A woman holds a portrait of the radical cleric Hojatoleslam Moqtada al-Sadr
Posted on 06/16/2008 8:16:12 PM PDT by bruinbirdman
Iraqi and US forces were poised to strike a key Shia militia stronghold in southern Iraq yesterday as Nouri al-Maliki, the Prime Minister, pushed ahead with his campaign to rid the country of al-Mahdi Army gunmen.
A woman holds a portrait of the radical cleric Hojatoleslam Moqtada al-Sadr
Iraqi army tanks, armoured troop carriers and infantrymen surrounded al-Amarah, a lawless tribal city near the Iranian border that is renowned for its smuggling rings. It once held a British base but the army was mortared so heavily by al-Mahdi Army irregulars that it withdrew to patrol the Iranian frontier.
Mr al-Maliki has told the militiamen that they have until Thursday to surrender their weapons before the Iraq forces — backed by US troops and air power — move in. “The military is deployed to ensure total control of the city without leaving any gaps for the militants to flee,” General Nassir al-Abadi, a senior Defence Ministry official, said.
Mr al-Maliki, who gained a boost in popularity when his forces took Basra from murderous militias, is hoping to push forward with his campaign to isolate al-Mahdi Army, led by Hojatoleslam Moqtada al-Sadr, the Shia cleric who once ordered a full-scale revolt against the US occupation.
Colonel Mahdi al-Asadi, a spokesman for al-Amarah police force, said that the operation would target any illegal militia groups, not specifically al-Madhi Army. “It will target outlaws even if they are government officials. It will not target any militia specifically but those who are criminals,” Colonel al-Asadi said.
Hojatoleslam al-Sadr has announced a series of reforms since his street fighters lost control of Basra and he was forced to cut a deal allowing Iraqi government troops into his once-impregnable stronghold of Sadr City in Baghdad. Last week he said that his al-Mahdi Army would shift its focus to civilian action, with only a small armed wing being retained to fight the Americans.
The Iraqi Government is trying to manoeuvre the Sadrist movement into renouncing violence and transforming itself from one of the most-feared militia groups into a political organisation. It already runs charities and welfare groups among the poorest of the Shia population but retains the right to attack US forces.
The cleric has sent a delegation to al-Amarah ordering his militia fighters there — many of whom have already fled or buried their weapons — to respect a ceasefire he declared with Iraqi forces.
And which of Mookie’s thugs knocked her tooth out?
I’ll know the Al-Mahdi’s are truly gone when I hear about liquor stores opening.
I'm warning you! Stop this crackdown! I'm really warning you!
Ralph Peters (October 26, 2006): Kill Muqtada Now
If you read the WaPo, you’d swear Mookie was running Baghdad and giving Maliki marching orders. The Post can’t face that Mook had his butt kicked by the Iraqi Army - Sadr was the Left’s last hope for a civil war and US defeat.
Mr al-Maliki has told the militiamen that they have until Thursday to surrender their weapons before the Iraq forces — backed by US troops and air power — move in. “The military is deployed to ensure total control of the city without leaving any gaps for the militants to flee,
Since these people are experts at smuggling we better make sure they are not tunneling out their fighters.
The Brits grabbed their balls and ran away. What an army!
They must of had state of the art training in French military tactics.
Do you always believe all the spin in the papers?
If the Brits had a limited number of troops, and they did, then moving out to interdict the supply lines, and not incidentally kill a few of Mahdi thugs, would sure as heck beat sitting in garrison having mortars dropped on your head. I'm sure their politicians are like ours and would not let them just go kill Mookie and his lieutenants.
Dem talking point will be, "See, this is being done by the Iraq army. We don't need U.S. troops there anymore. Iraq just needs a treaty with Iran to settle political differences."
yitbos
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