Sadr close to striking a deal

Al Jazeera ^ | April 15, 2004

[Shermy]

A deal between Iraq's rebellious Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and the US-led occupation authorities is said to be imminent.

Abd al-karim al-Anzi, an envoy appointed by Sadr to lead negotiations aimed at averting bloodshed in the holy city of Najaf, said on Wednesday that a deal could be struck in the next 24 hours.

"I expect a solution within the next 24 hours. I met US officials today and the talks were extremely positive," Anzi said.

There was no immediate comment from the occupation authorities, who have threatened to either kill or capture Sadr.

Conditions dropped

A Sadr spokesman in Najaf said earlier in the day the cleric has dropped his conditions for entering into negotiations with the occupation authorities.

"I expect a solution within the next 24 hours. I met US officials today and the talks were extremely positive"

Anzi said Sadr had made proposals to avoid clashes between his militias and occupation forces. But he would not be drawn on details.

"He realizes that an armed confrontation is not in anybody's interest," he said.

In media interviews, Sadr had said he was willing to die in the struggle to end the occupation.

"I am ready to sacrifice myself for the patient, heroically struggling Iraqi people in order to free my country from the misery of the occupation," he said.

But in more conciliatory comments, he added "the doors are open for all well-meaning people who are trying to end this artificially whipped-up crisis."

Sadr's Mehdi Army has launched an uprising across Iraq, which the occupation forces are hard-pressed to suppress.

Iraqi Governing Council member Ahmad Chalabi said the United States knew it had to seek a compromise with Sadr, given his strong public support and the sanctity of the city he is in.

[Shermy]

Ping.

[RightWhale]

Here's the deal. Sadr will sit down and shut up.

[Maceman]

What kind of a deal can we possibly make with this guy? How can there be a deal with an Islamic fanatic?

Next we'll be making a deal with Osama.

I just don't get it.

[RobbyS]

And disband his militia/his de facto courts. Private armies are incompatible with centralized government.

[Libertina]

ROTFLOL Wish YOU were running the nightly news. ;)

[Moose4]

Any deal that leaves him inside Iraq and leaves his band of thugs intact is a loss for us. It would buy us time and calm things down, which is good in the short term, but it would also legitimize this punk and let him claim that he backed down the Great Satan. It will ultimately increase his power; it won't solve the problem, it'll just defer it.

Maybe we should do like the Muslims do when they give their word...break it at the first opportunity. Y'know, say we'll give him safe passage to Iran, and the second he walks out of the mosque in Najaf, a sniper on a nearby hill with an M82 puts a .50 caliber through his gullet. If the .50 misses, well, that's what the orbiting four-ship of F-15Es is for...a few JDAMs right on top of his turban should do it.

Hey, it's how TROP(tm) would do it, right?

}:-)4

[Shermy]

As someone else said, the best deal is to get him exiled to Iran. That sends the message what he's really about.

[DannyTN]

I think Bush's endorsement of Israeli West Bank settlements today was a response to the uprising.

[OneTimeLurker]

I guess Kill or Capture was just posturing?

[inquest]

What kind of a deal can we possibly make with this guy?

That's what I'd like to know. And I'm especially wondering what happens when he "determines" somewhere down the line that we've broken the deal, or that the deal is no longer convenient for him. One thing we definitely do not need is an Arafat figure in Iraq.

[eastsider]

Sadr's Mehdi Army has launched an uprising across Iraq, which the occupation forces are hard-pressed to suppress.

I suppose this twisted report is Al Jazeera's way of saving face.

[b4its2late]

Handcuffed, then firing squad I hope.

[Therapist]

His deal should be some lead in the head.

[ambrose]

Perhaps Iran decided to pull the plug...

[ambrose]

Perhaps Iran decided to pull the plug...

[petertare]

A reasonable solution is the total disbanding of all militia elements, the public hanging of all members, and in return the US agrees to hack his body into 500 equal parts intermixed with pig parts, rather than 1000.

[Therapist]

His deal should be some lead in the head.

[Mike Darancette]

I guess Kill or Capture was just posturing?

I believe Americans over Al-Jazeera.

[pfflier]

No deal. He is a murderer and has announced that he is the Iraqi arm of Hammas, ready to kill Americans.

Kill him or capture him, but don't repeat, don't let him walk.

[BossLady]

"I am ready to sacrifice myself for the patient, heroically struggling Iraqi people in order to free my country from the misery of the occupation," he said.

So, he thinks we are gonna pack up and go home???? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[river rat]

Don't jump to conclusions...

There were no Marines at the "negotiations"...
Arrest or death - are still the only options on that sheethead's menu..

