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Sadr Crumbles As Basra Breathes Freedom
Strata Sphere ^ | Friday, April 25th, 2008 at 7:19 am. | AJStrata

Posted on 04/25/2008 8:40:20 AM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach

When the Sadr-Maliki story first broke during the initial push into Basra I noted something was distinctly missing from the news about Maliki’s failed efforts and Sadr’s grand victory - there was no dancing in the streets in response to the news stories? There were no cheers for Sadr, no celebrations by the Iraqi people. If this was the Muslim Street rising up to throw off the occupiers from the West - where were the throngs of people taking to the streets?

It struck me as very odd that the only spontaneous cheer to rise up from the initial operations in Basra was from the newsrooms of the SurrenderMedia! Not even the Surrendercrats in Congress preparing the testimonies of Ambassador Crocker and General Petraeus showed much interest in the so-called ‘failure’ in Basra. That is probably because they knew what was happening from their briefings on military actions from the Pentagon that they get regularly, and they knew better than to get too excited - this was possibly not the second coming of Vietnam the far left has been praying would arrive since the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Whatever the case for their reserved positions, the fact is today we do finally see a spontaneous and celebratory response in the Muslim street - and it is not because Mookie Sadr is taking on the occupiers from the West. It is because the Iraqis have liberated Basra and the people are free to express themselves. And what they are expressing is a lot of defiance to Sadr and his Madi Militia of Islamo Fascist thugs:

Young women are daring to wear jeans, soldiers listen to pop music on their mobile phones and bands are performing at wedding parties again.

All across Iraq’s second city life is improving, a month after Iraqi troops began a surprise crackdown on the black-clad gangs who were allowed to flourish under the British military. The gunmen’s reign had enforced a strict set of religious codes.

Yet after three years of being terrified of kidnap, rape and murder – a fate that befell scores of other women – Nadyia Ahmed, 22, is among those enjoying a sense of normality, happy for the first time to attend her science course at Basra University. “I now have the university life that I heard of at high school before the war and always dreamt about,” she told The Times. “It was a nightmare because of these militiamen. I only attended class three days a week but now I look forward to going every day.”

“All these men in black [who imposed the laws] just vanished from the university after this operation,” said Ms Ahmed. “Things have completely changed over the past week.”

In a sign of the good mood, celebratory gunfire erupted around Basra two nights ago and text messages were pinged from one mobile phone to another after an alleged senior militia leader was arrested.

There are smiles and celebrations all around Basra now. The news media can try and manufacture false impressions, but the people reflect the real deal and they are happy to be rid of the extremists. This is not surprising since there have been other signs Sadr does not have the following too many thought he had. Recently he was not even able to pull off a large protest as a show of strength against Maliki’s actions for the news media - it had to be cancelled before it exposed his weak following.

The news media’s spontaneous cheering from the first false impressions at Basra are also quite telling. It seems they have wanted something to go seriously badly for so long in Iraq that they have allowed themselves to treat an unstable and waffling young radical cleric with a lot more seriousness than he ever deserved. Just yesterday the SurrenderMedia trumpeted the news Sadr was about to throw his pursuit of political power to the wind and lead a Shiite uprising that would carve off the southern half of Iraq as the new part of Iran. It was like a liberal dream come true!

But it was just a dream, probably spun from Sadr or some liberal ’sources’ in western governments. Today we wake up to the news Sadr has wilted again and decided that the current ‘cease fire’ still stands:


TOPICS: Extended News; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: alsadr; basra; iraq; mookie; sadr
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

Democrats wet dreams, are all about US defeats and degradations.


21 posted on 04/25/2008 9:50:14 AM PDT by DGHoodini (Tin eared zeroes and Hollypukes comin...)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach
Oh please, Saddam was a hero of the people and only sought to do good and advance the cause of peace around the world.. (/sarc)

see ya later today maybe.. if I survive the walk from the ship to the cafe. It`s 95 ,, whew.

22 posted on 04/25/2008 9:52:12 AM PDT by NormsRevenge (Semper Fi ... Godspeed ... Costa Rica or Bust!)
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To: uksupport1

I have to agree - but then of course I’m British :0)

Victory in Iraq has come/is coming from training the Iraqis to win the peace. The UK and US embeds are a crucial part of that. Removing Coalition troops from the front line is also a crucial part of that: the Iraqi army can’t hold the Coalition’s hand for ever.

A lot of FReepers don’t get this model, even though US forces are following it as well. Ah well, no harm done. Sadr is getting his butt kicked anyway.


23 posted on 04/25/2008 9:53:18 AM PDT by agere_contra
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To: uksupport1

I have nothing but respect for the Tommys in the trenches...It’s their socialist “leadership” back “home” that have placed those Tommys in some very untenable positions that raise less than flattering opinions.


24 posted on 04/25/2008 9:59:56 AM PDT by DGHoodini (Tin eared zeroes and Hollypukes comin...)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

It is past time for someone close to Sadr to end this bs!


25 posted on 04/25/2008 10:03:45 AM PDT by Grampa Dave (Hussein ObamaSamma's Pastor, Jeremiah Wright: "God Damn America, U.S. to Blame for 9/11")
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To: uksupport1

“The British line has proved absolutely correct.”

