Plan to arrest maverick Iraqi cleric for murder

[papau]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1068152,00.html

Plan to arrest maverick Iraqi cleric for murder

Michael Howard in Baghdad
Wednesday October 22, 2003
The Guardian

Coalition and Iraqi officials are preparing an arrest warrant for the firebrand Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr over his alleged involvement with the brutal murder of a rival cleric last spring, sources close to the Iraqi governing council told the Guardian yesterday.

The warrant, which has yet to be finalised, cites Mr Sadr for instigating a deadly attack on Abdel Majid al-Khoei, who was stabbed to death by a mob in the Shia holy city of Najaf on April 10.
It is said to be signed by Tahir Jalil Habboush - a senior mukhabarat officer under the former regime who now works with the coalition authorities - and is based on the confessions of 23 men who were involved in the killing.

"The belief of the coalition is that al-Sadr is not containable," the council source said. "They believe there is enough evidence that Muqtada was involved in the Khoei assassination and want to act to clip his wings before he can cause any more damage."

Since his swift rise to prominence in the days following regime change in Iraq, Mr Sadr, 30, has been a constant thorn in the side of the US-led administration in Iraq. He has been the most vocal opponent of occupation, while his well-organised followers have been involved in armed confrontations with US soldiers. Last week he declared a rival government to the US-appointed authority and urged his supporters on to the streets. <snip>

[hatrack]

1. Gosh, they'll really be throwing flowers if we bust this guy!

This should be interesting - and depressingly bloody.

[papau]

2. He has 10000 armed guards - the arrest should be interesting.

And I thought sending a kid back to his father in Cuba had a high degree of difficulty!

This could be Bush bluster - or - if real - one hell of a battle.

[fizzana]

3. They're caught between Iraq and a hard place

(excuse the horrible pun)

They either let Sadr grow in strength and become more of a problem or they arrest him and deal with an explosion of his supporters.

Come to think of it, this is just the sort of problems we predicted the U.S. would face before they even invaded Iraq.