Posted on 12/07/2006 6:37:54 PM PST by jmc1969
The Iraq Study Group says the private army of anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr could be 60-thousand fighters strong.
Al-Sadr's Mahdi army is one of the concerns highlighted in the Iraq Study Group's report, released yesterday. It's one of many factions undermining U-S efforts to help Iraq's democracy gain control.
The study group says many of al-Sadr's followers are planted throughout the security forces that protect Iraqi government institutions.
And more worrisome than their numbers, which stood at ten-thousand in 2005, is al-Sadr's organizational ability. One terrorism expert says cell phones, Internet communications and other technology gives the Mahdi army an "enormous" ability to mobilize their forces.
And the panel worries that al-Sadr himself may not be able to manage his growing network.
We had a chance in August 2004 as well.
The Badr militia has been targeting insurgent leaders since 2004.
The Madhi Army doesn't target insurgents. The Madhi Army is a bunch of cowards that find dozens of Sunni women and children and butcher them to show their manhood.
The Madhi Army are cowardly monsters like al-Qaeda.
Allegra bump
I'm sure you're right. Unfortunately, I asked the wrong question.
Yup: The maggots should be just about done on Al Sadr now, instead of him having 60,000 men .
One of the problems is that all the while we were training an Iraqui police force we have been training Al Sadr's men.
Until the shooting actually starts they cant tell who the guy standing next to them wil be shooting.
I say protect the Kurds and let these people fight to the death of both sides. I cant see where either side is worth protecting.
Kill al-Sadr. Wait 3 days for the funeral. Let 100,000 of those @ssholes show up for the protest funeral and kill each and everyone of them with no mercy to any one of them! Show their steam corpses on TV and tell the Ny Times they are next!
You are correct. We should have taken the guy out from the beginning. Although they threatened a riot - bit deal. Better to deal with it all at once and be rid of this vermin.
Well that would be nice but as we learned from the photos shot in Afghanistan, we don't kill terrorists when they are burying one of their own at a funeral. Got to show 'em some respect.
BTTT
you have two bullies there both courting their common girlfriend that they want to share
poke each one in the eye... the epicenters of Tehran and Damascus.... and then hit them in the jaw.
do that and the ho's problems go away
The Madhi Army didn't grow five fold this past year on the back of Shia hated of America. No, the Madhi Army and al-Qaeda are both being fed today by mutual violence against each other community. If al-Qaeda kills your family in a suicide bomb attack and you are a Shia, more often then not you want revenge and all to many of these young men are taking up arms with the group that causes the most violence to Sunni civilians. And, we know which group that is.
When the Madhi Army kills a Sunni families we are seeing the same gravitiation of Sunni men towards al-Qaeda in Iraq which is the number one group today for young Sunni men to join to get revenge against Shia.
Zarqawi started a really annoying cycle of violence. There may just be one way to break the cycle of violence and that is with the Iraqi Army. The US doesn't have the political will to do what needs to be done and the Iraqi government is too weak and divided to do much of anything right now.
A smart secular young Iraqi Army officer is going to have to step up and end this crap and the US is going to have to let him do it.
Grinned...allong with U.S. Oil Giants who favored B.P. oil gets its butt kicked in Kuwait.
Anyhoo....the side of world oil play that seldom is tabled openly,
Even though B.P. is technically an ally via Britian,,,,their holdings and potential [lost] oil signatory's in the mid east see them gamed on with no mercy as they say.
B.P. was front sponsor of Badami on North Slope of Alaska [Which I worked on for 2 years plus]...and flopped totally [Insufficient pressure in cache layers....injection format failure....lines froze,....project failure....Geologists got this one wrong....Badami cost 300 Million -turning out only 4 Million BBL's]
B.P. also got clobbered by Russia....Putin suckered B.P. into voluminous front money for field signatory which flopped aswell...with B.P. getting nothing but glares from their finance division.
Part of B.P. morphed into U.S. Amoco [Amoco B.P.]
B.P. has some of its Iraqi oil signatory back....but that is in Shia south....so how secure is that : )
"The Mahdi Army, led by Moqtada al-Sadr, may number
as many as 60,000 fighters. It has directly challenged U.S. and
Iraqi government forces, and it is widely believed to engage in
regular violence against Sunni Arab civilians. Mahdi fighters
patrol certain Shia enclaves, notably northeast Baghdad’s teeming
neighborhood of 2.5 million known as “Sadr City.” As the
Mahdi Army has grown in size and influence, some elements
have moved beyond Sadr’s control.
The Badr Brigade is affiliated with the Supreme Council
for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), which is led by
Abdul Aziz al-Hakim. The Badr Brigade has long-standing ties
with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. Many Badr members
have become integrated into the Iraqi police, and others
play policing roles in southern Iraqi cities. While wearing the
uniform of the security services, Badr fighters have targeted
Sunni Arab civilians. Badr fighters have also clashed with the
Mahdi Army, particularly in southern Iraq."
From page 5 of the report
So then.....with Russia sitting in the wings and hoping for Iranian Victory in Iraq,
Will She who sends the black spot ,allong with Emperor Husband and Democrat flying monkeys,
Become Vienna Summer and jilt CFR Dem globalists like Zbiegniew Brzenzski by letting Russia near the prize of mid east oil?
Back in 91 when we had the manpower to do the job I said we ought to seize the ME Oil Fields
Arabs can't protect them and that was the 2nd time we had to go over to protect the flow of oil
It seems that the concept is to require Maliki to have militias outlawed-
"NATIONAL RECONCILIATION
By the end of 2006–early 2007: ➤Approval of the Provincial Election Law and setting an election date ➤Approval of the Petroleum Law ➤Approval of the De-Baathification Law ➤Approval of the Militia Law
By March 2007:
➤A referendum on constitutional amendments (if it is necessary)
By May 2007:
➤Completion of Militia Law implementation ➤Approval of amnesty agreement ➤Completion of reconciliation efforts
It may well be that the end game is the installation of a new authoritarian figure, who rules by fear. Saddam redux, hopefully less dangerous. The alternative is partition, de facto or de jure. I really don't see an elected government surviving to run an Iraq as presently constituted. On that one, I don't agree with Bush's optimism.
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