Agreed, but only in terms of British casualties. The British retreat to the Airport resulted in MORE problems and violence in the city, not less as you assert. But yes, the British retreat certainly managed to lower the british casualty rate.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/06/AR2007080601401.html


26 posted on 04/25/2008 10:44:45 AM PDT by Owl558 (Pardon my spelling)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach
A declassified court exhibit introduced in the 2007 trial of Scooter Libbey proved that Saddam Hussein tried to get uranium ore from Niger -- covertly and under the table.

His wife gets him sent on ONE mission to find out ONE thing, and he screws it up.

And then lies about it.


27 posted on 04/25/2008 11:06:25 AM PDT by VeniVidiVici (Democrats - Stupid is as stupid do)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

I thought he was winning, and just vacationing in Iran. Kind of a celebration. I better stop reading the NY Times.


28 posted on 04/25/2008 11:18:31 AM PDT by SJackson (before we work on problems, have to fix our souls. Our souls are broken in this nation, Michelle O.)
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To: kromike

Yeah but it doesn’t matter any more because Hillary’s threatening to blow Iran off the map. Talking the talk and walking the walk is finally working in Iraq so the left has to change the tune and talk tough. They can’t talk about getting bad ass in Iraq because even code pink could see through that hypocrisy so they shift the emphasis to Iran. In the end though, it’s just trash talk.


29 posted on 04/25/2008 11:21:55 AM PDT by saganite
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To: saganite
In the end though, it’s just trash talk.

True enough. True conservative Republicans prefer the Capt. Kirk approach to diplomacy: don't take excrement from your enemies...shoot hard and shoot often until they cry "Uncle".

Liberals prefer the Capt. Picard approach: yak yak yak for several hours, followed by taking 29 hits on your shields, and then shoot back ONCE at half-power.

30 posted on 04/25/2008 11:27:11 AM PDT by kromike
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

More good news from Iraq never to be reported in the MSM. but he whose middle name must never be spoken gets on page one every day? imagine that!


31 posted on 04/25/2008 1:26:35 PM PDT by jonathan-swift2000 (The Good news from Iraq the MSM won't publish.)
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To: uksupport1

Sorry brother, but you are citing facts that are limited in value. There was plenty of killing going on in Basra. The killing was being done to the Iraqi people who were kidnapped, murdered and taken hostage by a group of ignorant thug militia.

Said thugs were not brought in line by the UK forces at all. Instead the UK forces created artificial lines where they would not go, in effect turning over much than all of Basra over to the ignorant thugs.

Stephen Vincent, a fellow New Yorker and a man who dared to write the truth of this Taliban like takeover of life in Basra, paid with his life for this. And many other Iraqis did as well.

The UK and its soft soft approach proved fatal to many Iraqis and the death knell of freedom long after the liberation of Iraq.

That the Iraqis sent in green forces along with other units to liberate the area from these thug militias shows how poorly a situation was allowed to fester and grow.

And where were the remaining UK forces? Under order to stay and hold the airport last I heard.

When the UK forces have been allowed to engage, they have been splendid. But too much of the time, they are handcuffed by the pansies in the UK.


32 posted on 04/25/2008 1:47:01 PM PDT by romanesq
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach
You have been patiently committed to the freeze decision and magnificently obeyed your leader,” Sadr statement read, according to Voices of Iraq. “I hope you retain your patience and faith.”

I wonder how long until these shi'ites wake up and smell the coffee, and just go home. They can't all be so stupid as to continue to throw in with this loser.

33 posted on 04/25/2008 3:53:32 PM PDT by hinckley buzzard
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

To deny Iraq was in pursuit of nuclear weapons is to deny reality.


34 posted on 04/25/2008 5:00:10 PM PDT by Marine_Uncle (Duncan Hunter was our best choice...)
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To: romanesq

“And where were the remaining UK forces? Under order to stay and hold the airport last I heard.”

We control the skies over Basra. Our logistics support and supply the Iraqi Army. RAF Regiment patrols the outlying villages close the Air Base. Special Forces, SAS, have been operating across Iraq. Artillery fire support missions assisted the IA in the recent operations, as did the embedded mentors, some 150, of the Scots Guards. There are 4,000 troops at the airport. 170+ have died working hard to bring security to Basra, with thousands more wounded. It was your Mr Bremer that did away with the Iraqi Army and the Baathist regime that led us to where we are today. These are the kind of missions that the IA should have been performing in 04. We also have over 8,000 inside Afghanistan doing the hardest fighting of any NATO unit in the whole conflict. You OWE us respect.

I back UKSupport to the hilt on this. We Brits are misrepresented by you and your ilk, led astray by the anti-British US media. You let rumour and heresay become hard facts in your mind, and pass on tawdry gossip like its biblical truth.

Next time, if there is one, would you rather keep our troops back home? We sure as spit aint doing this for our benefit, so I would hope that a little friendly thanks is the least we should receive every now and then.


35 posted on 04/27/2008 3:36:44 PM PDT by Rikstir
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