Whores of the Mahdi Army

Behold!

Global dhimming continues unabated as America and Israel continue to enact the suicidal dictates of the craven ISG Baker/Hamilton Kevorkian Plan:


MAY 23 2007 ~

"Internally, the plan is for US forces to help isolate takfirists (fundamentalist Salafi jihadi s), peel off Sunnis from the insurgency, contain hardcore elements of Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi army, and halt Iranian and trans-Syrian infiltration of troops and materiel." If all else failed, the US might seek an arrangement with Mr Sadr, if only to secure an orderly transition, the official claimed. "Cutting a deal with the Mahdi army is [vice-president] Dick Cheney's deep fallback option."



May 26, 2007 ~

Mahdi army vows revenge on British troops after Basra leader is killed, Moqtada al-Sadr appears again after four months

Ahmadinejad preparing Iran for Imam Mahdi

May 29th, 2007 ~
Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr makes bid for greater role in US-occupied Iraq

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Draped in a white burial shroud to symbolise his willingness to face death, Sadr began Friday’s speech with a chant: “No to the devil, no to America, no to the occupation, no to Israel”. He repeated his movement’s demand for a timetable for the withdrawal of US and other foreign forces. The Maliki government, he declared, “is not authorised to extend the mandate of the foreign forces in Iraq after a million people demonstrated to protest that presence and 144 [out of 275] lawmakers signed to demand the withdrawal of these forces”.

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LAST NIGHT MAY 31, 2007:

U.S. trying to open a dialogue with al-Sadr, commander says


BAGHDAD, Iraq - The U.S. military is seeking talks with Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada al-Sadr directly and through the government of Iraq, according to a top American general. A Sadr aide confirmed that U.S. officials had approached the anti-American cleric's supporters but said that Sadr would never begin a dialogue with what they describe as "occupation forces."


"He has a grass-roots movement that he's always going to have; we have to recognize that," Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno, the second-ranking American commander in Iraq, told McClatchy Newspapers in an interview this week. "We're trying to talk to him. We want to talk to him." In a video conference from Baghdad on Thursday, Odierno also said the U.S. was reaching out to Sunni Muslims as well as Shiite armed factions such as Sadr's Mahdi Army militia. "We are talking about cease-fires, and maybe signing some things that say they won't conduct operations against the government of Iraq or against coalition forces," he said Thursday.


At the same time, however, U.S. and British forces have stepped up operations against the Mahdi Army in the sprawling Shiite slum of Sadr City in Baghdad and the southern port city of Basra. Odierno told McClatchy that he wasn't sure whether Sadr's resurfacing in the Shiite holy city of Kufa last week was a good or bad thing for American forces in Iraq. While the cleric was away, his organization became more fractionalized, and part of the reason for his return, Odierno said, was "the consolidation of his powers." This could mean cleaning up rogue elements of the Mahdi Army, he said. "I'm mixed; I'm not sure yet," Odierno said referring to the effect of Sadr's return on security. "I'll take a wait-and-see attitude."


Sadr, who was widely rumored to be hiding in neighboring Iran for months, appeared at Friday prayers in Kufa last week spouting anti-American rhetoric and calling on his followers to work with Sunnis against a U.S. "occupation." Sadr largely inherited his constituency from the millions of impoverished Shiites in Iraq who are loyal to his father, the popular Mohammed Sadiq al-Sadr, whom Saddam Hussein's regime assassinated. While Muqtada al-Sadr's religious standing is shaky, his family name draws deep loyalty. Shiites credit his militia with protecting them from Sunni insurgents who target Shiite neighborhoods. But the Mahdi Army also is blamed for kidnapping and killing Sunni men.


An Iraqi judge has issued a warrant for the cleric's arrest in connection with the killing of Shiite leader Abdul Majid al-Khoei in April 2003. Salah al-Obaidi, a senior Sadr aide, acknowledged that the U.S. has approached the cleric's supporters multiple times about talks with Sadr. He said the requests had been rebuffed. "This will be a betrayal for the country," Obaidi said. "Any cooperation with the occupier is forbidden." If the Iranian-backed Sadr, who's cast himself as a national resistance figure, began talking with the U.S. he'd risk losing support in the Iraqi street. During his absence he issued statements with fiery anti-American rhetoric while calling on followers not to attack. He called for a demonstration in Najaf in April against the American presence in Iraq, and legislators from his movement are circulating a bill in parliament to set a timetable for a U.S. withdrawal.


Sadr's supporters have "no problem" if members of the U.S. Congress were to meet with Sadrists in parliament, Obaidi said. "We respect the American people. We have no problem with them. We know not all of them accept the occupation." The U.S. military has begun to draw distinctions between Sadr and what it calls "rogue" Mahdi Army members. It most often links the men whom it detains and kills to Iran through their weapon of choice: explosively formed projectiles, which are armor-piercing bombs that the American military claims come from Iran.


Separating Sadr from the Mahdi Army commanders whom the American military is targeting could set the stage for U.S.-Sadr talks. In his Pentagon video conference, Odierno said September could be too early for U.S. leaders to fully judge the success of the troop buildup, despite growing political pressure for a definitive assessment. "Right now if you asked me, I would tell you I'll probably need a little bit more time to do a true assessment," Odierno said.

MAHDI ARMY PR VIDEO

Al-Mahdi Army / Active Religious Seminary / Al-Sadr's Group




Understanding Muqtada al-Sadr

by Nimrod Raphaeli
Middle East Quarterly
Fall 2004

When U.S. forces rolled through Iraq in March and April 2003, most Shi‘ites greeted them as liberators. But, the demise of Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq unleashed an array of forces that had been dormant or suppressed for more than three decades. From almost total political marginalization, the Iraqi Shi‘ites found themselves at the center of political power. While some political parties such as Da'wa and the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq participated in the U.S.-sponsored political process, it was not long before U.S. forces became aware of a new force among the Shi‘ites.

Muqtada al-Sadr, a young cleric from a prominent family, almost immediately launched a fierce campaign of resistance, first against competing clerics and then against the coalition forces. "Continue the resistance," Muqtada told his supporters in a May 21, 2004 sermon. "Do not use my death or arrest as an excuse not to finish what you have started."[1] Muqtada's statement underlines the lasting threat he now poses to Iraq's internal stability and to Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's interim government. A large body of young, poor Shi‘ites have found voice in Muqtada's violent populist movement. In Muqtada they have found a leader who trumpets their rage.

Understanding Muqtada's roots, ideology, and his backers is key to understanding Muqtada's goals for Iraq as he continues to command his forces into political and military confrontation.

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Cinema Babbazee re-run: Whores of the Mahdi Army