr Sadr ordered his militants off the streets to avoid confrontation. The cleric's brand of nationalism and populism has made him a popular figure among Iraq's Shia Muslims, but it is not clear why he has chosen this moment to return to Iraq.
'Next months vital'
He is one of the most important players in Iraq's complex sectarian and political mosaic, says the BBC's security correspondent Rob Watson. One theory says he wants to reassert control over his militia, which is reported to be increasingly fragmented. Our correspondent says Mr Sadr may also see a chance to strengthen his position in the absence of his great Shia rival Abdul Aziz al Hakim, who has left Iraq for medical treatment. One senior US official described him as a highly unstable 33-year-old whose own aides often find hard to predict.
If he calls his militia back onto the streets of Baghdad they will run into the thousands of extra US troops deployed there in an effort to curtail sectarian killings. Gen Peter Pace, the chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff, said the number of sectarian murders had risen in May but was still well below January's level, before US troops began to be deployed.
On Thursday, President Bush said the next few months would be vital to the new US security strategy in Iraq and he warned that more heavy fighting could be expected.
He said the last of the 30,000 US troop reinforcements would arrive in Baghdad by the middle of June. The death toll for American soldiers in Iraq this month - about 90 - is one of the highest since the invasion in March 2003. About 3,440 have been killed since then.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6690915.stm
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Religion + Politics = disaster
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RE: Wife swapping Mehdi Army - 5/25/2007 2:44:18 PM
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Lion of Babylon
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quote:
ORIGINAL: azinorum
He led the 6,000 worshippers in the mosque in chanting: "No, no for Satan. No, no for America. No, no for the occupation. No, no for Israel."
I love how this fool simplifies all of Iraq's problems into 'death to Israel' and 'death to America.'
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RE: Wife swapping Mehdi Army - 5/25/2007 3:05:30 PM
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Lion of Babylon
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Looks like hes had a very busy day!
Nationalist Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's bid to unite Sunnis and Shiites on the basis of a common demand for withdrawal of U.S. occupation forces, reported last weekend by the Washington Post's Sudarsan Raghavan, seems likely to get a positive response from Sunni armed resistance.
An account given Pentagon officials by a military officer recently returned from Iraq suggests that Sunni tribal leaders in Anbar province, who have generally reflected the views of the Sunni armed resistance there, are open to working with Sadr. A commander of the 1920 Revolution Brigades, Abu Aja Naemi, confirmed to Raghavan that his organization had been in discussions with Sadr's representatives. Raghavan reports that the cross-sectarian united front strategy was facilitated by the fact that Shaibani had befriended members of Sunni nationalist insurgent groups while he was held in U.S. detention centers from 2004 through 2006. Now Shaibani, who heads a "reconciliation committee" for Sadr, is well positioned to gain the trust of those Sunni organizations.
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RE: Wife swapping Mehdi Army - 5/27/2007 2:48:41 AM
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Mout Ahmar
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i didnt wach any news since 1 week. but 2day i read that sadr ministers will b replaced so his decision 2 leave the iraqi gov is final. i was thinking he would change his mind after negotiation. what will hapen 2 maliki now he has no sadr suport?
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RE: Wife swapping Mehdi Army - 5/27/2007 12:16:19 PM
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Lion of Babylon
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The Maliki Government is on its way out. This is part of the reason why the Sadr block withdrew from Parliament. There will be a big scramble for power positions soon, just wait and see.
Al-Sadr Meets Lieutenants To Discuss New Direction
MAY 27, 2007 -- Radical Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr met with his top lieutenants today to discuss a new direction for his Shi'ite movement after his return to public life following a seven-month seclusion.
Spokesman Sheikh Salah al-Obeidi, briefing reporters after the conference in Najaf, said the meeting was designed to push al-Sadr's plan to create a more positive public face for his movement.
The spokesman said "the Sadr movement is going to appear in a new form and with a new style on the Iraqi scene."
