How Moqtada al-Sadr Won in Basra

uscitizen said:
Kid is about too outrageous to kill isn't he ?
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If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine.
obiwan460.jpg
 
Socrtease said:
The Iraqi military's offensive in Basra was supposed to demonstrate the power of the central government in Baghdad. Instead it has proven the continuing relevance of anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. Sadr's militia, the Mahdi Army, stood its ground in several days of heavy fighting with Iraqi soldiers backed up by American and British air power. But perhaps more important than the manner in which the militia fought is the manner in which it stopped fighting. On Sunday Sadr issued a call for members of the Mahdi Army to stop appearing in the streets with their weapons and to cease attacks on government installations. Within a day, the fighting had mostly ceased. It was an ominous answer to a question posed for months by U.S. military observes: Is Sadr still the leader of a unified movement and military force? The answer appears to be yes.

The remainder of the article can be found at http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1726763,00.html?cnn=yes
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WOW this is without at doubt one of the dumbest things I've ever read, I know you didn't write it, but you did see something enough in it to post it here. To many armchair generals who need to stick to lousy/lazy journalism. Sadr was thoroughly defeated, and withdrew from the fight, begging for a political solution, how high do you have to be to spin that into a victory?


<rant> Traditional military logic has surly been spun on it's head during this conflict, from the obsession with blown up fruit stands and their vast tactical value, to a radical getting his but handed to him, and the US media, spinning it into a win for the men trying to cowardly kill Americans as they butcher hundreds of thousands of civilians, or to Al Qaeda's number two, referring to the civilian blood on Al Qaeda's hands, calling people simple human shields, and then jerks in the US saying it's the Americans killing civilians. And the really sad thing is this is mostly promoted by one political party, and it's followers, for political gain. </rant>
 
Look after it Watermark and it will serve you well for many years. Resist the blandishments for upgrades, they always stuff it up.
 
Socrtease said:
Why is it that so many posts have to devolve into attacks and digs at the people who post on here? Can't we just respond to the posts without taking what someone said and moving it toward what is wrong with the poster?
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Where's the fun in that?

:D

just kiddin'
 
WRL said:
WOW this is without at doubt one of the dumbest things I've ever read, I know you didn't write it, but you did see something enough in it to post it here. To many armchair generals who need to stick to lousy/lazy journalism. Sadr was thoroughly defeated, and withdrew from the fight, begging for a political solution, how high do you have to be to spin that into a victory?
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How high to you have to be to believe THAT bullshit.

NEWSFLASH: More Than 1,000 in Iraq’s Forces Quit Basra Fight

BAGHDAD — More than 1,000 Iraqi soldiers and policemen either refused to fight or simply abandoned their posts during the inconclusive assault against Shiite militias in Basra last week, a senior Iraqi government official said Thursday. Iraqi military officials said the group included dozens of officers, including at least two senior field commanders in the battle.

The desertions in the heat of a major battle cast fresh doubt on the effectiveness of the American-trained Iraqi security forces. The White House has conditioned further withdrawals of American troops on the readiness of the Iraqi military and police.

The crisis created by the desertions and other problems with the Basra operation was serious enough that Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki hastily began funneling some 10,000 recruits from local Shiite tribes into his armed forces. That move has already generated anger among Sunni tribesmen whom Mr. Maliki has been much less eager to recruit despite their cooperation with the government in its fight against Sunni insurgents and criminal gangs.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/04/world/middleeast/04iraq.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

Guess who had to be called in to keep the lid on this powderkeg?

IRAN

That's your definition of "victory?"
 
WRL you have completely ignored the facts. Malaki's government sought out I-fucking-ran to mediate an end to the fighting. al Sadr is still a free man. When HE called for the ceasefire AGAIN it happened. 1000 Iraqi soldiers and police "abandoned" their posts. In a time of war that is called...anybody?....anybody?... DESSERTION! All of al Sadr's militia got to keep their weapons. During the fight Malaki EXTENDED the deadline for them to put down their weapons and THEN begged Iran for a solution. NO ONE IN THE ADMINISTRATION believes the things you have spouted about al Sadr begging for an end to the fighting. You rewrite history like the soviet union used to. It is MADDENING to see how blinded by love for bush you are.
 
so let me see if I got this right, All other Shiite sects abandon him, he takes a pounding on the ground, withdrawals from fighting, and is begging for a political solution, but he's the winner??? I'm not saying the battle was 100% effective, or their were not unexpected obstacles to overcome, it's was one of the Iraqi armies first mostly solo fights, and that's the nature of war, but Sadr certainly wasn't the winner. Given his families history to the area, he is one unique problem to deal with, the battle is over, lets see where this goes from here.
 
lol...

[FONT=Verdana,Sans-serif]Al-Sadr Pulls Fighters Off Iraq Streets

[/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Sans-serif] BAGHDAD (AP) - Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr said Sunday that he was pulling his fighters off the streets nationwide and called on the government to stop raids against his followers and free them from prison.


The Iraqi government quickly welcomed al-Sadr's apparent move to resolve a widening conflict with his movement, sparked Tuesday by operations against his backers in the oil-rich southern city of Basra.


Al-Sadr's nine-point statement was issued by his headquarters in the holy city of Najaf and broadcast through loudspeakers on Shiite mosques. It said the first point was: "taking gunmen off the streets in Basra and elsewhere."

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080330/D8VNQR301.html[/FONT]
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Sadr Reverses Course; Calls for Truce




One day after telling his Mahdi Army fighters to defy the Iraqi government's call for the militia group to lay down its weapons, rebellious Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr told his followers in Iraq's southern port city of Basra to cooperate with government forces. The turnaround comes as U.S., and British forces engaged in the conflict yesterday in support of Iraqi Army units trying to wrest control of the city from the Iranian backed group.

Sadr announced the change in plans in a nine-point address delivered from his headquarters in the Shiite holy city of Najaf. He renounced "anyone who carries weapons and targets government institutions, charities and political party offices,"

http://news.aol.com/political-machine/2008/03/30/sadr-reverses-course-calls-for-truce/
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The Iraqi government went to Iran to BEG them to get him back in line. If he does anything it is because he doesn't want to lose support in Iran. HE issued the orders for the ceasefire and ALL THE SHIA militias stopped. Malaki's threats didn't work, he kept extending the deadline for them to lay down their arms. Your first article came BEFORE it leaked that the Malaki government went to Iran to beg them for help. And without the US and British help the Iraqi army could have NEVER gained any ground.
 
Socrtease said:
The Iraqi government went to Iran to BEG them to get him back in line. If he does anything it is because he doesn't want to lose support in Iran. HE issued the orders for the ceasefire and ALL THE SHIA militias stopped. Malaki's threats didn't work, he kept extending the deadline for them to lay down their arms. Your first article came BEFORE it leaked that the Malaki government went to Iran to beg them for help. And without the US and British help the Iraqi army could have NEVER gained any ground.
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There's a lot out their to contradict your position, but if they are right and you wrong, that will become clear sooner, than later.
 
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