Posted on 05/10/2008 8:47:49 AM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
More details ....
Excellent. No wonder Iran has told Hezbollah to wake up. They saw that their hand in Iran is no longer strong.
Background note:
************************EXCERPT***********************
By NIBRAS KAZIMI May 9, 2008
Ever since the prime minister of Iraq, Nouri al-Maliki, launched Operation Cavalry Charge in Basra on March 25, which has been going on there and elsewhere across Iraq, three important conclusions can be drawn: the Iraqi state and the Iraqi army can function on their own; an influential figure in Iraq, Muqtada al-Sadr, is much weaker than he was deemed to be; and Iran has bet on the wrong horse.
As a result of being unable to rely on Mr. Sadr’s organization, Iran would lose a menacing avenue for retaliation against America should Iran’s illicit nuclear program get attacked.
Basra had a moment of clarity, illuminating the convergence of several positive trends in Iraq. What’s driving these trends is a sense among regular Iraqis that their state has outlasted its challengers, whether they are Sunni insurgents, organized crime cartels, or hostile regional powers. Basra is “Exhibit A” for those who argue that Iraq’s remaining problems are fixable, that the achievements seen so far are irreversible, and that a sense of patriotic cohesion is salvageable and viable.
Consequently, the events in Basra do not sit well with those who have argued otherwise and staked their careers and credibility to the storyline that Iraq is irredeemable, such as the many journalists and pundits who have been covering Iraq over the last five years. This has seemingly induced them to fabricate a negative and false narrative in the hope that their predictions would go unchallenged.
Six weeks ago, Iraqi policemen in Basra were dodging RPG projectiles fired by teenagers. These days, though, they keep themselves busy with house-to-house sweeps in search for weapons caches. Moreover, on a daily basis, they issue hundreds of tickets for traffic and parking violations. Indeed, the situation in Basra has changed dramatically.
The violence in Basra was not sectarian in nature even though Iraq’s southernmost province — first in potential wealth with between 60% and 70% of the country’s oil and second, after Baghdad, in its population size — boasts a significant Sunni minority, as well as Christian, Mandean, and non-mainstream Shia denominations.
Basra’s chaos resulted from a unique mélange of Iranian meddling, proliferation of organized crime, and Britain’s unsteady hand in running military and political matters. The Americans had delegated Basra’s management to their British allies, who ended up ruining things in Iraq’s most promising piece of real estate.
********************EXCERPT********************
Now how will the MSM spin this?
Followers of rebel cleric Muqtada al Sadr agreed late Friday to allow Iraqi security forces to enter all of Baghdad’s Sadr City and to arrest anyone found with heavy weapons in a surprising capitulation that seemed likely to be hailed as a major victory for Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki.
**********************snip*********************
The MSM and the left were hoping for another big disaster to lay at the feet of Bushitler. Foiled once again. When will they learn?
In other words, the Mahdi Army has surrendered, though I doubt it will be portrayed that way in the MSM.
To the MSM, this will just be more evidence of Sadr’s strength and magnanimous nature.
Mahdi Army Surrenders, Authorizes Iraq Government To Disarm Fighters
**************************EXCERPTS**********************
Well, it should be damn interesting to see how the liberal SurrenderMedia spins this news into claims that Iraq is turning into another Vietnam. It seems the Mahdi Army in Sadr City has surrendered - completely:
Followers of rebel cleric Muqtada al Sadr agreed late Friday to allow Iraqi security forces to enter all of Baghdad’s Sadr City and to arrest anyone found with heavy weapons in a surprising capitulation that seemed likely to be hailed as a major victory for Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki.
In return, Sadr’s Mahdi Army supporters won the Iraqi government’s agreement not to arrest Mahdi Army members without warrants, unless they were in possession of “medium and heavy weaponry.”
