Maliki and the GI (The Madhi Army believed to behind US soldier kidnapping)

Wall Street Journal ^ | October 27, 2006

[jmc1969]

One of the toughest jobs confronting Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is disarming the Shiite militias. The kidnapping Monday in Baghdad of an American soldier by vigilantes claiming to be from the so-called Mahdi Army underscores the urgency of the problem, and Mr. Maliki's response has been inadequate at best.

Not only has he criticized American and Iraqi operations in Sadr City aimed at freeing the captive, he also appeared to accept at face value yesterday the Sadrists' denial that they are holding an American. "We asked the Sadr movement to look for him and they swear they know nothing about him," Mr. Maliki told Reuters in an interview, adding that Sunni insurgents sometimes pose as Mahdi fighters.

But a well-placed source tells us it's becoming clearer that the American was in fact kidnapped by Shiite vigilantes and may have been moved from Sadr City in Baghdad to an area south of the capital. Mr. Maliki also got the details of the kidnapping wrong--the soldier (who is of Iraqi descent) was not with his brother, as the Prime Minister told Reuters--suggesting he has not been very engaged on the issue.

Mr. Maliki obviously has concerns about confronting the Sadrists, who hold about 30 seats in parliament and backed his bid for the premiership (as did the Bush Administration). But he also needs to understand that this incident could prove a turning point in his relationship with the American forces who protect his government. Those troops need to see him exerting maximum effort behind the scenes to free their comrade. A public appeal for the American soldier's release is the least Mr. Maliki could do.

[msnimje]

Now can we kill them???????

[misterrob]

Stunts like this will have even the diehards clamoring to leave after a while.

[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

Mahdi Army + flame throwers = need now!

[peyton randolph]

Mookie's head on a pike and his body fed to pigs would do much to quiet Iraq.

[Hoosier-Daddy]

They picked a weak leader.

[jmc1969]

The Iraqi people didn't pick Maliki, Sadr and Hakim and their blocks in parliment picked Maliki.

Bremer let the UN pick the electoral system for Iraq, and the UN ended up chosing the worst possible system for Iraq.. List PR.

[Mr.Atos]

Go Roman on the SOB! I agree. Times up.

[jmc1969]

Sadr needs to pay for this.

[mcshot]

And that is going to make or break this costly effort. I'm thinking a fresh start is needed or just work on rest of country and let Baghdad stew.

[brydic1]

Enough already, our government supporting one backstabbing Iraqi government after another. Bush should announce to the world that American lives were spent to rid the world of Saddam and now the rest is up to the Iraqis. How many months or years are we going to hang around getting murdered on their streets and highways while we pretend that these people are going to wake up and be willing to climb out of the dark ages and provide for their own defense. The vast majority of these people are only concerned with prostrating themselves in a mosque of some kind where they are constantly being told to go out and murder more americans.

Let us declare that we had the victory of ridding the world of Saddam (a good deed, if there ever was one) and get the hell out with a warning that if they create another Saddam, we will hold the entire people of Iraq responsible and there will be no precision bombing the next time around. Hopefully we will never again try to bring freedom and democracy to a people who have no understanding nor ability to work with such a system. I thought most conservatives knew the fallacy of do goodism. Unfortunately GWB isn't a conservative and never learned.

[jmc1969]

Democracy isn't the evil in Iraq.

How we set up democracy in Iraq was the evil. We should have kept Allawi in power until Iraq was stable and he built up checks to keep religious leaders from being able to simply issue fatwas telling people who to vote for.

We needed to give Allawi the leeway to do like Egypt and Jordan do and keep a leash on the religious leaders.

[SandRat]

Like we hadn't figured that one out! Stick the pig!

[sageb1]

Ollie North said Sadr should be taken out...but by an Iraqi. Of course, I wonder who is providing security for Maliki? If it's us, then we could be lax there and see how he likes it.

[Maynerd]

Everyone should read Ralph Peters editorial "Kill Muqtada now http://www.nypost.com/seven/10262006/postopinion/opedcolumnists/kill_muqtada_now_opedcolumnists_ralph_peters.htm

To summarize, Iraq is a cluster and its time for some therapeutic killing of the bad guys. We owe it to our country, western civilization, and even the average stumble-bum Iraqi.

[sageb1]

The clue was when they kept Islamic law in their constitution. I didn't hold out much hope after that, but couldn't bring myself to give up all hope.

[ClaireSolt]

I certainly agree with you on that. I prefer representatives of geographical districts to this party list idea.

[sageb1]

I agree with Peters. Sadr has to go NOW. If Maliki wants to go with him, oh well.

[bpjam]

We should have wacked that fat P.O.S. back in 2003 or 2004 when we have him cornered like a rat in Sadr City. Every time we try to be 'respectful' of theri local leaders, we end up with dead Marines. There is no individual life in Iraq worth the life of another Marine. Sadr needs to meet Allah and answer for his crimes.

[Stultis]

An even bigger mistake: We should have been (assisting Iraqis in) the building of democracy YEARS BEFORE the war began. The Iraq Liberation Act of 1998 provided the mandate and the funds to do this.

By the time we went to war with Saddam we should have had a Free Iraqi government operating for several years in the No-Fly zones, and likewise a Free Iraqi army at least a few thousand strong. It doesn't take much hindsight to envision the HUGE differences had we a functioning government-in-exile to which we could have transfered sovereignty almost immediately, and had thousands of armed and trained Iraqis participated in the liberation of their own country. Indeed the existence and operations of Free Iraqi elements in the No-Fly zones might have leached power from Saddam over the years to a degree that war might not even have been necessary.

Those in the State Department, CIA and elsewhere who systematically and intentionally undermined and subverted the Iraq Liberation Act have the blood of thousands on their hands. They should be identified, tried and shot.