Shiite Cleric Condemns U.S. as His Militia Takes to Streets

[wellst0nev0ter]

Source: New York Times

BAGHDAD, March 30 — Religious leaders commanded by the Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr delivered a searing speech at Friday Prayer condemning the American presence in Iraq, while militiamen loyal to Mr. Sadr engaged in street battles against Iraqi Army soldiers in southwestern Baghdad, signaling a possible resurgence of the militia.

Mr. Sadr has ordered the Mahdi Army, the militia he controls, to lie low during the early days of the new Baghdad security plan so as not to provoke a direct confrontation with the Americans. With the speech on Friday, which the religious leaders attributed to Mr. Sadr, it appeared that he was continuing to walk a tightrope, not openly defying American and Iraqi government attempts to secure the capital, but still sharply criticizing the United States presence in Iraq.

Iraqi police officials said Friday that American helicopters had conducted strikes in the early morning against a gathering of Shiite militiamen in an area east of the Baghdad neighborhood of Sadr City, Mr. Sadr’s stronghold. At least 20 people were killed and wounded, said a police official in the town of Khan Bani Saad, east of Sadr City. But a spokesman for the American military, Lt. Col. Josslyn Aberle, said she had no reports of such an incident.

<snip>

On Friday, the fighting between the Mahdi Army and Iraqi forces erupted in the Amel neighborhood of southwest Baghdad. One resident who called himself Abu Zaineb said militiamen had attacked an Iraqi Army base housing Kurdish soldiers brought in as part of the Baghdad security plan. The militiamen used mortars, rocket-propelled grenades and Kalashnikov rifles, he said.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/31/world/middleeast/31iraq.html?ex=1332993600&en=ab226eb8a473caa3&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss

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The Shiites decided to have a wait-and-see attitude with Bush's Surge™. The result is that bombings have skyrocketed in the past month. We have failed, and the Shiites are beginning to take matters into their own hands.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

1. of course, if our military

doesn't see it, it never "happened", and therefore, it does not get counted as an important event.

I love how they define success. This is like President Bush calling Katrina a great opportunity for urban renewal.

[rodeodance]

2. I hope the US troops are bunkered down

[CoffeeCat]

3. What sickens me...

...is that BushCo attempted to spin this "quiet period" into a success extravaganza.
They insisted that the violence had dissipated and that attacks were down--therefore his
brilliant surge worked.

The truth lies in the article the OP posted. The insurgents waited until they knew
what this meant for them. They've assessed the situation and now they're fighting back.

When I saw Kyra Phillips in Baghdad, interviewing some military hotshot who regaled
us all with stories about having tea--out in the open--on the Baghdad sidewalks --I knew we
were the victims of an outrageous marketing campaign.

We all want the violence to end. We all want our troops home and the Iraqis safe.
However, I'm really tired of BushCo lying to us and spinning "the calm before the
storm" into "We're winning in Iraq" stories.

How many times will this administration declare victory in Iraq?

[Eugene]

4. Iraq's Shia militia 'stood down'

Source: BBC News

Last Updated: Sunday, 1 April 2007, 01:36 GMT 02:36 UK

Iraq's Shia militia 'stood down'

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani says the Shia militia known as the Mahdi Army
has stopped its activities on the orders of its leader, Moqtada Sadr.

The president described this as a new phenomenon, and a positive response
to the new Iraqi-US security plan.

He was speaking after receiving the new US ambassador to Iraq, Ryan
Crocker, who expressed hope for progress towards stability and prosperity.

But it came as officials said a bombing last week was Iraq's deadliest ever.

-snip-

Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6515111.stm