************************snip**********************
What is interesting is how this sudden capitulation comes one day after aids to cleric Moqtada al-Sadr lashed out at the top Shiite cleric in all of Iraq and basically claimed he shared the guilty for the deaths in Sadr City because he had sided with Maliki and the US forces. This was an astounding and dangerous step for Sadr to take. Was this act of defiance too much for the powers to be, which decided it was time to end the fighting? Was Iran getting nervous about the building fire power the US was gathering in the region with the addition of another Carrier Group?
It was probably a combination of these factors, along with the fact that the Iraqi people were not rising up to side with Sadr and the Mahdi thugs, but instead were relieved when they Mahdi thugs were dispatched and the Iraqi government took control.
***************************SNIP***************************
***********************CONCLUSION**********************
The second biggest losers in all this were the doom&gloom liberal SurrenderMedia and Surrendercrats. The world just won’t produce another Vietnam for them. Their predictions were wrong - again. And their hopes of a US failure in Iraq were wrong - as they have always been. Wrong in a smelly, sick kind of way.
What will be interesting to watch is: (1) the liberal SurrenderMedia eat crow as Iraq passes another milestone towards its bright, free future, (2) seeing the people of Iraq enjoy the new peaceful Iraq that will be arising again soon, and (3) learning exactly what it was that caused the Mahdi to fold like a lawn chair. Someone pulled the plug on this one.
Ouch.
From the Belmont Club:
********************EXCERPT*********************
Information Dissemination, the weblog of someone who describes himself as an "armchair admiral", looks at the the disposition US fleet units in Persian Gulf. Whether or not you believe there are going to be offensive operations against Iran, Information Dissemination has an interesting discussion of what naval objectives are important.
**************************snip**********************
The maritime importance of Iran's island positions can easily be seen from this Wikipedia map, showing the island's position in relation to the sealanes.
And there is some question whether they have put enough into Afghanistan as well..
This is less like a cease-fire but more like a surrender. Al-Sadr has been beat badly and now Maliki appears ready to offer him at least some face saving measure instead of making him a martyr.
Hell! Martyr Him. and Kill his Army.
Iran protests to Iraq over disputed Gulf islands (In the Straits of hormuz)
*******************************
3 days ago
TEHRAN (AFP) — Iran has protested to Iraq over reports that Baghdad had backed the United Arab Emirates' claim to three islands in the Gulf, the foreign ministry said on Wednesday.
"The Iraqi ambassador (Mohammed Majid Abbas al-Sheikh) was invited (to the foreign ministry) and was notified of Iran's protest," foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini told the state broadcaster.
"The Iraqi government was also asked to correct its position," he said.
The official UAE agency WAM reported on April 28 that in a memorandum sent to UAE foreign ministry, the Iraqi government asserted "its unconditional support to the sovereignty of UAE" over the three islands.
"It also said that Iraq supports all procedures and peaceful means UAE will adopt to reclaim the three islands, and rejects any action from Iran to bolster the occupation," the agency reported.
Iran gained control of Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb and Abu Musa islands, which control access to the Strait of Hormuz between Iran and the UAE, after British forces left the Gulf in 1971.
Iran has rejected claims by the UAE, which insists the islands in strategic Gulf waters are occupied by Iran. Tehran has also ruled out taking the issue before the international court in The Hague.
Despite their differences over the islands, the two states have close ties, with Iran being the UAE's top trading partner. Iranians also form a sizable diaspora community in Dubai.
Since the fall of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in 2003, Shiite-majority Iran has enjoyed warm ties with its western neighbour, which fought a bloody war with Iran 1980 to 1988.
However, the Iraqi government announced earlier this week that it will form a panel of security ministries to investigate and document any Iranian intervention in Iraqi affairs, amid mounting US claims of meddling by Tehran.
Iran vehemently rejects allegations of interference in Iraq, saying the best way to restore stability to the country would be the immediate exit of foreign troops.
Well, momma always said tell the truth even if it hurts.
See #16...funny how Iraq is backing the UAE over those little Islands....see the map at post # 11.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.