Al-Sadr ascendant.
By on Nov 28th, 2006 at 11:15 am
Al-Sadr ascendant.
“In a reflection of the growing new dimension of civil strife, a senior U.S. intelligence official said yesterday that the militia of radical Shiite leader Moqtada al-Sadr has grown eightfold over the past year and now fields 40,000 to 60,000 men. That makes it more effective than the Iraqi government’s army, the official indicated.” The official also said “Sadr is so powerful that if provincial elections were held now, he would sweep most of the south and also take Baghdad.”
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Al-Sadr is the new Iraq star, the next Saddam. Minus that picky secular thing.
November 28th, 2006 at 11:20 am“It’s just a Phase.” — W, the king
November 28th, 2006 at 11:23 amthank god for democracy!
FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM.
wheres the trolls as of this one? they’ve been getting scarcer and scarcer. I daresay a few with functioning central nervous systems and rudimentary logic centers have been around recently. they must be sending in thier mental elite!
November 28th, 2006 at 11:24 amNow who do you think is responsible for Al Sadr’s unprecedented growth in power???? GWB and the US is the answer. His power was kept in check by Saddam and now we’ve opened a true can of worms over there and actually “enabled” him to have tremendous power. We can thank GWB and the neocons who allowed their egos to rule over their intelligence for this one.
November 28th, 2006 at 11:28 amHere he is folks, the strong man who has the ability to restore order and bring stability to at least a major potion of the country.
November 28th, 2006 at 11:28 amHistory repeats itself, again, after all, Saddam was the strong man (whom the U.S. supported into power) the last go around.
The Sunnis are in for a rough go of it, but, as they say, what goes around comes around.
And guess who the new fundamentalist Islamic Iraq’s best buddy neighbor is?
That’s right, President Dufous, Iran!
Iran, yes, the very same country whom your corporate/military/oil/drug masters overthrew a democratically elected government to install the Shah, way back when………….
Shia will not turn on Shia for a Sunni’s sake.
Sunni with not turn on Sunni for a Shia’s sake.
(say that 5 times quickly)
These two simple, painfully obvious sentences are all you need to know to understand that this travesty, this obscenely farcical venture, was destined to fail from the moment it began.
November 28th, 2006 at 11:29 amThe official also said “Sadr is so powerful that if provincial elections were held now, he would sweep most of the south and also take Baghdad.â€
So he would win democratically. Oops.
November 28th, 2006 at 11:30 amJohn Deek….yep, the trolls are noticeably absent. Like all of the congressional aids to the losing side (rethugs), they’re off the payroll now so we can breathe a sigh of relief and say our good riddances to bad rubbish now. And, when some demented reichwingnut appears, we just ignore him and freeze him out because his attempt to hijack the thread is so very obvious. I really don’t expect that we’ll be harrassed with these losers any more. They have nothing to spin any longer and their cause has become totally irrelvant and inane.
November 28th, 2006 at 11:30 amWhat never ceases to amaze me is just how hypocritical we, as a nation, have become. We enable those dictators when it suits our purposes, and then when we decide to pull the plug, voila!, we magically try to change them into demons. Hypocrites – we are and have been since 41 was in power. It’s no wonder we have no international support for anything we do nor any international respect or integrity left.
November 28th, 2006 at 11:32 amChristmas Card To The World
November 28th, 2006 at 11:34 amThe official also said “Sadr is so powerful that if provincial elections were held now, he would sweep most of the south and also take Baghdad.â€
So he would win democratically. Oops.
Comment by Juan C — November 28, 2006 @ 11:30 am
Well he should friggin run then. Then he could tell us to leave and become the new dictator of Iraq.
November 28th, 2006 at 11:37 amBut this is a good thing. Someone needs to unify the country in the aftermath of the Christofascist terrorist invasion, otherwise Iraq will fragment — or I should say remain fragmented.
If Iraq were to remain fractured, the United States won’t be able to get much oil from Iraq. If united, the Iraqi government — a real government, not a Christanic controlled puppet dictatorship — will sell oil, even if it’s not a fair price.
We;’ve already seen that the Christian terrorists can’t steal the oil. The only solution is to have a strong Iraqi government regain control and seel the oil to the fascists.
November 28th, 2006 at 11:38 am#12, Fredric L. Rice: a Christanic controlled puppet dictatorship
Huh?
