Posted on 03/26/2008 1:23:09 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
Some facts about Sadr City, the Baghdad stronghold of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia:
HISTORY: Sadr City was built in the late 1950s by Prime Minister Abdul Karim Qassim to provide housing for Baghdad's largely Shiite urban poor, many of whom had migrated from southern Iraq. It was first named Revolution City and became a stronghold of the Iraq Communist party.
It was renamed Saddam City after the late president took power in 1979. After Saddam's ouster in 2003, it became known as Sadr City in honor of Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Sadeq al-Sadr, who was killed, probably by Saddam's agents, in 1999. His son is Muqtada al-Sadr.
POPULATION: An estimated 2.5 million people live in Sadr City. The vast majority of them are Shiites, many of whom live in abject poverty.
AREA: About 13 square miles, making Sadr City one of the most densely packed communities in the Middle East.
LIFE: Sadr City suffers from rampant unemployment and ailing infrastructure, and lacks many basic services. Electricity is available for only about six hours a day, and some streets frequently flood with sewage. Municipal garbage collection service was halted in 2003; it resumed two years later but only on main roads. Sadr City's main landmark is a giant municipal building commissioned by Saddam, who gave a single speech from its balcony and never returned to the district again.
Tires are set on fire and road is blocked in Sadr City, Baghdad Iraq as Mahdi Army militia members clash with the Iraqi government forces backed by the US military, Wednesday March 26, 2008. Clashes were also reported between Iraqi forces and Mahdi Army in Diwaniyah, south of Baghdad. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)
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Demonstrators chant slogans as they march during a protest in Baghdad's Sadr City March 26, 2008. Hundreds took to the streets of Sadr City to protest against the U.S. forces and Iraqi government on Wednesday. REUTERS/Kareem Raheem (IRAQ)
Maybe this is where the Hildebeast should travel next, then she could say there were snipers all around her...if she made it through the night! Hell, I might even respect her then.....nah, just misspoke there!
Its still a slum. And of their own making.
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