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| Iraq |
| Sadr emerges as political force in Iraq |
| 2005-11-09 |
| Moqtada al-Sadr, whose followers are blamed for the recent killings of British troops in Basra, has emerged as the political kingmaker expected to shape the country's government for the next four years after the election on Dec 15. In recent days a procession of Iraq's most powerful political leaders has paid homage to the 31-year-old cleric. A year ago the US military wanted him captured dead or alive after a series of uprisings in the south. Iraqis widely consider the present government, a coalition of religious Shia groups led by Ibrahim al-Jaafari, a failure because of its inability to improve the security situation or guarantee a steady supply of electricity or fresh water. Sadr, who has more than three million supporters, is likely to hold the balance of power in the new parliament. He boycotted the January election but has announced that his supporters would contest next month's election. At the weekend Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, the head of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, which is the dominant partner in the present government, visited Sadr's headquarters in Kufa to try to broker a deal. Even Sunni politicians have begun negotiations with him, based on their shared anti-Americanism and demand for the withdrawal of all coalition troops. Hussan Bazzaz, of the Centre for Culture and Opinion, in Baghdad, said that by sending conflicting signals Sadr was managing to enter politics while maintaining the image of an outsider on which his popularity largely lies. "Moqtada is moving in a couple of different directions," he said. "The last election only mattered for a couple of months. This time it determines power for four years. He is wise to become involved." It seems certain that, under whatever deal he cuts, a number of his followers will receive important cabinet posts. The Americans are insisting that they will work with any legally elected leader in Iraq. But the question as to how Sadr, whose rhetoric is vehemently anti-Western and who saw hundreds of his supporters killed in last summer's gun battles, would manage to work with them remains uncertain. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #9 I suspect Sadr fits the bill for that ole Texas saying...."some men just need killin." |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2005-11-09 21:16 |
| #8 Sadr needs to emerge as dead. Preferrably in the form of a smouldering corpse swinging from a certain bridge. His oxygen consumption license expired many moons ago. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2005-11-09 20:37 |
| #7 You should worry about getting a refund on your computer, asshat. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2005-11-09 18:03 |
| #6 I want my $300,000,000,000 back, Mr Bush. You peddled a bill of goods |
| Posted by: Fluque Ang 2005-11-09 17:36 |
| #5 I want my $300,000,000,000 back Mr Bush. It appears that you peddled a bill of goods. |
| Posted by: Fluque Angaitch6444 2005-11-09 17:35 |
| #4 I want my $300,000,000,000 back Mr Bush. It appears that you peddled a bill of goods. |
| Posted by: Fluque Angaitch6444 2005-11-09 17:35 |
| #3 Umm I am pretty sure Alawi's coalition is much more favored to do well in the upcoming election than al-Sadr. |
| Posted by: bgrebel9 2005-11-09 15:32 |
| #2 He did participate in the last election. There was one exclusively pro-Sadr list that got less than 1% of the popular vote, plus there were a few pro-Sadr candidates in the United Shia list which included Dawa, SCIRI and Chalabi's supporters. Sadr has maybe 5% of the Iraqis but 50% of the goons. Solution: take out the goons. |
| Posted by: Apostate 2005-11-09 11:01 |
| #1 "Sadr, who has more than three million supporters, is likely to hold the balance of power in the new parliament. He boycotted the January election but has announced that his supporters would contest next month's election." Does this strike anyone else as pure wild-assed speculation? How does the reporter know Sadr has 3M supporters, if they didn't vote and prove it? |
| Posted by: Regnad Kcin 2005-11-09 10:38 |