Bush surrenders Iraq to Maliki’s death squads
by Ahmed Amr
Saturday November 4, 2006
[snip]
But Maliki didn’t stop there. He demanded more American funding and accelerated training of the very same Iraqi security forces that moonlight as death squads. And, of course, Bush had no other option but to comply with the absurd request to provide American tax dollars to further enhance the criminal capabilities of the militia infested police and army.
November 28th, 2006 at 11:46 amThen he could tell us to leave and become the new dictator of Iraq.
Comment by Tundra
and then shake hands with Cheney, then 10 years later another war on Terror: the comeback!, and then…
November 28th, 2006 at 11:52 amThis makes the same point I made a few days ago. Sistani has been displaced by al-Sadr as the chief Cleric in Iraq. Bush needed to work more closely with Sistani in an effort to stave off the rise of al-Sadr. The fact that he failed to do so comes as no surprise and it has come with unintended consequences, just like everything else in Iraq.
The critics of Bush have been right 99% of the time and Bush has been right 1% of the time. Now who do you suppose we should be listening to as we go forward? Not a very tough call, now is it?
November 28th, 2006 at 11:54 amIt’s time to pull our troops out of harms way.
Emperor Bush should NEVER have invaded Iraq in the first place.
November 28th, 2006 at 11:54 amITMFA NOW!!!
cnn
November 28th, 2006 at 11:59 amin the latest turn Iran published: US agents in Iraq are doomed to failure
Soon, once again, the Infidel Crusaders will have been repulsed from Mesopotamia, and the Muslim world will have become stengthened and emboldened.
Dubious the Decider will have his portrait done in tile on the floor of the palace, to join his fathers and the long line stretching back to Genghis Khan………..
Ah, History.
I myself am withdrawing, mine own resident authoritarian figure has decreed I am spending way to much time on the dial -up connection, being unavailable for her daily crisis’.
(It’s not easy, having a good time………)
Thanks to everyone here for all your thoughts and sharing, your intellect, your visions, you snarkiness, and even the nastiness. It’s been fun.
Thanks to the trolls as well, and even now please know that we accept you as a neccessary evil in your new role as the loyal opposition.
I don’t have a parting shot for the “current mis-administration”, only that I wish to share a prognostication I made to a (former) co-worker back in 2003:
“They will all leave office in disgrace…”
Bye all, wishes to everyone for balance, light, health and happiness.
Aquafiero…..
November 28th, 2006 at 12:06 pmAKA:
Rio de los Ladrones
Howdy Neighbor
Can you hear me now Admiral Poindexter
Theobromos
(and perhaps a couple of spontaneous others…)
If you’re a muslim and you want the barbaric murderous US occupation of your country to end, you’re a radical.
November 28th, 2006 at 12:23 pmThe militia of radical Shiite leader Moqtada al-Sadr has grown eightfold over the past year.
Despite this, Bush says
“Maqtada al-Sadr may end up deciding America’s fate.”
War of the cults has become uncontrollable in Iraq. While Sunnis were more powerful during Saddam’s reign, today it is the Shiites controlling the country. The real power of the Shiites is the commander of the Shiite army Moqtada al-Sadr(32).
Newsweek magazine has carried Moqtada al-Sadr to its cover and described him as the youngest and undeniably one of the most popular leaders in the country. The article headed “Why Maqtada al-Sadr may end up deciding America’s fate?,” and explained how Shiite leader is controlling the country without a standing army with tanks and planes. Newsweek wrote:
“Sadr is a unique force in Iraq: a leader from the majority Shiites who has resisted American occupation from the start. He’s a populist, a nationalist and an Islamic radical rolled into one. The longer Sadr has survived, the greater his prestige has grown. Iraqis and foreigners who meet him are impressed by the transformation. He’s more diplomatic and commands more respect. He used to greet visitors at his Najaf office sitting on pillows on the floor. Now he has a couch set. His concerns are high-minded: he speaks of fuel shortages and cabinet politics. In the past, Sadr was shrugged off as a rabble-rouser and a nuisance. Now he is undeniably one of the most popular leaders in the country. He is also its most dangerous, for he has the means to wage political or actual war against any solution that is not precisely to his liking. He is driven by forces America has long misread in Iraq: religious sentiment, economic resentment and enduring sectarian passions.
