Influential Iraqi cleric Sadr rejects Constitution

ABC News ^ | February 19 2006 | Waleed Ibrahim

[jmc1969]

Influential Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr said he rejects the Iraqi constitution backed by his partners in the biggest parliamentary bloc, threatening to reignite one of the country's most explosive issues.

Sadr, a rebel leader turned political kingmaker, said the charter was unacceptable, complicating efforts to form a government more than two months after parliamentary elections.

The young cleric, who led two armed uprisings against U.S. and Iraqi troops, has emerged as a potent force in Iraqi politics, joining the powerful United Iraqi Alliance (UIA), which won 128 of 275 seats in parliament in December 15 polls.

A swing vote by Sadr's supporters in a UIA ballot on its candidate for prime minister is likely to keep the Dawa party's Ibrahim al-Jaafari in the top job in government.

Sadr's rejection of the charter could put him at the heart of one of the most sensitive sectarian issues in Iraq, where he is seen as an unpredictable but popular leader.

Sadr rose to prominence after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 by mobilizing his Mehdi Army militia to fight American troops and by speaking out for poor Shi'ites.

[Piquaboy]

Looks to me like some one should take care of this radical.

[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

al-Sadr is an Iranian sock puppet. Nothing more.

[mylife]

Hes just making this statement now?

Wow that fellow is on top of things

[Howlin]

Evidently this guy doesn't realize how a democracy is suppose to work, huh? :-)

[RouxStir]

We should have killed this guy the first time he started trouhble. It just goes to show you that if you don't take care of a problem it will come back to bite you in the butt, again and again.

Just how stupid are our leaders?

[MizSterious]

I was thinking the same thing. He shouldn't be drawing air at all.

[MizSterious]

I think he realizes it, and that's why he's against the Iraqi constitution. If followed, it removes a lot of this little tyrant's power.

[new yorker 77]

Iraq now has its' version of Chuck Hagel.

[Maynerd]

Why is fat boy Sadr still breathing? His thugs have killed some of America's best.

[Meadow Muffin]

Sniper round on the way...eventually. He should be sent to his Allah so he can look over the 72 virgin camels.

[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

Methinks, to him, Democracy means that he will have to go out and earn an honest living. I'm sure his panties in a bunch over THAT prospect.

[river rat]

KILL HIM........ now.

Semper Fi

[Dark Skies]

Just how stupid are our leaders?

I think they are naive more than stupid. The idea that bringing democracy to vampires will destroy vampirism is so naive as to almost sound brilliant. The result is only that the strongest vampires will be elected to leadership positions...but they are still bloodsuckers.

While I definitely think Saddam had to be removed because of the fear of WMD (just as Iran will be neutralized because of the nuke issue)...the war is with the true believers of islam.

I suggest our leaders are just human and are learning as they go. If you find it depressing, imagine the mess we would be in if Kerry had won. That always cheers me up.

[marvlus]

Radical Islam and Democracy mix about as well as oil and water.

[jmc1969]

In Iraq, U.S. officials are confronting a different kind of problem. Moqtada al-Sadr, the radical Shiite cleric once hunted by U.S. troops, last week sought to become a political kingmaker. Sadr's 32-seat faction sent the favored Shiite candidate for prime minister, Adel Abdul Mahdi, to narrow defeat. Sadr was jubilant. "The U.S. brought democracy to the Middle East but God turned the tables and made the democratic process a weapon against the U.S.," he said on Syrian TV.

Yet even as Sadr was boasting, Iraqi politicians were beginning to rebel against his power, prodded behind the scenes by U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad. According to a knowledgeable official in Washington, who did not want to be named because of the sensitivity of the situation, Khalilzad was sending the message that Iraq's next leaders don't want to displease America, with all of its military leverage and aid. By the end of last week it was no longer certain that Sadr's favored candidate, the mildly Islamist Ibrahim Jaafari, would become the new prime minister.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11435101/site/newsweek/

[livius]

The idea that bringing democracy to vampires will destroy vampirism is so naive as to almost sound brilliant.