Meanwhle, one of Iraq's most powerful Shi'ite politicians, Abd al-Aziz al-Hakim, has left a Tehran hospital, where he was being treated for lung cancer. The Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council (SIIC), one of the main Shi'ite parties in the Baghdad government, said he left hospital May 26 after receiving treatment. He is now at his residence in Tehran, where he is resting. The SIIC was until recently known as the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, or SCIRI.
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RE: Wife swapping Mehdi Army - 5/28/2007 5:40:38 AM
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azinorum
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Lion of Babylon
I love how this fool simplifies all of Iraq's problems into 'death to Israel' and 'death to America.'
Simple solutons for simple people. He's using the same crap that Saddoomi used. When in doubt blame everything on Israel!
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RE: Wife swapping Mehdi Army - 5/29/2007 10:23:41 AM
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Lion of Babylon
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quote:
ORIGINAL: azinorum
Simple solutons for simple people. He's using the same crap that Saddoomi used. When in doubt blame everything on Israel!
Correctamundo.
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RE: Wife swapping Mehdi Army - 5/29/2007 10:26:05 AM
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Lion of Babylon
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Mahdi army militiamen murdered 20 youths in front of the people
Association of Muslim Scholars of Iraq (AMSI)
May 26, 2007
A unit of the Mahdi army murdered a number of youths in the Baghdad neighborhood of al-'Amil in an operation that began on Monday, 21 May and was still underway on Friday. Eyewitnesses reported that the killings have been carried out in "retaliation" for a car bombing in the area.
The Mahdi army militiamen kidnapped about 20 youths from the area and executed them in front of the people amidst celebrations at which the sectarian gunmen chanted sectarian slogans and threatened residents of the neighborhood with extermination.
http://uruknet.info/?p=m33198&s1=h1
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RE: Wife swapping Mehdi Army - 5/30/2007 5:19:36 AM
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Lion of Babylon
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Militia suspected on Iraq kidnap
A Shia militia group is thought to be behind the kidnapping of five Britons in the Iraqi capital Baghdad.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said that the Mehdi Army, rather than al-Qaeda, could be responsible.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6703055.stm
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RE: Wife swapping Mehdi Army - 5/31/2007 10:31:52 AM
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azinorum
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The headline drew my attention to this one. It makes Sadr sound like he's Rambo:
Al-sadr is Back and He Means Business
World Briefing: Claims that Moqtada al-Sadr's Jaish al-Mahdi militia is behind the kidnapping of five Britons in Iraq rest principally on events in Basra last week, when the killing of a Mahdi army commander by Iraqi and British forces prompted vows of swift revenge. By Simon Tisdall
Claims that Moqtada al-Sadr's Jaish al-Mahdi militia is behind the kidnapping of five Britons in Iraq rest principally on events in Basra last week, when the killing of a Mahdi army commander by Iraqi and British forces prompted vows of swift revenge. In line with that reasoning, the hunt for the missing men was concentrated yesterday on Sadr City in eastern Baghdad, a neighborhood fiercely loyal to the Shia leader.
The linking of Mr Sadr to the kidnappings, credible or not, is fueling renewed speculation about his broader political intentions following his sudden reappearance in public last Friday. He may be planning another push to undermine the government. Or he could be preparing for a confrontation with US forces similar to that in 2004. Either would represent a serious complication for the Bush administration's surge strategy in and around Baghdad. US commanders had linked Mr Sadr's disappearance in January to the start of the 30,000 troop reinforcement. An administration official said he fled to Iran for a "prolonged psychological sulk".
Mr Sadr's aides deny he left Iraq. That is beside the point after his reappearance at Friday prayers in Kufa. He launched into a trademark anti-American tirade but more significantly called for an end to sectarian strife and a Shia-Sunni alliance to force out the US.
A showdown has been on the cards since the surge began. Record US casualties this month partly reflect escalating conflict with Shia militias. Now Mr Sadr may have returned just in time for the main event: a US attempt to seize control of Sadr City. "The final wave of US troops that arrives in June will be sent to Baghdad's outer suburbs...where much of the violence now originates. Their task will be to seek out and defeat both al-Qaida and Jaish al-Mahdi," says an analysis published this month by the International Institute for Strategic Studies. "To be successful, US forces will, over the summer, need to enter Sadr City."
