Posted on 01/11/2007 8:48:31 AM PST by bnelson44
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) The countrys most powerful Shiite politician issued strong backing Thursday for the Iraqi governments new Baghdad security plan, calling for it to strike with an iron fist and indirectly urging the militia of a radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to disarm.
Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, who heads the 130-strong Shiite bloc in parliament, spoke just hours after President Bush announced his new strategy to quell violence in the Iraqi capital, including an additional 21,500 American for Baghdad and the western Anbar province.
Al-Hakims backing for the new security drive was crucial if the government and U.S. forces were to succeed in what could be a last attempt to curb the sectarian bloodshed that threatens to push the capital deeper into civil war.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnews.canoe.ca ...
As usual, your comments are insightful.
If only American Democrats wanted our efforts to succeed as much as the Shiite leader.
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