Al Sadr running scared...

[Mergie Master]

....starts offering deals. The so called hardass of Baghdad is scared shitless!!

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlot...d/16577849.htm

Radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has ordered his militia not to confront U.S. forces and has endorsed negotiations aimed at easing the deployment of American troops in his strongholds, according to Sadrist and other Shiite officials.
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A deal with the supporters of the fiercely anti-American cleric would temper U.S. military commanders' concern that any attempt to secure Baghdad will inevitably lead to a showdown with Iraq's biggest private army. In 2004, the U.S. military fought bloody battles with the Mahdi Army in Najaf and in Sadr City, a sprawling Shiite enclave in Baghdad, and has since steered clear of direct confrontations with the militia.
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"It will mean any U.S. soldier will be as welcome in Sadr City as any Iraqi citizen," said al-Daraji, who said he is politically independent. "He will be able to walk safely in Sadr City, sit in any restaurant he likes, and he can help in reconstructing the city."
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"Sadr City is full of people, and people make mistakes," he said. "We are hoping that the government will forgive them."

He knows if US forces turn their full attention and launch a large scale op against him, and they will, he and his organization are finished. Funny how these tough guys' tune changes when they realise this.

[Drylok]

Since when do radical Muslims make deals with US interests in mind??

The cleric may just be trying to buy time...

[Jozie & Me]

Until we deal with his boss in Tehran, it isnt finished. He will be replaced with another puppet. Here is an email I received on the subject. Real or not it makes good points.


Here's his letter to us:
Subject: My view of Iraq

The Following is an article about Bush's national address and troop increase. I thought it was a good idea to let you all know what the perspective is over here. I'm tired of hearing the media's skewed version, the politicians squabbling over what they read in a report, and the average ill-informed American ranting about things he knows NOTHING about.
-----------------------------------
I've been over here a couple of months now, and I've learned more about this country than a year's worth of watching CNN. I've sat in mission briefs with Colonels, talked with village elders, had tea with Shieks, played with the kids. And I agree with the President. We need more troops and we need to take greater action.

There are 3 major factions here. The Sunnis, Shiites, and Kurds. The Shiites are in the majority, but Saddam was a Sunni, so he kept the Shiites in check. Everyone hates the Kurds, who are Christian and in the vast minority. The Kurds received the brunt of Saddam's murderous tyranny. Now that Saddam is gone, the Shiites have taken control of Baghdad. The largely peaceful Sunnis are now the victims of radical Shiite terrorism. So the young Sunni men, who can no longer go to work and support their families, do what all young men would do. They join the Sunni militia and battle the Shiites. And thus the country sits on the brink of civil war.

But this war is between them. They largely do not concern themselves with the U.S. troops. The insurgents who battle the Coalition Forces are from outside the country. And the biggest problem down here isn't the insurgents. Its the politicians. The local politicians. Even though the country is controlled by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, downtown Baghdad is controlled by radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. The Shiites follow al-Sadr and thus the Prime Minister does what al-Sadr says. Think of it as if a warlord controlled New York and blackmailed the President into diplomatic immunity.

When 1st Cav (mainly 2/5 Cav) came here in 2004, they took downtown Baghdad (known as Sadr City) by force. It cost many lives, but after a year, we held an iron grip on the largest insurgent breeding ground in Iraq. The insurgents were afraid of the Horse People, and rightfully so. But when 1st Cav left, al-Sadr influenced the Prime Minister to kick out the Coalition forces from that area of Baghdad. He said the Iraqi military forces could hold the city. But all that happened was al-Sadr regained control of his cty, and it is now a heavily guarded fortress. A place where insurgents and terrorists can train and stockpile arms. And we cannot go back in becuase the Prime Minister won't let us. Our hands are tied.

So where does al-Sadr get his backing? From Iran and Syria. Iran supplies him with money and Syria supplies the terrorists. The insurgents that battle the Coalition Forces are from Syria, Somalia and dozens of other places outside of Iraq. Iraq is literally a terrorist breeding ground. They have terrorist and sniper schools here. Why not? They train by teaching them to attack the military forces here. And they have an endless supply of these training tools. They have factories in Sadr City to build bombs. Both Ira n and Syria have openly proclaimed their number one goal in life is to destroy the great Western Devil and the little Western Devil (America and Britain). Iran wants to control Iraq to further this purpose. Al-Sadr will get to "run" the country and live like a king, but in reality Iran will pull the puppet strings. Iran will have access to thousands of radical Shiites who will do whatever a l-Sadr tells them to. And Iraq will be used as a breeding ground for terrorism. Terrorism that will be targeted directly at America and Britain. The Iraq Study Group advised we should let Iran and Syria help with rebuilding? Bravo to President Bush for striking that idea down and vowing to keep those two countries out of Iraq.

So how do the Iraqi people feel about everything? Of course they don't want the Americans here. But they would far rather have us here than the Iranians. My platoon visited an average Sunni village on a patro l a few days ago. Their only source of income was to farm, as they could not go to the city to work for fear of violence. Many of the young men had already run off to join the militia for no other reason than to feed their families. They had no school or hospital near them and the community was dying. The village elder's granddaughter was very sick and I was able to treat her. Afterwards he invited me and my Platoon Leader to sit in his house and have tea with him, and we talked about the situation.

