Iraq News ping!
“The senior-most Iraqi general in charge of the security operation in Basrah has issued an ultimatum for wanted Mahdi Army leaders and fighters to surrender in the next 24 hours as the Iraqi and US military ignore Muqtada al Sadr’s threat to conduct a third uprising.”
So what iteration of truce are we on now with this guy? 12? 13?
The ceasefire might be preserved after all, especially if one side simply disappears.
IRAQ: Sadr's in a JAM -- It looks like his militia got routed.
**************************EXCERPT INTRO****************************
ALMOST FROM THE MOMENT IT began on March 25, the inside-the-Beltway Conventional Wisdom about the Iraqi Army's offensive against Muqtada al-Sadr's "Jaysh al Mahdi" militia and other, more criminal elements in the city of Basra--the second-largest city in Iraq and whose port is Iraq's lifeline to the international economy--was that it was a half-baked enterprise and soon a fully-baked disaster. But the latest news from Iraq strongly suggests that is, once again, the narrative of defeat that is half-baked. Over the weekend, the Iraqi Army asserted control over the Basra neighborhoods that had been Sadrist "strongholds" (though, as in the past, the pattern of JAM behavior is flight-not-fight when its losses begin to mount) and continued to apply strong pressure on Sadr City, the main JAM redoubt in Baghdad.
But, before the reality check, let's indulge in a retrospective of the failure fantasies of recent weeks. "I hope we don't hear any glorification of what happened in Basra," House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi warned Gen. David Petraeus and Amb. Ryan Crocker before they delivered their Iraq update testimony to Congress on April 9. Pelosi was parroting the left's rush to judgment that the Iraqi operation was a conclusive failure and that Muqtada al Sadr and Iran were the big winners. Basra was an unpleasant "lesson" for the Maliki government, wrote Robert Dreyfuss on March 31 in the Nation; the prime minister personally "lost face" and the initial cease-fire "worked out in Qom, Iran and mediated by Tehran," was "doubly embarrassing." But it was worse for the United States and an "utter humiliation" for President Bush.
The Islamos still alive in Muqtada al Sadr’s militia need to use a few rounds to shut Muqtada al Sadr up.
The more he talks, more of them get killed.
Great news. Sadr is suddenly in the cross-hairs. He’s got to be wondering what changed. IMO the intention was always to run him over with the Iraqi army ... no way can he martyr his way out of that.
The Fox News panel had been saying Sadr won until yesterday when all but Juan admitted the MSM, them included, are a bunch of morons for declaring Sadr the winner when he was still taking a beating.
Good show, Iraq! Keep hanging tough - this is the only way long-lasting security and stability will be achieved.
We're right behind you.
this is really good news as it shows the iraqi army is beginning to grow in confidence....of course the US troops are probably heavily involved but i think yet another small corner has been turned here....
The Mookster can still redeem himself if he was to lead a final sword charge ala Iwo Jima.