Semper Fi

[dpwiener]

I have severe doubts as to the accuracy of this report, given the source (Al Jazeera). Reading between the lines, it appears that Sadr is seeking a face-saving way to surrender.

Sadr does have some negotiating cards: U.S. forces would undoubtedly like to avoid a destructive battle in Najaf. But the U.S. can probably kill him at any time (if it is decided that he's worth the collateral damage) or capture him with a bit of fighting. And the U.S. is very reluctant to enhance his reputation by letting him defy America and survive. So Sadr is on very, very thin ice at the moment.

One thing I'm certain of: Anytime an ambitious would-be ruler makes a big deal out of claiming that he's willing to sacrifice his life, he isn't.

[fight_truth_decay]

Wednesday, April 07, 2004
From an Iraqi blogger:
"Thieves and idiots !"
..." Do you know that neighborhood ‘ Althawra’ or ‘ Al-Sadr city’ in Baghdad? This is the worst place in Iraq.. yes .. all Iraqis hate that place and never ever reach there.. More than 75% of this neighborhood are thieves and murders .. they are responsible for the looting and robbery acts last year.. and of course due to their rapid and uncontrolled reproduction ( just like the rabbits) ,they have many relatives in some neighborhoods in Iraq, so when they felt that Muqtada is so permissive and may encourage such robberies; they followed him.. they love him.. they feel that he’s one of them and his laws are very compatible with their disgusting thoughts and mean goals.."CUT


http://iraqataglance.blogspot.com/

[crz]

Before he goes anywhere. He needs to be vaccinated..with the aids virus.

[bert]

What kind of a deal can we possibly make with this guy?....

He is sought because a warrant was issued for his arrest in connection with I think two murders.


He must agree to submit to the law and stand trial. The fledgling Iraqui government issued the warrants and will hold the trial. The US military is involved because his followers have more guns than the Iraqi government. The deal will involve the terms of surrender in a similar manner to Michael Jackson surrendering to law enforcement .

He is not like UBL in the sense he has not committed terrorist actions against the USA. His crimes are against Iraquis in Iraq.

[connectthedots]

Sadr is only trying to save his life.

[samadams2000]

striking a what?? Are we a bunch of p*ssys or what?

He killed 70 of our troops and we are going to talk?

First I hear their militias are retreating ,,,and im thinking why arent we killing everone of them?? Now we are talking with him??

[Starboard]

Sadr had said he was willing to die in the struggle

That's what they all say until they're cornered.

[rudypoot]

But in more conciliatory comments, he added "the doors are open for all well-meaning people who are trying to end this artificially whipped-up crisis."

Interesting that Sadr also knows that this 'uprising' is not the 'grassroots' type.

[TalBlack]

"I am ready to sacrifice myself for the patient, heroically struggling Iraqi people in order to free my country from the misery of the occupation," he said.

Really!? Where was Sadr and his BigBrassBalls when Saddam was in power. That wasn't "misery" too?

I hope the Army executes him. Case closed

[farfromhome]

Oh, that's just a typo. The headline should have read "Sadr close to striking Adil". You see, Adil keeps putting too much sugar and cream in Sadr's coffee. "One of these day's Adil, pow, right in the kisser."

[RocketJsqurl]

The only deal :

Unconditional Surrender

[MountainPatriot]

Here's the deal: We shoot, you die, animal.

[gilliam]

Wait for a real news agency to give you news. Al Jazeera is NOT a news agency.

[The KG9 Kid]

"... What kind of a deal can we possibly make with this guy? How can there be a deal with an Islamic fanatic?"

(DISCLAIMER: I am aware that this is an Al-Jazeera source)

Answer: Because it's their country.

I have been looking at this al-Sadr character as if he's a damned fool. Our plans were to split from Iraq by June 30th 2004. That's only ten weeks away on the original timetable.

When Iraq has elections, al-Sadr can place himself on the ballot. By all accounts, he has the support of millions of potential voters. He stands to be a big man in Iraq (regional governor, Grand vizier, whatever) after we leave. Our intention wasn't to give the Iraqis a choice between a list of American-approved candidates, was it? They can vote for whomever they wish.

I believe that if the report ends up being true, then someone slapped some sense into young al-Sadr's head and told him that it's pointless to get a lot of people and himself killed in 'resisting the occupation' when the Coalition was scheduled to leave in a few months anyway. All he has to do is sit down and shut up for awhile, and he'll get more than he ever dreamed under Saddam without it costing him a thing.

Where's the American defeat? We were justified in smashing the crap out of Saddam's regime when he was jacking the inspectors around right before he threw them out -- not to mention simply because he took a poke at our F15s with a SAM missile. We toppled Saddam, captured his butt, and got almost all the cards in the deck. The Kurds are overjoyed, and most Iraqis are still happy that rid them of Saddam, though they may not like that we're still there clogging up traffic with our tanks.

