Posted on 04/18/2008 2:19:54 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
I was collecting articles on a post showing the end game coming in Iraq for Sadr and his Mahdi Army but Bill Roggio beat me to the punch today in a much better post than I was going to put together. Update - some interesting tidbits inside Roggio’s piece are worth emphasizing:
Iraq’s Department of Border enforcement also seized a large shipment of roadside bombs, landmines, and explosives as it was smuggled from Iran into Iraq’s Diyala province.
The Mahdi Army appears to be striking back by targeting political and religious leaders in the Baghdad South. Over the period of two days, assassination attempts were carried out against the governor of Najaf province and a senior aide to Sistani in Wasit province.
It seems Iran and the Mahdi are getting desperate. The weapons going into Diyala are possibly for al-Qaeda to use, since that is their region of Iraq. It would be another indicator of Iran’s support to both al-Qaeda and the Mahdi. The assassination attempts are clearly attacks Iraq’s government, now a US ally. This is a dangerous game for Sadr and Iran to play. We will not allow defeat easily. - end update
Needless to say Sadr has refused to disarm despite statements from Grand Ayatollah Sistani in Najaf that Sadr must obey the law and disband his militia. Here is the response from the Mahdi claiming they won’t disarm until the Shiite clerics tell them to - again? Here is a great piece at Pajama’s Media by the owner of the blog site Iraq The Model who notes the end game is in play:
The ongoing confrontation highlights a dramatic change in the inclination of the Iraqi leadership, which decided to face the challenge with unwavering resolve instead of shrinking away. We have learned from the experience of the last five years that unresolved fights tend to be very costly in the long run, as we will have to deal with recurrent fights over and over again. It can be understood from Maliki’s words that he came to realize that the decision to disband or exterminate illegal military entities should have been made a long time ago.
At this point neither side is happy with the results and I think that both have made up their minds to go to war because each one thinks his side is closer to winning and has greater backing from the public than his rival. However, I believe that Sadr is making the mistake of thinking that what worked for previous battles would be equally effective in future ones. I strongly think that if a final battle is to take place, it will unfold with a bitter defeat for Sadr militarily and politically; the balance of power by far favors the state in spite of the difficulty of the situation.
The Iraqi leadership represented by Maliki is standing before a historic opportunity to strengthen the foundations of the rule of law. This opportunity has been made available by the decision of the Shia to renounce and expel the extremists amongst them, a decision that was long avoided because of sectarian considerations that were proven wrong later.
Not only is the end game at hand, it looks likely Sadr’s movement will be destroyed. And we can see evidence that things are coming to a head as Iraqi forces are surrounding Basra strongholds again today (see here).
Also of interest is how the other Shiite groups are playing it against Sadr. Sadr’s main rival is a cleric named Hakim (sp?) who had a rival militia which was integrated into the Iraqi security forces. His group notes that the only ones bearing arms against Iraq is al-Qaeda and the Mahdi.
Finally, Ralph Peters is royally PO’d with the lies and misinformation coming from the SurrenderMedia and notes the Iraqi forces are operating 95% as required, which is much better than America did in its history.
Endgame ping!
Happy trails Mookie .
Bush to Iraqi leadership - You better get your $hit together before a Democrat President is elected or you’re screwed.
GREAT friggin’ post.
mookie will enter the states set up a 7 eleven or walmart and distribute ak47 in the black market and still nothing will be done...
I've lost faith in government...politicians are only out for a power trip...
Iraq’s Department of Border enforcement also seized a large shipment of roadside bombs, landmines, and explosives as it was smuggled from Iran .................. Time to sneak the goods back over the border to the Iranian resistance movement.
**************************EXCERPT Intro*********************************
Front Page Magazine ^ | 4/18/2008 | Ralph Peters
Posted on Fri 18 Apr 2008 10:53:15 AM PDT by tobyhill
LIKE many Americans, I get angry at biased "reporting" about Iraq and the spin from dishonest pundits. Usually, I get over it quickly, since my expectations of the media are pretty low. But sometimes a Big Lie just won't let go. And the lefty lie that the Iraqi military is a hopeless failure must be answered.
Yes, we all know that left-wing media outlets, such as the dying New York Times, need Iraq to fail to redeem their credibility. They'll do all they can to dismiss any sign of progress.
But the perverted gloating over recent Iraqi military operations in Basra combines willful ignorance of military affairs with a shameless manipulation of the facts. Yes, some local Iraqi police and new military recruits ran away. But that was all that the media reported.
YES!
YES!
U.S. Begins Erecting Wall in Sadr City
Well that headline should really say Iraq is Erecting Walls,. our tanks are just there helping....
>> Iraq’s Department of Border enforcement also seized a large shipment of roadside bombs, landmines, and explosives as it was smuggled from Iran into Iraq’s Diyala province.
To a rational administration that was more concerned with the success and safety of our troops than with politics, THIS EVENT ALONE would be enough to unleash the dogs of war on Iran.
So sad that this is merely the most recent in a long history of provocations by Iran (that we will do NOTHING about).
Maliki’s Government Reinvigorated After Taking On Sadr’s Mahdi Army
AND:
Sadrists vow to keep the Mahdi Army [Going down with the ship]
Iraq - Iraqi troops surround Sadr office in Basra
“Time to sneak the goods back over the border to the Iranian resistance movement.”
And while they’re at it, they can FedEx Mookie’s head back to the mullahs in Teheran.
Hey, I can hope.......
If Maliki and the Iraqi government hang tough, Sadr and his thugs will go down.
Al Qaeda in Iraq is already well on its way to its demise.
Hang tough, Iraq. The result is worth it.
Great article by AJStrata. Thanks for posting. 105 comments worthwhile to read at the “Iraq the Model” link in the article.
Hummm. So Iran may be helping Al-Quaida after all. We’ve known that Iran has used many methods to destabilize Iraq, among them is AQI. John McCain has been grilled for his “mis-statement” over this (which he immediately disavowed) but he was just speaking another inconvenient truth to the MSM.
BTW, "SurrenderMedia" - I like it!
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