Sadr Will Disband Mahdi Army If Instructed By Clerics

Reuters:

Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr will consult senior religious leaders and disband his Mehdi Army militia if they instruct him to, a senior aide said on Monday.

The surprise announcement came on the day Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, in a television interview, ordered the Mehdi Army to disband or Sadr's followers would be excluded from Iraqi political life.

Read the whole story: Reuters

Comments

[DesertLight]

Interesting why this thread received so little attention.

[Moxo]

Iranian Clerics about to bring Peace to Iraq?? I look forward to the White House spinning that into a victory for America by GWB.

Iranian Clerics doi have a soft-spot for the Bush Family, ever since Reagan / Bush supplied them with weapons back in the 1980's.

[robXdion]

And lemme guess, these clerics should come from Iran, right?

[ohiomark]

We should have taken out old Mookie when we had the chance. This is what political correctness has brought us. We can't make the Shiites mad.

[DesertLight]

It's a bit deeper than that. Since Sadaam was a Sunni Bathist, he oppressed the hell out of the Shiites. So, the army is there in effect as a security blanket for the Shia in order that they don't not get ignored again. That is what I believe last couple weeks of attacks were all about. It would be a huge step forward IF, he were to instruct his army to lay down the weapons and disband. Obviously, there are huge trust issues.

[outnow]

I thought that we were over there "saving" them. Are you proposing that we "take out" anyone who disagrees with our policy for supplying ourselves with oil. Political correctness doesn't seem to matter to you. Sadr was a "legitimizing" force for Maliki. Another "marriage of convenience." The US helped to bring in Saddam Hussein. Just another turn of the screw in our failed foreign policy. US "interests" say that we rule the world. There's democracy for you. Why did we fight our revolution?

[DesertLight]

I liked your last few lines. I hope when/if this whole mess ends, we get the hell out of everyone else's business and take care of the homeland.

[Ramirez]

And even more problems for HuffPo fave Moqtada al-Sadr...
From AP:
*********

Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish Parties Close Ranks Against Al-Sadr's Movement in Iraq
By HAMZA HENDAWI and QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA
Associated Press Writers

Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish Parties Close Ranks Against Al-Sadr's Movement in Iraq

BAGHDAD (AP) -- Iraq's major Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish parties have closed ranks to force anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to disband his Mahdi Army militia or leave politics, lawmakers and officials involved in the effort said Sunday.

Such a bold move risks a violent backlash by al-Sadr's Shiite militia. But if it succeeds it could cause a major realignment of Iraq's political landscape.

The first step will be adding language to a draft election bill banning parties that operate militias from fielding candidates in provincial balloting this fall, the officials and lawmakers said. The government intends to send the draft to parliament within days and hopes to win approval within weeks.

"We, the Sadrists, are in a predicament," lawmaker Hassan al-Rubaie said Sunday. "Even the blocs that had in the past supported us are now against us and we cannot stop them from taking action against us in parliament."

******
Before Basra this would not have happened.
Read the whole thing at:
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/IRAQ_ISOLATING_THE_SADRISTS?SITE=NVREN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

[JohnFromCensornati]

My bet is that Sadr knew what the clerics' instructions would be before he made this announcement.

[Ramirez]

My bet is he'd rather save some face by disarming for "the clerics" than being forced to disarm by al-Maliki.

[MikeDu]

Sadr's playing a subtle political game. There are wheels within wheels. This looks like a daring gambit. What position will he be in if there is no order to disband? He can then say "I offered but they deferred". Remember, Bush's so-called 'surge' is a success only so far as Sadr called a 6 month cease fire. There's evidence Sadr was literally the man to put the noose around Saddam's neck. If Bush doesn't drop a bomb on top of him Sadr may eventually wind up being the future father of the modern Iraqi state, like former-'insurgent' Menachem Begin.

[DesertLight]

Good point, but at any rate, it would be monumental.