November 28th, 2006 at 12:55 pm[...] So that makes me wonder, just how does he do it? How does Moqtada al-Sadr get his Iraqis to show up for work and fight effectively? Al-Sadr ascendant.“In a reflection of the growing new dimension of civil strife, a senior U.S. intelligence official said yesterday that the militia of radical Shiite leader Moqtada al-Sadr has grown eightfold over the past year and now fields 40,000 to 60,000 men. That makes it more effective than the Iraqi government’s army, the official indicated.†The official also said “Sadr is so powerful that if provincial elections were held now, he would sweep most of the south and also take Baghdad.†ThinkProgress [...]
November 28th, 2006 at 2:08 pmWhy is al-Sadr still alive? I find it impossible to believe that US forces couldn’t kill him if they chose to. He has been a thorn in the side of American forces for quite some time…. he needs to be dealt with.
November 28th, 2006 at 2:24 pmAsymptomatic Carrier,
Yesterday you said Al Dawa was deciding how things go, now you say it’s al Sadr. Which is it Mr. cut and paste?
November 28th, 2006 at 2:46 pmThe space bitch from Battlestar Galactica, well, I don’t care if she’s a robot, probably better that way so you can just turn it off when your done….
November 28th, 2006 at 2:47 pm#22 SickofIraq…[Why is al-Sadr still alive? I find it impossible to believe that US forces couldn't kill him if they chose to..........he needs to be dealt with]…… I understand your frustration,but you have to understand that killing Al-Sadr will not do us any good and make the situation better…yes we can kill him…but if we do..the government of Iraq will collapse..the Iraqi Parliament will collapse also because A-Sadr have a nice size block of contituence. If you kill Al-Sadr then you open a big and new front fighting against the Shiate. We are now fighting the Sunni rebels with the help of the Shiate and the Kurds in the north and northwest of Iraq..but if you kill Al-Sadr, then our troops will be fighting everybody and everywhere in Iraq…from north Iraq to the city of Basra in the south, and the army and police we are putting together will fragment quickly. Iran will be there in no time and our losses of men and equipment will be 4 to 5 times…and there will be no government or anybody on our side in Iraq…It will be a lawless country with open borders to all kind of trouble…. Al-Sadr is the type of Shiate that is nationalist..and does not want Iran to get involved in his country,he is the opposite of Shiate leader Al-Hakim whose loyalty is to Iran. This is not a MAFIA like group, you kill the boss then the pyramid will collapse…these are religious organizations we are dealing with that killing their leader will make them multiply and fight back,because they fight for their religion and their dogmas and not for money like the MAFIA. Wisdom is needed now in Iraq.
November 28th, 2006 at 2:59 pmgrown eightfold over the past year and now fields 40,000 to 60,000 men
Sounds like the Iraqis are “standing up” so, when do we get to “stand down”?
SickofIraq,
I find it impossible to believe that US forces couldn’t kill him if they chose to.
Of course they could if they wanted to, but didn’t we learn anything from getting rid of Sadaam? What do you think would happen to those 60,000 militia men who’s leader was just assasinated?
November 28th, 2006 at 3:06 pm#26 – June,
November 28th, 2006 at 3:33 pmMore important is what would happen to 140,000 American forces still in the country?
ooo, but he’s so radical.
Maybe they mean to say he’s rad, dude.
November 28th, 2006 at 3:47 pmWalt,
That’s what I’m (ultimately) saying. That is basically a 2-1 ratio of us to them (only counting the Sadr militia, that is), but they have the cause, the passion and the terrain on their side.
History shows who wins in that type of environment. Even more recent history shows what happens when we “decapitate” powerful leaders…
The subordinates will break off into even more dangerous factions.
November 28th, 2006 at 3:47 pmSomeone’s talking about killing al-Sadr? Wha?
We desperately need him. He’s one of the few people in the country with real political influence. Sistani is another, we just don’t hear about him much anymore.
I wish he could just take over as supreme leader or some such crap, we can kiss his ass, and then we can get out of there really fast.
November 28th, 2006 at 3:53 pm#29 – June,
November 28th, 2006 at 4:23 pmThe ratio is worse than you think. A lot of those guys and dolls are in support positions. Everything from prison guards to truck drivers. You can also subtract out the medics and field hospital folk. I would guess actual boots are 90,000 or less.
#23 Don’t pick on the infected one. He can’t help it if what he cuts and pastes is hypocritical. It is that damned media!!!
November 28th, 2006 at 8:52 pmcan’t we just agree all the muslims in the whole world? thanks :)
December 26th, 2006 at 2:00 am