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Iraq-Jordan
Tater Considers Entry Into Iraqi Politics
2004-10-03
The Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has begun laying the groundwork to enter Iraq's nascent democratic process, telling Iraqi leaders that he is planning to disband his militia and possibly field candidates for office. After weeks of watching his militia wither before American military attacks, Mr. Sadr has sent emissaries to some of Iraq's major political parties and religious groups to discuss the possibility of involving himself in the campaign for nationwide elections, according to a senior aide to Mr. Sadr and several Iraqi leaders who have met with him. According to those Iraqis, Mr. Sadr says he intends to disband his militia, the Mahdi Army, and endorse the holding of elections. While Mr. Sadr has made promises to end his armed resistance before, some Iraqi officials believe that he may be serious this time, especially given the toll of attacks on his forces.
In other words, he's running out of army to disband...
Mr. Sadr's aides say his political intentions have been endorsed by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the country's most powerful Shiite religious leader. He has long tried to tame what he believes is Mr. Sadr's destructive influence on the chances of Iraq's Shiites to win a majority in the elections scheduled for January. In recent weeks, Mr. Sadr's chief aide, Ali Smesim, has met with some of the country's most important political leaders, including members of the Association of Muslim Scholars, the powerful Sunni organization; leaders of the country's Kurdish community; Christians and other Shiite leaders. Mr. Sadr appears to be particularly interested in cultivating disaffected political groups that did not cooperate with the American occupation and which are not now part of the interim Iraqi government.
Trying to put together a disloyal opposition, is he?
Those smaller parties, in turn, are keenly interested in tapping the vast support enjoyed by the 31-year-old cleric among Iraq's poor. "We are ready to enter the democratic process, under certain conditions," Mr. Smesim said in an interview. "We will have a program. And if Moktada comes in, he will be the biggest in Iraq." Mr. Smesim said Mr. Sadr's two major conditions were the involvement of the United Nations, which is already assisting in the elections here, and the absence of any interference from American and British military forces in the electoral process. Mr. Sadr's overtures toward the political mainstream, if they develop into a full-blown commitment, would represent a significant victory for the American-led enterprise here, just a few months before nationwide elections are to be held in January. Mr. Sadr, who commands a vast following among Iraq's poor, has long posed one of the most difficult threats to the efforts to implant a democracy here. Twice before, he has called for armed uprisings against the Americans that took weeks and hundreds of lives to suppress. More than once, he has promised to disband his militia, only to keep fighting.
Posted by:Fred

#15  While it is tempting to leave Sadr intact until January in order to siphon off a large portion of the Shi'a votes for him

You said it better than I did myself. Revenge is sweet - but not as sweet as victory. America is big enough and lethal enough we don't have to prove it.

one more saying (cause I can't help myself): Patience is the greater part of valor.
Posted by: 2b   2004-10-03 11:12:27 PM  

#14  ...you kill, another one will pop up in his place to lead the disaffected.

2b, please recall that Sadr is in possession of some serious theological credentials. His father was a much beloved and revered Ayatollah. Sadr has been riding on his coattails throughout this murderous campaign.

There are few other young clerics who can claim such a prestigious bloodline. This is the reason for his popularity and sway over the Iraqi Shiites. We need him dead right away. Better that Sadr is (literally) eliminated from the field before the elections so that some truly viable candidates can run for office.

While it is tempting to leave Sadr intact until January in order to siphon off a large portion of the Shi'a votes for him, only to have this sh!thead snuffed whether he wins or not, it is far better to send the message that anyone who sets out to kill American soldiers catches a slug pronto.
Posted by: Zenster   2004-10-03 10:59:59 PM  

#13  The only way Tater should be allowed to enter Iraqi politics is headfirst off a minaret.
Posted by: Alaska Paul   2004-10-03 9:47:49 PM  

#12  so kill him after the election. It's not like I wouldn't like to see him dead. But it's just like drug lords - you kill, another one will pop up in his place to lead the disaffected. Better to spend the next 4 months placating them with raising votes than arms.

I'll meet you half way - let's string him along until after the election - then kill him.
Posted by: 2b   2004-10-03 8:24:02 PM  

#11  whatever happened with that murder arrest warrant they issued against Tater? Oughta have something to do with his good standing in the elections, no?
Posted by: Frank G   2004-10-03 8:13:28 PM  

#10  2b, need I remind you that Sadr led a militia responsible for American deaths? No-f&%king-body does that and gets a free ride. I don't care if one of our own wetwork teams has to drill this turd, Sadr goes down, by the Iraqis or by us. No politics, no more preaching, no more rebellion, just flatline at room temperature.
Posted by: Zenster   2004-10-03 8:11:42 PM  

#9  I don't know. So Sadr turns into Jessie Jackson, scamming the poor out of their money in exchange for promises to help them. I don't like it, but if it brings the poor into the electoral process, rather than raising up arms - it just might work.

This way - they give their last dollar to Sadr - and he tells them that, any day now, he will save them. Sadr keeps them from fighting, and they keep giving Sadr their money. Everyone is happy.
Posted by: 2b   2004-10-03 7:36:38 PM  

#8  Tater Considers Entry Into Iraqi Politics

We need to strongly consider assuring Moqtada al Sadr's entry into a PINE BOX. Sure, let him "enter politics" so that he gets out into the open where we can give him a bright and shiny brand spanking new third eye.

It bodes particularly ill for Iraq's future that they remain willing to countenance the seditious and highly corrosive sabotage that Sadr has fomented against their fledgling government. Sadr needs to be offed in a clear demonstration of Iraq's intolerance for any theocratic aspirations by majority or minority religious groups alike.
Posted by: Zenster   2004-10-03 2:54:54 PM  

#7  I'm sure Tater want to be the first democratically elected leader of Iraq. I'm also sure he wants to be the last.
Posted by: Bulldog   2004-10-03 11:58:24 AM  

#6  ed, only if my 'baby' was a 357.....

Sadr has caused a lot of needless deaths because of his delusion of greatness. He needs to be called to account.
Posted by: CrazyFool   2004-10-03 11:54:46 AM  

#5  Ali Smesim? That isn't the Ali Baba caught trying to sneak out of Najaf with relics from the mosque is it?
Posted by: Atropanthe   2004-10-03 11:44:50 AM  

#4  Would you let him kiss your baby?
Posted by: ed   2004-10-03 11:18:23 AM  

#3  Tater never left politics. Who's he trying to sh__?
Posted by: John   2004-10-03 11:16:06 AM  

#2  Actually, come to think of it, Iraqi politics is pretty similar to my second favorite states.
Posted by: Troon Snorong Shipman   2004-10-03 10:47:10 AM  

#1  I'm thinking the Louisiana Crazed Cueball would dessert Kerry in a nano if he could run Taters operation and stay on/in Crossfire.
Posted by: Troon Snorong Shipman   2004-10-03 10:46:06 AM  

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