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Iraq-Jordan
Sadr warns rival Shiite group against siding with US
2004-05-14
Shiite Muslim radical leader Moqtada Sadr warned a rival Shiite faction Friday not to side with the US-led coalition in Iraq against him and his Mehdi Army militia.
Don’t cave on me now, guys!
He also took a swipe at the Najaf-based Shiite religious hierarchy for keeping quiet as US troops "defile" the sanctity of holy cities like Najaf and Karbala. "I wonder what has happened to the Badr Brigade," Sadr told worshippers at the main weekly Muslim prayers in this Shiite shrine town, referring to the militia of the Iran-backed religious party, the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI).
Maybe they all decided that continuing to breathe is a really, really good thing.
"They were the most supportive of my late father and his fight against the dictator Saddam (Hussein). "They must watch out so that they are not sucked into my own America’s plot to incite fighting among Shiites," Sadr warned. Unlike Sadr, SCIRI’s leader Abdul Aziz al-Hakim sits on Iraq’s US-installed interim leadership and has declined to join his armed campaign against coalition troops in Shiite areas of central and southern Iraq.
When you’re farting through silk it’s difficult going back to burlap.
The firebrand cleric also condemned the "traitors who willingly execute the orders of the occupation forces" and criticized the Shiite religious authority for its inaction during his conflict with the coalition. "The sanctity of our holy cities is being defiled by me and no one is coming to aid us or support us," Sadr told his followers. He made no direct comment on Friday’s six-hour battle between his militia and US troops in nearby Najaf, in which at least 10 of his militiamen died, but vowed that his forces would be victorious over their enemies.
Victorious = Pushing up the daisies
"The spilling of your blood in this blessed land is the beginning of your extinction victory, good [sic] willing," said Sadr. He said that the United States would "pay dearly for its plan to exterminate Muslims and Islam in Iraq and worldwide." The head of the Badr Brigade, Abu Hassan al-Ameri, was among a group of Shiite leaders who travelled to Najaf earlier this week in a bid to convince Sadr to step back from a showdown with US troops in Najaf.
We already paid dearly enough on that bridge. It’s your turn now, Moqtada.
Sadr snubbed their efforts Wednesday, vowing to fight and die a martyr. Also in a move aimed at squeezing the religious hierarchy further, he said he would only disband his militia if the top clerics gave the order. The office of the senior Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, has issued just one statement on the crisis, calling more than a month ago for a peaceful resolution to the standoff and for the sanctity of holy cities to be respected.
Not to worry, if the top clerics don’t issue any orders, our generals will.
His office has refused to comment on Friday’s events in Najaf. Sadr’s fighters seized control of Najaf in early April and have been digging in with heavy weapons on a hill overlooking Bahr al-Najaf, where about 2,500 US soldiers are camped in the desert. In Tehran, Iranian and Iraqi Shiite leaders warned the United States Friday that the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala were "red lines" not to be crossed.
Those lines are "red" only because Sadr’s idiot militia keeps bleeding all over them.
Posted by:Zenster

#2  I can't imagine we'd let his fighters dig in with heavy weapons on a hill overlooking our troops - sounds like a B2 strike just waiting to happen, or just plain BS
Posted by: Frank G   2004-05-14 4:08:15 PM  

#1   The office of the senior Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, has issued just one statement on the crisis, calling more than a month ago for a peaceful resolution to the standoff and for the sanctity of holy cities to be respected. His office has refused to comment on Friday’s events in Najaf.
Pretty lonely being Hakuna Moktada these days.
Posted by: Sludj   2004-05-14 3:54:17 PM  

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