What did you expect that we were going to do with Iraq? Turn them into (Very) East Carolina?

Maybe we weren't there for their oil after all.

[Dog]

Thanks for the ping Shermy......anything new on the manhunt in Fallujah for Zarqawi?

[inquest]

I believe that if the report ends up being true, then someone slapped some sense into young al-Sadr's head and told him that it's pointless to get a lot of people and himself killed in 'resisting the occupation' when the Coalition was scheduled to leave in a few months anyway.

For the Jihadis, it's not pointless at all. They don't want us to leave peacefully. They want it to make it look as though they chased us out. And above all, they want to cause as much mayhem as they can, because mayhem is the source of their power.

[W04Man]

Yeah, right ..occupation authorities,...

Ok, so why don't these "occupation authorities," just go in and occupy Al Jazera. They need to stop this propaganda for the bad guys.

[monkeywrench]

Well, I hope our intention wasn't to let terrorists be put on election ballots, either. This guy is a thug, period. His days are numbered.

[caisson71]

This is a stall job. While we hold off the troops, Sadr is repositioning his murders, resupplying and moving the hostages. I'd position a sniper with a 50 cal rifle to take his head off as soon as possible.

[The KG9 Kid]

"... They want it to make it look as though they chased us out."

Well of course. Just like the Palestinians send suicide bombers into a packed Bar Mitzvah and take shots at an IDF outpost when the Israelis turn their tanks around leaving Gaza.

We can always expect humilated Arabs to act like punks. Even if everything else went smooth as silk -- and it didn't -- we should expect that kind of behavior.

[McGavin999]

First of all Sadar doesn't have much of a following at all. One of the reasons he pulled this was because the Shiia held local elections and the Islamists lost BIG TIME. That's when he realized that despite all the intimidation he did before the elections, once the people went to the polls they voted his guys out.

[Getsmart64]

Hmmm....makes me wonder if there really is some HVT's in Fallujah....Badr didn't start his crap til we started into Fallujah....maybe he was buying time for someone there...

[beavus]

I don't see what the problem is. Someone lacks moral clarity. Kill Sadr. If anyone takes up arms against the US or its allies, kill them. Kill kill kill until the monsters are all dead. Surely bullets aren't that expensive. I'm sorry these ignorant fanatics have been misled, but alas they have been, and by murdering have chosen to forfeit their right to life. If they wisely change their minds and surrender, fine. But otherwise, kill them. They've earned it. Kill them. It'll make you feel better. Kill them. It's what they want anyway. Kill them. It's simply the right thing to do.

I think I have the makings of a song here...

[Getsmart64]

Pretty ure Al Jazera is based out of Qutar...

[Maceman]

Good analysis, although I have read accounts that indicate Sadr does not have such a big following as you have stated. The Iraqi polling data I have seen suggests that most Iraqis don't want to live under an Iranian style theocracy.

Personally, I don't care who runs the God forsaken place, so long as the government that emerges does not end up supporting Islamic terrorism either financially, spiritually, logistically or materially.

THAT, I believe, is the whole point of the exercise -- to have an Iraq that will not be our enemy in the war on terror. IF that can be accomplished, then the war in Iraq will have been a resounding success in my book.

My fear is that someone like Sadr in charge will turn Iraq into another Iran (or even an Afghanistan) and we'll be right back where we started -- albeit perhaps in a slightly better position with 130,000 US troops already deployed in the area.

[GOP_Proud]

I think it's just a planted story.When we go in and actualy kill him, they'll say "but he was ready to surrender...we were negotiating".

[The KG9 Kid]

I hate to be cynical, but any one of these guys is going to end up being about the same as another. Some shouting holy man with a black turban and a patchy beard is going to get elected to something over there. It's Arabia. That's who they are.

Our job after shaking up their ant farm is to let them make new burrows and set them on a new and non-confrontational course with a warning that they ever harbor terrorists that means America harm, we'll drop fire on them from space and slap the baskets off their womenfolks heads.

[SevenDaysInMay]

Refer to Mo'ham's model of a peace deal ( his own 10 year peace treaty).

One year later Mo'ham' invaded his new peace partner and butchered the city state for defying his invasion in the first place.

We must read and understand their koran and haddith.

Islam commands peaceful, aka "hypocrit", muslims to be killed even before the hated Jew.

A peace deal with infedels is worthless allowing only R&R for our mortal enemies' treachery.

Arrest the war criminal and his gang with extreme prejudice. Maybe we could kidnap them to later kill and burn on camera like the devout muslims do.