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Iraq-Jordan
Tater says "cool it" (until the US leaves)
2005-08-25
A radical Shiite cleric called on his followers Thursday to end clashes with Shiite rivals so that stalled talks on a new constitution can proceed. Fighting continued for a second day after the cleric's office in Najaf was burned and four of his supporters were killed. Following the appeal by cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, leaders of the country's political factions met to try to reach an agreement on the draft constitution. Thursday was the final day of a 72-hour extension granted Monday night by parliament after Sunni Arabs blocked a vote on the charter, which was accepted by Shiite and Kurdish negotiators.

After meeting with 15 Sunni members of the constitution drafting committee, Iraq's President Jalal Talabani said consensus on the new constitution could be reached soon. But Shiite representative Khaled al-Attiyah said there was not need to vote because "the job was done" when the draft was handed to parliament on Monday. Another Shiite, Nadim al-Jabiri, said there would be no vote on Thursday because the draft will be approved or rejected in a popular referendum on Oct. 15.

In calling for calm, al-Sadr urged "all believers to spare the blood of the Muslims though it's OK to continue to kill infidels and to return to their homes. "I will not forget this attack on the office ... but Iraq is passing through a critical and difficult period that requires unity," he told reporters in his home in Najaf. He demanded that Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, leader of the rival Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, or SCIRI, to condemn "what his followers have done." SCIRI has denied any role in the attack on al-Sadr's office.
"Wudn't us."
"I urge the believers not to attack innocent civilians and not to fall for American plots that aim to divide us," al-Sadr said. "We are passing through a critical period and a political process."
Just another American plot. You know how insidious we are...
The crisis erupted Wednesday when al-Sadr's supporters tried to reopen his office across the street from the Imam Ali mosque in Najaf, the most sacred Shiite shrine in Iraq. Rivals tried to stop the move, fights broke out and the office was set afire. Armed attacks against offices of al-Sadr's movement and SCIRI then spread across the Shiite heartland of central and southern Iraq. Twenty-one pro- al-Sadr members of parliament and three top government officials announced they were stopping official duties in protest of the Najaf attack. Legislator Bahaa al-Araji said Thursday the suspension will continue "until Fearless the leader's demands are met and until the investigation is over."

SCIRI members torched a building belonging to al-Sadr's movement in the Baghdad suburb Nahrawan, said police Lt. Ayad Othman. In retaliation, al-Sadr's followers set fire to an office of SCIRI's Badr Brigade militia in Baghdad's heavily Shiite neighborhood of Sadr City. Clashes also broke out in Amarah, where al-Sadr's militiamen attacked the headquarters of the Badr group with mortars. Five attackers were killed, al-Sadr officials claimed.
Meaning that Badr Brigade's better with small arms than the Tater Tots are with mortars. I guess AK's are easier to aim...
President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, telephoned al-Sadr on Thursday to appeal for restraint. Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Chalabi, a Shiite who has cultivated ties to al-Sadr, condemned the attack that triggered the uprising and promised that "the government will start an immediate investigation" into the incident. During his news conference Thursday, al-Sadr criticized the Shiite-led government, in which SCIRI plays a major role. "What we want is that the voice of people be louder than the voice of the government," he said. "There is elements who fired shots near Imam Ali Shrine, and we know who are stationed near the shrine. Anyone who committed aggression on the al-Sadr office will receive his punishment."

Al-Sadr also criticized portions of the draft constitution, saying it was not strong enough against Saddam Hussein's Baath party. Al-Sadr also spoke out against federalism, which is also opposed by the Sunni Arabs. "We reject federalism and if America has schemes, it should not try to implement those schemes," al-Sadr said.

Sunni Arabs also insist that the factions agree unanimously on the draft constitution. But if al-Sadr's allies in parliament continue their boycott, it would be difficult for the draft's supporters to argue that it had the support of all Iraqi communities.
Posted by:Jackal

#14  Frozen taters? Bahhhhaaaa
Posted by: Captain America   2005-08-25 20:39  

#13  Hard to understand why his teeth would be bad - I thought he flossed daily (with Iranian MM pubic hair.)
Posted by: Glenmore   2005-08-25 18:35  

#12  Tater should have been a toated tot a long time ago.
Posted by: John Q. Citizen   2005-08-25 16:22  

#11  my vague impression is that this is now a three side battle for dominance over the Shiites, among Sadr, SCIRI, and Jaafari and the other Shiites. Note Sadr is gung ho against a Shiite autonomy region. SCIRI is gung ho for it. Jaafari and his Dawa party seem cool to it. Kinda makes sense. SCIRI is more extreme than Dawa, and can dominate a southern zone, while Dawa is better positioned to take a role in a Shiite dominated national Iraqi govt. It would also make sense that Sadr is more motivated to fight SCIRI than Dawa. Although friendly to the Sunnis, Sadr is religiously extreme. SCIRI is thus more his rival for votes and influence than the more moderate Dawa.
Posted by: liberalhawk   2005-08-25 14:15  

#10  Yeah, BAR, where's Pat Robertson when you need him.
Posted by: GK   2005-08-25 14:07  

#9  Shoulda bumped the guy off while it was relatively easy to do and the price to pay relatively low.
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama   2005-08-25 12:43  

#8  What is sad is that Prez and the Prime Minister haven't been able to organize a squad to rough Tater up a bit or permanently shut him down.
Posted by: mhw   2005-08-25 12:15  

#7  So Sadr is fighting against Badr ?
Does the Mad Hatter know about this ?
Posted by: wxjames   2005-08-25 11:46  

#6  Man, and I thought Montgomery County politix were murky...
Posted by: Seafarious   2005-08-25 11:31  

#5  I suspect that Iran ordered tater to make a power grab among the Shiites, hoping to disrupt a federalist constitution, which has got them very worried. Unfortunately for tater, his tots no longer have their edge against the now far more powerful and prepared SCIRI and Badr organizations, who won't stand for his antics and have quick backup from the Iraqi police and the US, if necessary. They gave him a royal thumping, and now the police are on a lookout for his followers. This means the only thing he can do is plead for "peace" from his opponents, and order his MPs to stall as much as possible in parliament, while he tries to save his own nasty ass. It remains to be seen what his Iranian handlers will do about his failure.
Posted by: Anonymoose   2005-08-25 10:48  

#4  Bravely sir Tater runs away!
Posted by: mmurray821   2005-08-25 10:43  

#3  #1. Sadr is being an infidel for not following the teachings of the Prophet who said, "Make a regular practice of mishwak for verily it is the purification for the mouth and a means of the pleasure for the lord." The natural miswak toothbrush is made of the roots of the miswak -- AKA the toothbrush tree.
Posted by: GK   2005-08-25 10:17  

#2  also sounds like the tater tots are getting whooped by the locals
Posted by: Thraing Hupoluper1864   2005-08-25 09:35  

#1  did anyone else see the pic of al sadr on MSN? some one needs too really tell him about an amazing invention called the toothbrush or is that against Islam.
Posted by: Thraing Hupoluper1864   2005-08-25 09:34  

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