Al Sadr On The Ropes
Sadr’s flight from Iraq and return to Iran comes as Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki issued an unusually strong statement calling for Sadr’s Mahdi Army to disarm, and Iraqi security forces continue to battle his Mahdi Army in southern Iraq.
From the Great Bill Roggio:
h/t MM692
Muqtada al Sadr, the leader of the Shia Mahdi Army and the Sadrist bloc in parliament, has left Iraq and is in Iran, military sources told Reuters. An anonymous U.S. military intelligence official and a military officer stationed in Iraq told The Fourth Rail the Reuter’s report is accurate, but would not say when they believed Sadr left Iraq. Sadr’s flight from Iraq and return to Iran comes as Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki issued an unusually strong statement calling for Sadr’s Mahdi Army to disarm, and Iraqi security forces continue to battle his Mahdi Army in southern Iraq.
“We have heard statements from officials in the Sadr movement that they are against using arms and that they condemn those who hold weapons,” a statement issued from the prime minister said, AFP reported. “This puts us in front of a fact we must face courageously: If those are Sadrists, then Sadrist leaders disavow clearly those who carry guns … Therefore, these gunmen are infiltrated Saddamist and Baathist gangs and robbers using this movement as a front,” Maliki said.
Iraqi, U.S., British and other Coalition forces have battled Sadr’s Mahdi Army inside Baghdad in Sadr City, as well as in the south in Diwaniyah, Samawa and Basra. Sadr’s Mahdi Army fractured into a radical Iranian backed element of about 3,000 fighters, and the “Noble Mahdi Army,” which has been working with the Iraqi government and Coalition forces. This was part of a year-long campaign to divide the Mahdi Army. Sadr lost control of the Mahdi Army when he fled Iraq with his paymasters and senior leaders, leaving the militia rudderless and without pay. It is believed he returned to Iraq to gain a measure of control over his fractured forces.
The “rogue” elements of Sadr’s Mahdi Army have been repeatedly attacked by Iraqi and U.S. Special Forces due to their relationship with the Iranian-backed “Special Groups” or “Secret Cells.” These Iranian backed cells are receiving arms, funding, training, and guidance from Iranian Qods Force.
Sadr first left for Iran in January shortly after the announcement of the Baghdad Security plan, and returned to Iraq on May 25, over four months later. Since his return, Sadr has attempted to position himself as a moderate, nationalist leader, but with little success. He has flirted with the Anbar Awakening movement, and negotiated with Sunni political parties. His Sadrist bloc withdrew from Prime Minister Maliki’s government, and abandoned its six cabinet level positions. The Sadrist bloc’s 30 members have also boycotted parliament.
Sadr held two rallies, both of which had poor showings, and had to cancel a July 5 march to Samarra to protest the attack on the Shia holy site of the al Askaria mosque. Sadr’s spokesman claimed the Iraqi government wouldn’t provide security, but based on the past poor showing of his demonstrations, there are questions that Sadr may have harmed his image with another poor showing.
Sadr’s return to Iran harms his image as an Iraqi nationalist. He has criticized the leadership of the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council (SIIC, formerly the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq) for sheltering in Iran in the past, only to accept aid, comfort, shelter and cash from Iran’s Qods Force.
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Look at those piggish demonic hate filled eyes, the eyes are the windows to the soul and to me those windows reveal nothing but darkness.
July 8th, 2007 at 5:43 pmHow in the world can this guy move across borders like this? It does not bode well for our stopping other bad guys and materials from moving back/forth. Somebody needs to give this POS a 7.62mm lobotomy when or if he tries crossing that border agin.
July 8th, 2007 at 5:46 pmI’d heard several months ago that al-Sadr had left Iraq for Iran. Is this a continuation of the same incident, or had he returned and fled again?
Either way I suppose it doesn’t matter. al-Sadr needs to be either dead or gone for Iraq to work. Gone is probably better, because it shows him to be a coward, whereas dead they’d consider him a martyr.
And you’re right, Pat, Bill Roggio is “the great”
July 8th, 2007 at 5:53 pmTom,
From Pat’s article:
” Sadr first left for Iran in January shortly after the announcement of the Baghdad Security plan, and returned to Iraq on May 25, over four months later ”
Now Sadr has retreated again back to Iran. He’s a chickenshit. He thought he’d come back to a great welcoming but it was a big yawn. His problem this time is he’ll have to explain to the Mullahs in Tehran why he wasn’t successful in his “mission” back in Iraq.
I’d say the chances are we won’t have to worry about gunning down Sadr. More than likely he’ll meet his demise over in Iran…an end to him that no one will ever hear of. Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy. : )
July 8th, 2007 at 6:36 pmIf I may quote a prescient post from this site yesterday:
“Some very insightful folks have said: in Western politics, what is said in public is just for show, it is private conversations that count. But in Arab politics, it is the public statements that really count.”
This is the 1st time that Maliki has really issued such an ultimatum to Sadr, in public. He wdn’t have taken this step w/out close coordination of the US Mil, IMHO.
Sadr may be taking another “vacation” to Iran soon…”
July 8th, 2007 at 7:04 pmAl-Sadr has the look of a man running scared. He has betrayed everyone who has had the misfortune of backing him. His loyalties are to noone but himself.
bye-bye De Sadr.
July 8th, 2007 at 7:12 pmThe puppet strings are clear to see.. Even for his followers now.
July 8th, 2007 at 7:53 pmFat cowardly bastard. Call for others to die for your “cause” while you run and hide in another country like a little bitch.
July 8th, 2007 at 8:48 pmIf it wears a tuban - double tap it.
July 8th, 2007 at 9:28 pmcame back for a triumphant overthrow of the gvt but everybody stayed away.Big yawn,no support, speaks big then runs away.This dogs day is up.The mullahs will show him what happens to dogs that dont hunt.Dog = unclean = deadmeat.End of story F.E.T.E
July 9th, 2007 at 3:13 amQ: What does Al Sadr have in common with Reid, Pelosi, and Murtha?
A: redeploy
Actually, the comparison is an insult to Al Sadr.
July 9th, 2007 at 5:52 amI mean that!
What? Al-Satan running away again? Don’t you want to be a marytr turban-head? Guess living is better huh? Or maybe there’s just not enough women and children to hide behind these days. Big man who preaches big sermons. But small penis…no?
July 9th, 2007 at 10:04 amBaghdad Aviator
LOL!
July 9th, 2007 at 10:52 amand what happens when you double tap?
al-Sadr is apparently an individual who believes that he can control his “people” while in absentia. It is my belief that he is holding out for what he must hope will happen, which is a collapse of the Iraqi government.
While this may sound to some to be a pipe dream, this man watches the news like everyone else. He knows of the conflicts that the United States is having over this war and realizes that body counts are the best way to go.
He knows that the leftist elements are slowly draining away support for this war. All he believes he has to do is hold out until January of 2009 when a new president is elected and calls the troops home. God forbid if we do. Cindy Sheehan loves to tout how, by some reports, over 700,000 civilians have died in Iraq since our illegal occupation. Then again, this is the number that Code Pink has Houdini’ed out of thin air. If these groups were truly concerned about the people’s welfare, they should be backing the troops, praying that we can stop the bloodshed…
-oh, wait, sorry about that. Let me rephrase the last sentence: they should be backing the troops, and articulating positive results that proves that the bloodshed will stop.
*note: I had to change the sentence, since it obviously invoked the belief of a higher authority, aka the word prayer. Since the left tends to be a godless sort, who are working hard to trash Capernicus and Gallileo by placing man back into the center of the universe, displacing the Sun.
July 10th, 2007 at 7:30 pm