Al-Sadr drops conditions for talks with U.S., according to his spokesman

Ha'aretz ^ | 4/14/04 | Ha'aretz ticker

[TheConservator]

Iraqi Shi`ite cleric Moqtada Al-Sadr drops conditions for talks with U.S., according to his spokesman

[TheConservator]

Watch out, Al-Sadr! This isn't about talking. The "Great Satan" is about to swallow you up in hellfire. You know its coming, and now you are getting nervous!

[HELLRAISER II]

I, like most Americans am tired of our guy's & gal's being killed in Iraq, but unlike the nut cases like the Liberal News Media blasting Pres. Bush last night, I want the fight to continue & I want them to kill the B@stard's responsible. I say warn the city and tell the innocent's to leave the city, after 24 hours drop a tactical nuke on the city and be done with Mr. Sadar!

[Cap Huff]

This story is going all over the place at this moment.

[Sacajaweau]

bump for later

[mikegi]

Wait justa minute! I thought Sadr said he was ready to DIE for his cause. Now he wants to talk???

[Rhetorical pi2]

Opening line of "negotiations" should be:

"You have 2 hours to have all hostages released. You have 24 hours to turn over the killers/torturers who desecrated American bodies...then we'll talk. If this is not done, you will become the "martyr" you said you wanted to be within 36 hours".

End of first "negotiation" session.

[Eurotwit]

Sadr drops all conditions in talks with US-led coalition


NAJAF, Iraq (AFP) - Shiite Muslim radical leader Moqtada al-Sadr has agreed to drop all his conditions in negotiations with the US-led coalition and to follow the guidance of the highest Shiite religious authority, a close aide said.


"Moqtada Sadr is ready to accept what the Marjaiya (the top Shiite spiritual leaders) ask for and to drop the conditions he had set for a mediation," Qais al-Khazaali told a press conference in Najaf.


He said the Marjaiya had chosen a delegation to negotiate with the US side a settlement of the crisis.


The delegation is led by Abdel Karim al-Aanazi, who heads the breakaway faction of the Daawa party led by Ibrahim Jaafari.


US forces were Wednesday poised to capture or kill Sadr, who is holed up in Najaf and wanted for the alleged murder of a rival cleric last year.


Sadr has told journalists he is ready for outside mediation to end the standoff peacefully.


A Sadr spokesman however said Wednesday that Sadr loyalists were prepared to resist "political pressure as well as a (military) confrontation."


"The reinforcements which the US military talks about are aimed at either putting pressure to secure political concessions or at invading Najaf," said Sheikh Kais Khazaali.


"We are ready to face both scenarios."


US commanders said they were massing troops around Najaf a day after US President George W. Bush (news - web sites) warned in a Washington press conference that Sadr must answer murder charges against him and disband his banned Mehdi Army.


Meanwhile an official Iranian delegation arrived from Tehran to try to avert violence and was expected to meet Sadr, according to an aide to the firebrand cleric.


"The Iranian foreign ministry delegation has arrived but we still do not know the identities of the members of this delegation," said Haidar Aziz, who presents himself as a close aide and personal interpreter for Sadr.


"We are going to meet with them, and they may meet with Sayyed Sadr."


Tehran earlier said it had received a US request for assistance to mediate in the conflict. Other mediation efforts have been led by Iraqi religious leaders under the sponsorship of the Marjaiya, the highest Shiite authority.


http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20040414/wl_afp/iraq_us_sadr_conditions&cid=1512&ncid=1473

[montag813]

Watch out, Al-Sadr! This isn't about talking. The "Great Satan" is about to swallow you up in hellfire. You know its coming, and now you are getting nervous!

I want him swollowed up by pig flesh, once we kill him. If we start burying Muslim fighters' bodies in pigskin, their will shall quickly expire.

[smiley]

....Amen......

[mewzilla]

LOL. What's the quote about never arguing with the master of thirty legions..?

[Unicorn]

It's like Trixie said amazing how 2,500 marines will focus the mind.

[finnman69]

Al sadr is about to have a Baghdad Bob moment.

[HELLRAISER II]

I understand your apprehension about a Nuke and what i'm talking about is a scaled down version that would tactically take him out without turning the whole city into a sheet of glass. But quite frankly i'm so pissed off about our men & women and civilians being butchered and drug through the streets that I really wouldn't care if they did. The Iraqi's seem to be an ungrateful lot of people in my opinion. If they want to fight against us and go to Allah, let's send them there.

[dila813]

ditto!

[RonF]

Well, you know what they say:

"Everyone wants to go to Heaven, but nobody wants to die."

[JerseyHighlander]

Mercy can not be shown. He must be made to confess over the airwaves that he shed the blood of young Iraqis to further the cause of the Iranian goverment. He must confess he sold the lives of the young Iraqis for the $49 million the Iranian mullahs bought him off with. He must confess he brought in foreigners to fight alongside him, and they used innocent civilians as human shields in battle, and responsibility and restitution for those innocent Iraqis killed are his burden. He must publicly accept the death sentence imposed upon him for his heinous crimes against Iraqis.

Or he must be publicly executed, alongside his entire inner command entourage, on natinal tv and radio.

Those blind enough to call him a martyr shall be struck down with a sword, those with any sense will place their weapons at rest and turn to politics as their arms in the war for power in the country.

Old, well known lessons of history, obviously missed by Sadr, and who knows how many power hungry maniacal minor clerics in the region.

[astounded]

Pus**. Just like all the other brave muslim "warriors", who really hide behind their womenfolk's burkas. They are truly a despicable bunch, starting with the great "sheik" bin laden. al Sadr needs to be killed, regardless. We cannot let PC crap deter us.

[JerseyHighlander]

Minor correction, the $49 million is rumored by some rather unreliable sources. One of those conspiracies in the sense that Westerners can't confirm the rumor, yet it sounds so realistic it's hard to dismiss out of hand.

[Cronos]

Reminds me of the shortest war in history --

On the 25th of August 1896 Sultan Hamad died and his cousin Hamoud was declared as his successor by the acting British Consul, Sir Basil Cave. This appointment was not met with agreement by Khaled, another cousin of Hamad who, as the son of Barghash, considered that he had the rightful claim to the accession. By the time that Cave reached the royal palace Beit el Sahel, the doors were barred. Khaled had gained access through a broken window, along with around 2000 supporters and had proclaimed himself Sultan, raising the Zanzibar flag.

The British authorities refused to recognise Khaled's claim and tension rose as a potentially explosive stand-off ensued. Cave had marines from the three British ships in the harbour stationed around the town, evacuating Europeans to the British Consulate under heavy guard, where they gathered excitedly on the roof to watch the drama unfold.

The night passed off without event and the following morning two further ships arrived in Zanzibar harbour to reinforce the fleet. At dawn Rear Admiral Rawson turned his guns on the palace and issued Khaled with an ultimatum. Either he was to surrender and walk out to the customs shed by 9.00am or the fleet would open fire.

At 8.00am Khaled sent a message asking for talks, but his request was curtly turned down. As the seconds ticked by the sweat must have stood out on the brows of all involved. At 9.02am the fleet opened fire a barrage of shells on the palace and when the dust settled the building was in ruins, with up to 500 bodies strewn amongst the rubble. At 9.40am, the flag was lowered as Khaled surrendered, escaping through the maze of streets to seek sanctuary at the German consulate. From there he escaped to Mombasa, where he lived out his life in exile

The battle is officially listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the shortest war in history.