The people want peace. The Shiites kill the Sunnis because al-Sadr tells them to do so. The Sunnis fight back because they have no choice. They are glad Saddam is dead (Sunni or not), but do not want to replace him with another dictator in a politician's clothes (which is what al-Sadr will become). And they especially don't want Iran in charge. Many innocent Iraqis will die if this h appens. These are the words that came out of the elder's mouth:

"We do not want America here, and America does not want to be here. But you cannot leave because the militias controll the country. America must use the might of its giant army and sweep through, root out and destroy the militias. Then Iraq can be free and you can leave."

What appears to have happened within our diplomatic community, is that Prime Minister finally realizes that his days are numbered. If al-Sadr remains, he will be kicked to the curb. So hopefully he is about to allow us to reenter Sadr City, root out and destroy the enemy. A dramatic troop increase will allow us to do this. And the Horse People are back and ready to finish what they started over 2 years ago.

If leave now, it will be a failure for democracy. Iran will contoll Iraq and the end result will be more terrorist attacks on America. The American people don't want soldiers dying over here, but its better than American civilians dying over there. Do NOT forget 9/11. They will do it again. The moment we loosen our grip on the noose, they will do it again. And the only way to root out the evil here is to stop beating around the bush, increase troops and destroy the insurgents once and for all. The Iraqi government cannot do this on their own. The Iraqi security forces are inade quate for this task. We are the only ones who can stop al-Sadr.
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Feel free to share this with whomever wants a real soldier's opinion about the war.

SPC "Doc" Shurley
2/5 Cav, 1st CB

[Turd Ferguson]

Much like wild hogs- you either kill em all or they will increase in numbers in a short period of time and go back to doing what they do best- destroying every thing they come into contact with.

Drop the "BUM" on em or Put a bullet between each one of thems eyes


Move all civilians to a safehaven and issue STK orders-hell put tracking bracelets on them so we can see who runs in packs! Cost should no longer be an issue - make them pay for own tracking devices if they want our help--gotta draw the line somewhere and not a tidal surge every 2 years.

GO USA

[Greenbean]

Alright - here it is. A specialist does not have the accurate "picture" of Iraq - A Specialist in the US Army is nothing more than an advanced private, unlike a Marine E-4(which is the same grade) he's not even an NCO. To the untrained of military rank and structure, this letter is "heart felt and emotional" - more democratic rhetoric. If he is an intel guy or an interrogator or a psyops guy, he MIGHT sit down for chi, but otherwise he is full of shit on that.
But it is still to no avail - because his misconception is fundamentally wrong. We tried to get Al-Sadr as an ally, but he is a stupid little man, playing the Sunni vs. Shia card. Which is what this young Specialist has surmised as the incorrect problem with Iraq. Shia's ARE the majority and he is right on that, but Shia's are not "attacking" Sunni's.....No, it is more like a dominant dog asserting his dominance and the Shia's know nothing more even though they are bigger - they are like the puppy who grew up bigger but were so beat down, they have lost the will to fight......they cower to the Sunni's. What this country needs is an Al-Sadr who is smart enough to realize that a united country, with no more attacks on CF, is his to claim. That man has not succeeded......All America needs out of this is a dictator who can make stupid Americans think we succeeded.......and then he can take this country, with our blessings, and bingo - we have a dictator we can control and the country goes on because for more years than our country has existed, the people of Iraq have only known dictatorship........it is so fucking simple.......The Cav saved Iraq????? Fuck the Cav, look in the history books already written about Afghanistan and Iraq and read about who was first on the ground and who will be last on the ground and it is NOT the Cav or the Infantry.
This is another fundamentally wrong notion that the Generals and "leaders" of our country have grossly failed - you cannot make intel gatherers and infiltrators out of the commomn soldiers. The aforementioned rhetoric above blatantly outlines the misguided, pathetic attempt to understanding the ENTIRE country and not just his "piece of the pie"........So, having said that, bring it on, all you armchair, ex-Cav, ex-Infantry, what-evers........bring it on because you don't have a fucking clue.
You saw the other day where 2 Americans were killed in a helicopter, they were shot down in an intense fight between Iraqi forces and insurgents........yeah right, some fucking piece of shit gov't official came on the news and talked about how the Iraqi's used air support perfectly.....and if you believe for one second, that it wasn't Americans on the ground calling the shots, you need to be extricated to France.
In defense of the Cav - who is doing a fucking great job where I'm at, this letter is total fucking bullshit or the ignorant ravings of just one terd.......

[Roddie]

[Greenbean]

No complaints after a week........yeah, that's right......that's the way it is, forget what you read in the paper, forget what you saw on the news - if you want the ground truth - call on ole GREENBEAN...........I'f I'm talking to my wife or kids, fuck you, but otherwise, I love to tell the story, the truth!!! Please, call on me.....