Rebel cleric Sadr belittles Iraq vote, demands date for US pullout

[bemildred]

KUFA, Iraq (AFP) - Iraqi Shiite rebel cleric Moqtada Sadr called on his community's senior religious leaders to insist on a timeline for a US troop withdrawal and belittled last week's historic vote.

"This is a message from Sayed Moqtada. I call on all religious and political powers that pushed towards the elections and took part in them to issue an official statement calling for a timetable for the withdrawal of the occupation forces from Iraq (news - web sites)," Sayed Hashim Abu Ragheef told faithful gathered for Friday prayers in the Shiite city of Kufa.

The firebrand cleric gave notice that he would no longer hold his tongue about political developments in Iraq after keeping quiet for months, according to a statement Ragheef read from Sadr to thousands of worshippers.

"I stood aside for the elections and did not stand against them as I did not want to show disobedience toward the Marjaiyah (senior clerics). I did not join these elections so that I wouldn't be one of the West's pawns.

Yahoo

[MediumRr]

1. Yeah, right

I think Mr Sadr's been pretty much marginalized.

[tx_dem41]

3. I'm not sure how you come to that conclusion based on the evidence.

He might have pulled only 1.5% at the polls (so far), but he still has sway on the street (1.5% can pull sway on the street).

[takumi]

17. Just Like Bush?

[Magleetis]

18. Mission accomplished

right?

[LynnTheDem]

24. LOL!!!

I don't think so.

[DrWeird]

25. Did you think Saddam had WMDs too?

And that we're there to liberate the Iraqis?

LOL.

[rodeodance]

2. um... Sadr is back on the scene.

[Wright Patman]

4. "I did not join these elections

so that I wouldn't be one of the West's pawns."

Either this is a poor translation or he is saying he joined the elections so he could be one of the West's pawns.

[pinto]

7. don't know about translation quality, but it seems he "stood aside" ie:

did not take part in the elections yet did not object to them out of respect for the senior clerics - I read that to mean Sastani.

[htuttle]

14. That had more to do with the cool down of Shia attacks than anything else

Sistani met with al Sadr and got him to calm down until the election. I remember reading about it. Probably implicitly threatened him with denouncement if he didn't go along, too, would be my guess.

I don't think that Sistani would want to eliminate al Sadr, however. Not just because al Sadr has a significant following, but that he's also a handy Bad Cop to use in negotiations with both the Americans and the Allawi Vichy government. In addition, Sistani's views on religion's involvement with politics seems to be that religion should inform politics, but not run it. In other words, he doesn't want to get directly involved himself. However, al Sadr has the energy and the following to fight for issues that Sistani might like to see dealt with, like Shia poverty, lack of services, etc.... Seems like a convenient relationship, since Sistani's backing, however muted, gives al Sadr an 'orthodox' weight he might not have otherwise.

Just the opinion of a layperson who reads the papers. :shrug:

[pinto]

19. I think you've got a good take. Good cop/bad cop is one focus.Thanks.n/t

[Wright Patman]

23. Thanks ... I get it now

He did not join the elections. I was thinking he was one of the candidates when I first read it.

[Maple]

5. Sadr has an enormous following

He did as he was asked, and now he wants the results he was told would follow.

[The_Casual_Observer]

6. Just when everything was going "great" for the US, Sadr shows up again

Perhaps he senses that the Shia slate is going to win in a landslide and is planning to make a move. What could chimp do about it anyway?
After all the hoopla about freedom, if the vote favors the clerics, the chimp is screwed.

[One_Life_To_Give]

8. With Sistani Leading

Sadr may not have much backing to oppose him.

[Maple]

9. We're not even sure

Sistani is still alive.

If he is, he won't be for much longer.

[Chicago Democrat]

12. That's not true.. He is loved and protected because of his status

and little army.

[Maple]

15. He is an elderly man

with a serious heart condition.

[Chicago Democrat]

11. They are basically on the same side...

Sadr is simply the young radical and Sistani the wise patriarch. Both need each other, and will not fight each other in public. As a lower cleric Sadr must defer to Sistani.

[Adderall552]

16. yep. Sistani's the man!

[bemildred]

10. Remember the Najaf insurrection last Summer?

Remember how al Sistani came back from his hospital bed and put an end to it?
A deal was cut.
Al Sadr was ordered to be quiet, the occupation agreed to hold the
elections (a promise to al Sistani), and al Sistani ended the debacle
in Najaf, and he has supported the occupation in order to get the
elections. That is what Sadr is talking about. It seems al Sadr was
promised a timetable for an end to occupation too.

[Darranar]

21. If true, that would explain quite a bit...

certainly more or less what happened in the resolution of the battle in Najaf.

So if al-Sistani doesn't demand a timetable to end the occupation, what happens next? What can al-Sadr do about it?

What exactly did al-Sadr get out of all of this, anyway? This promise for a timetable? Considering that if the US withdraws his situation won't be much better, that seems insufficient to me.

[bemildred]

22. Well, I don't know that that is all of it ...

But it was obvious that a deal was cut, and that the elections were
the price, and that al Sadr was being "obedient" to al Sistani. The
end of that battle had a stinky smell. How did this old guy get a
convoy to Najaf and complete obedience from the US military all of a
sudden? And the attention all the way up there of the US state propaganda
organs? It was scripted, that's how.

What al sadr can do about it and what he got out of it remain to be seen.
Much depends on the true relationship of al Sadr and al Sistani, which
we don't know. It does seem they have nice "good cop, bad cop" drama
going though, and anybody who thinks al Sadr does not swing plenty of
weight in the new Iraq is not paying attention.

[Igel]

13. Playing both ends against the middle.

Apparently some strong supporters of his (with his blessing) *did* participate, even though he personally did not.

So he's able to decry the elections, assert his ritual purity, and still have his men run and get elected. (After all, he couldn't have served if the United list has its way: they've declared no clerics would serve, and Sadr's a cleric ... just not a high-ranked one.)

[kennetha]

20. Wouldn't it be amazing

If the shiite religious alliance upon taking power insisted that the US leave and asked the Iranians instead to come in and help them put down the insurgency.

Wouldn't that beat all?

[oneighty]

26. Sadr

seemed powerful enough early on that Bush did not have him murdered. Now curses Sadr has resurfaced alive and well. Sadr if he remains alive will have great influence in Iraq over the coming years.

IMHO