Good point. And I agree that they are learning as they go - as are we all. I will admit that I thought, initially, that some kind of functioning, non-dictatorial, non-lethal state could be built there, but that was before I knew as much about Islam as I do now. And I suspect that applies to our leaders, as well.

Plus, of course, Americans never like to think the worst of people, even when it appears to be abundantly justified.

[observer5]

Big mistake to let this murderer Sadr gain so much power. Get the hell out of there, it will happen sooner or later.

It was a nice try to bring these savages into the civilized world.

FAILED!

[kajingawd]

kill'im already

[jmc1969]

al-Sadr opposing federalism is not such a bad thing for Iraq's future as long as we can shut down his choice for PM we won't be in such bad shape.

[DoNotDivide]

Can we ship sadr to Tehran, his true home, shortly before Operation De-nuke/De-mullah Iran begins?

[trek]

The jihadist doughboy doesn't like the constitution? This is great news. My guess is that Moqy Poo is on the outs with the powers that be. Martyrdom must be just around the corner. If fatboy was a stock, I would be short.

[No Longer Free State]

This is trouble. Expect an upswing in violence in Baghdad.

[Uncle Jaque]

This vicious little wolverine will end up being the Shah of Iraq eventually, and any opportunity the coallition might have had of preventing that outcome may have past already.

We didnt' want to hurt him or his band of thugs in the beginning, as it would have "offended" the Shia, whose support we need.

So instead we let him gather strength and political support until he can turn the Shia (including most of the IDF we've been equipping and training) against us, probably creating a catasrophic defeat and humiliation for the US (a' la VietNam all over again) or having to go back in and bomb the place flat after it is annexed to Iran and possibly Syria... which I very much doubt anyone (other than Israel, perhaps) has the sand to do.

In the meanwhile anyone who supported "democracy" will be subject to a genocide that will make Saddam look like a fairly nice guy.

The fat little wolverine in the black turban will rather enjoy ordering and watching it, probably.

And it will be Centuries before any repressed people trust the US to "liberate" them again, having betrayed the Vietnamese once and the Iraquis twice.

I sure hope that I'm wrong about this - but the wolverine bears watching, that's for sure.

[No Blue States]

Sadr needs a sniper bullet.

[aShepard]

Paladin, Mr. Paladin; please pick up the red phone

[Marine_Uncle]

"Eventually they [Hamas] will recognize Israel. Otherwise we will eat s--t with our hands and feet."
And like the Palis, Sadr will take the plunge into oblivion as more Iraqi see he is the most dangerous man in Iraq at present. I just hope this has not been Sistani's plan all along. But then. He may really be totally out of the process as he has claimed. No one seems to be able to control this once minor cleric. Perhaps one of the few good things is that he is rather straight forward. You know where you stand with him. Shia dominated Islamic government, revenge toward the Sunni sects, and control of a fairly powerful militia within the confines of a heavy dominated poor rent district of Baghdad. Then as I write, I think back in 2005 when he promised he would have the Madi militia disband and then join the political process. Obviously the militia if anything has grown stronger. Though it may be quiet for the most part, it sits like a tiger waiting to strike upon the fat boy's command, to do all kinds of mischief.
Hopefully his influence will be countered effectively soon. These guys must elect the leaders. It is understandable how it takes time. Like America it took years to get over the hump. So guess all we can do is watch and hope the political processes do not crumble. Let us hope the many responsible influencial leaders behind the scenes are working to get this whale out of the way and other to overly radical contenders from both the Shia and Sunni driven sects. Else, no good is going to come of this experiment. The Iraqi people desperately need a government that will start to deliver both in security, domestics, and in economical development. They need lots of new industries, as well as a newly improved infrastructure where the majority of Iraqi regardless of the province they live in see the effects of good goverance. As usual however. We do not see the whole picture. For all we know millions of Iraqis may really want a democratic form of government that will make their lives better down the pike. If so, guys like Sadr may only have a moment in the sun, then dissaper from the scene.

[lunarbicep]

Hes just making this statement now?

guess he decided to use the anniversary of his father's killing by Saddam Hussein's men

[mylife]

I was unaware of that little fact Hmmmm...