Al-Sadr offers to help Iraqi security forces (Interesting read about the so-called negotiations)

CNN ^ | 4/3/2008 | cnn

[tobyhill]

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr Thursday offered to help purge Iraqi security forces of militia members.

But he also criticized the Iraqi government for denying it sent envoys to him to discuss last week's government offensive in Basra.

The Basra offensive sparked fighting between security forces in other Shiite cities and in Shiite neighborhoods of Baghdad. The clashes subsided after al-Sadr called for his followers to stand down, a pronouncement made Sunday after meetings with Iranian officials and Iraqi Shiite lawmakers in Iran.

"I advise everyone to end the sedition, to stop the bloodshed and arrests immediately," al-Sadr said Thursday in a statement read to CNN by Saleh al-Ageili, a spokesman for the Sadrist parliamentary bloc.

"And if the government cannot make infiltrators and other Baathists, terrorists, militias of parties and saboteurs surrender, we are ready to cooperate with them [the government] to cleanse our army and police of them. Let the government and people be one to liberate Iraq of the occupier."

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, speaking at a Baghdad news conference, said there were no government negotiations with Shiite militias and emphasized he didn't send an envoy to the Sadrists' headquarters in the Iraqi city of Najaf for talks.

[Mount Athos]

This is going to make pelosi cry.

[Army Air Corps]

Dingy Harry will soil himself.

[coalman]

what a peace loving ba%tard,until he re-supplies his ammo.

[doc1019]

I just can’t believe this piece of crap is still alive!

[xuberalles]

That pretty much sums it up!

[airborne]

He needs to take a dirt nap.

[maine-iac7]

The clashes subsided after al-Sadr called for his followers to stand down

after he got his butt kicked

[tobyhill]

CNN 4/2/2008
****Basra police chief Gen. Abdul Jalil Khalaf said more than 75 percent of the city is under security force control and that troops and police have access to all areas of the city.****
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/04/02/iraq.main/

CNN 4/3/2008
****A closely held U.S. military intelligence analysis of the fighting showed that Iraqi security forces controlled less than a quarter of the city, according to U.S. officials in the United States and Iraq. They said Basra's police units were deeply infiltrated by members of al-Sadr’s Mehdi Army.****
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/04/03/iraq.alsadr/index.html

[KC_Conspirator]

An absolute POS. I never understood how a person that had a good amount of influence would not parley that into something beneficial to Iraqi society.

[elpadre]

remember that reports coming by way of CNN must always be taken with a grain of salt. CNN always seems to slant reports one way or another, often omitting key facts that were available. We don't know about these particular stories and will wait until the dust settles to determine their accuracy.

[doc1019]

Iraq is made up of several hundred tribes and therefore will probably never make a true democracy. Al-Sadr is just trying to get his piece.

[forkinsocket]

Al-Sadr is trying to secure Shi’i rule for Iraq, which they feel has always been denied to them, especially since the British appointed the Hijazi Faisal I as king of Iraq.

[Billthedrill]

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, speaking at a Baghdad news conference, said there were no government negotiations with Shiite militias...

The MSM have declared this over and the Mahdi army the victor. Somebody forgot to tell the principals.

This is getting very close to end-game.

[maine-iac7]

This Oliva North story just got posted re the battle.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1996504/posts

You had replied to my post where I said “...after they got their butts kicked.”

North says, in relation to this operation, “ The militias — and their Iranian sponsors — got their butts kicked.”

So I feel in good company...

[maine-iac7]

Here’s the Iraqi Army in action - we done taught ‘em good

http://youtube.com/watch?v=3tMDhVu-f2Q

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Sadr is trying to rework the perception:

Sadr calls for anti-US rally

[Jabba the Nutt]

I just heard on the top of the hour news out of KDTK, Detroit Talk, that Sen. Carl Levin-D(MI), Chairman of the Armed Forces Committee, said that the violence in Iraq proved that American troops are in the middle of sectarian strife and therefore the troops ought to be removed over the next nine months. Ah, the Shiite-dominated Iraqi government is fighting Shiite militia/criminal gangs/terrorists. This is "sectarian strife".

What's worse is that Sen. Levin is so far behind events. The al-Maliki government kicked ass, our friend Mookie begged for a truce. The fighting's pretty much over and Mookie had his ass handed to him (while he's in Iran).

Sen. Levin, leave the bubble, come on out, it's safe out here, you just have to be able to tolerate non-liberal voices.