President George Bush is anticipating a "tough, difficult, bloody August". But a head-on collision with Mr Sadr was not inevitable, said a senior US official in Baghdad. "There is no deliberate plan to attack. The key thing is to determine who is reconcilable and who is not." In the right circumstances it was possible to work with Mr Sadr to weed out Iranian-directed extremists in the Mahdi army, he suggested. Mr Sadr, in his absence, is said to have lost control over some who are blamed for increased attacks on the Green Zone, in Basra - and perhaps this week's kidnappings.
Mr Sadr's apparent bid to distance himself from Tehran and cast himself as a nationalist leader, coupled with his anti-government maneuverings, suggest a man focused on expanding political power. If the government falls short of reconciliation goals, Washington may yet look to stronger Shia leaders. Like it or not, Mr Sadr will be hard to ignore.
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/139773.html
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Religion + Politics = disaster
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RE: Wife swapping Mehdi Army - 5/31/2007 10:35:25 AM
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azinorum
Posts: 1823
Score: 51
Joined: 8/25/2006
From: Baghdad Iraq
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The headline on this one caught my attention. It makes Sadr sound like he's Bruce Willis.
Al-sadr is Back and He Means Business
World Briefing: Claims that Moqtada al-Sadr's Jaish al-Mahdi militia is behind the kidnapping of five Britons in Iraq rest principally on events in Basra last week, when the killing of a Mahdi army commander by Iraqi and British forces prompted vows of swift revenge. By Simon Tisdall
Claims that Moqtada al-Sadr's Jaish al-Mahdi militia is behind the kidnapping of five Britons in Iraq rest principally on events in Basra last week, when the killing of a Mahdi army commander by Iraqi and British forces prompted vows of swift revenge. In line with that reasoning, the hunt for the missing men was concentrated yesterday on Sadr City in eastern Baghdad, a neighborhood fiercely loyal to the Shia leader.
The linking of Mr Sadr to the kidnappings, credible or not, is fueling renewed speculation about his broader political intentions following his sudden reappearance in public last Friday. He may be planning another push to undermine the government. Or he could be preparing for a confrontation with US forces similar to that in 2004. Either would represent a serious complication for the Bush administration's surge strategy in and around Baghdad. US commanders had linked Mr Sadr's disappearance in January to the start of the 30,000 troop reinforcement. An administration official said he fled to Iran for a "prolonged psychological sulk".
Mr Sadr's aides deny he left Iraq. That is beside the point after his reappearance at Friday prayers in Kufa. He launched into a trademark anti-American tirade but more significantly called for an end to sectarian strife and a Shia-Sunni alliance to force out the US.
A showdown has been on the cards since the surge began. Record US casualties this month partly reflect escalating conflict with Shia militias. Now Mr Sadr may have returned just in time for the main event: a US attempt to seize control of Sadr City. "The final wave of US troops that arrives in June will be sent to Baghdad's outer suburbs...where much of the violence now originates. Their task will be to seek out and defeat both al-Qaida and Jaish al-Mahdi," says an analysis published this month by the International Institute for Strategic Studies. "To be successful, US forces will, over the summer, need to enter Sadr City."
President George Bush is anticipating a "tough, difficult, bloody August". But a head-on collision with Mr Sadr was not inevitable, said a senior US official in Baghdad. "There is no deliberate plan to attack. The key thing is to determine who is reconcilable and who is not." In the right circumstances it was possible to work with Mr Sadr to weed out Iranian-directed extremists in the Mahdi army, he suggested. Mr Sadr, in his absence, is said to have lost control over some who are blamed for increased attacks on the Green Zone, in Basra - and perhaps this week's kidnappings.
Mr Sadr's apparent bid to distance himself from Tehran and cast himself as a nationalist leader, coupled with his anti-government maneuverings, suggest a man focused on expanding political power. If the government falls short of reconciliation goals, Washington may yet look to stronger Shia leaders. Like it or not, Mr Sadr will be hard to ignore.
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/139773.html
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Religion + Politics = disaster
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RE: Wife swapping Mehdi Army - 5/31/2007 12:42:25 PM
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Harry
Posts: 463
Score: 11
Joined: 10/26/2004
From: California
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Lion of Babylon
I dont get it. If they feel Iraq is too dangerous to send young Harry then why did they announce he would be deployed in the first place? Did the danger level rise dramaticaly in the past month? His public relations people should be sacked.
On the other hand who gives a sh*t.
If they feel Iraq is too dangerous to send young Harry, then why are they sendding the rest of the british army? Is this what the british call democracy? (not that it's better here in the US)
or the life of a prince is more precious than the lives of thousands of peasants?
_____________________________
God bless the whole world, No exceptions.
الدين لله و الوطن للجميع
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RE: Wife swapping Mehdi Army - 6/1/2007 5:56:37 PM
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Lion of Babylon
Posts: 1188
Score: 48
Joined: 5/9/2007
Status: offline
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Harry
1. If they feel Iraq is too dangerous to send young Harry, then why are they sendding the rest of the british army?
2. Is this what the british call democracy? (not that it's better here in the US)
3. or the life of a prince is more precious than the lives of thousands of peasants?
1. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
2. Democracy means sh*t when compared to taking care of the $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
3. 1 peasant = $0 1 Prince (son of Diana) = $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
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RE: Wife swapping Mehdi Army - 6/10/2007 12:17:55 AM
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Lion of Babylon
Posts: 1188
Score: 48
Joined: 5/9/2007
Status: offline
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Mehdi Army/Iraqi Army.....both seem to be under the control of Sadr. 
MAHDI ARMY MAKES FINAL PUSH TO CONTROL SOUTHWEST BAGHDAD
In the past 10 days, the fiery Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's militia has resurfaced in force, making a push to roust Sunnis from Baghdad and to isolate Sunni enclaves in the west of the capital from their brethren in the south.
Mahdi Army militiamen in the Shiite dominated neighborhood of Bayaa were reinforced by other Shiite fighters and men in civilian clothes with weapons have cordoned off the area. In the past 10 days Mahdi Army activity has escalated, intensifying in the past two days with the capture of two Sunni mosques, residents and police said.
On Friday, the Islamic State of Iraq, an al-Qaida dominated insurgent group, issued a statement on the internet calling on the Sunnis to fight against Shiite militia. The commentary appeared designed to shore up support for the extremist group that many Iraqi Sunnis have turned on.
The push appears to be part of a strategy by the Mahdi Army to control swaths of the once Sunni-dominated west bank of the Tigris River. Late last year, the militia, which has long regarded itself as a protector of the Shiites, drove Sunnis out of Hurriyah, killing some and burning homes.
Two Sunni men reached by phone had fled Bayaa in the last five days because of the rising violence. Neither of the men would give their names or new places of residence for fear of retribution.
Five days ago one of the Sunni men was warned by his Shiite neighbors and friends.
"The Mahdi Army is asking about you, they are watching you," he was told. So he packed up his things, his family and left. Last week his cousin was dragged from his car at a Mahdi Army checkpoint and shot.
"The army is fighting along side the Mahdi Army," he said. "We cannot trust a security plan that doesn't protect the people. . . . They come to you as a state of government with power. . . . If you defend yourself, the interior commandoes will arrest you as a terrorist the next day."
Two Shiite men in Bayaa also described an escalation of violence but were happy to see the Mahdi Army return to protect them, they said.
"It is a sectarian war," said Muntathar Mohammed, a resident in Bayaa. "On one side there is al-Mahdi army and on the other side there is al-Janabat and al-Gurtan," he said referring to two Sunni tribes in Bayaa and neighboring Amil.
In nearby Saidiyah, the Mahdi Army passed out fliers in badly written Arabic signed by the "Supporters of the Right."
"You aflakee, (followers of the founder of the Baath party) . . . We will sho | | | |
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