Article

2006-10-26 Iraq

US-Iraqi forces raid Sadr city, PM disavows attack

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Posted by Fred 2006-10-26 00:00|| || Front Page|| [11140 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 Vote of no confidence?

Posted by Jonathan">Jonathan 2006-10-26 00:06|| 2006-10-26 00:06|| Front Page Top

#2 Does seem probable, doesn't it?

Posted by Pappy 2006-10-26 00:12|| 2006-10-26 00:12|| Front Page Top

#3 Tsk, tsk, tsk.

Posted by gromgoru 2006-10-26 00:16|| 2006-10-26 00:16|| Front Page Top

#4 Cajones as big as peppercorns, I see.

Posted by gorb 2006-10-26 00:18|| 2006-10-26 00:18|| Front Page Top

#5 Cajones as big as peppercorns, I see.

way too generous gorb, mustard seeds would be more accurate and that's givin Maliki the benefit of diplo-nice.

Posted by the Twelfth Imami 2006-10-26 00:26|| 2006-10-26 00:26|| Front Page Top

#6 Or maybe good cop, bad cop? The PM gets one guy released and disavows this raid. Maybe he is setting up the Chicago Alderman scenario : "Youse guys know you can work with me. Dem downtown ain't got no sense of humor. Give me a little something to pass on, and we can work something out."

Posted by Shieldwolf 2006-10-26 00:30|| 2006-10-26 00:30|| Front Page Top

#7 Yes, Shieldwolf, that was my thought. Plus I think it's part of US election politix... good cop Bush floats the 'timetable' meme, bad cop Maliki shoots it down, the Troops Home Now! folks get to stew in their own bile a bit longer. Remember the global 3-D Vulcan chess game we're playing here.

Posted by Seafarious">Seafarious 2006-10-26 00:40|| 2006-10-26 00:40|| Front Page Top

#8 Remember the global 3-D Vulcan chess game we're playing here.

That's the problem. We need some good old fashioned Dhimmi Carter peanut farmer foreign policy checkers here.

First, pay them huge sums of cash to renounce violence. Second, the USA agrees to provide all three sides with an amount of oil equivalent to Iraq's total maximum annual output of oil. Third, we promise never to use military force in Iraq again unless Iran approves of the operation.

That's called mad negotiating skilz. Can you say "nobel prize".

Posted by Lanny Ddub 2006-10-26 00:52|| 2006-10-26 00:52|| Front Page Top

#9 You just punched your ticket to Oslo, L-Dub. Very statesmanlike, indeed.

Posted by Seafarious">Seafarious 2006-10-26 01:22|| 2006-10-26 01:22|| Front Page Top

#10 I disavow the PM. Could it be that al-Sadrites are part of his ruling coalition? Could it be that favoritism to a Mahdist Shiite militia would be a constitutional non-starter with Kurds and Sunnis?

Private militias destroy countries. Ask Somalis, Serbs, Sudanese, Yemenis, etc.

Posted by Snease Shaiting3550 2006-10-26 04:20|| 2006-10-26 04:20|| Front Page Top

#11 Or the Cattlemen's Association, Tom Horn, etc.

Posted by .com 2006-10-26 04:35|| 2006-10-26 04:35|| Front Page Top

#12 LOL .com.

Maliki's facing a "come to Jesus" moment.

Posted by lotp 2006-10-26 07:38|| 2006-10-26 07:38|| Front Page Top

#13 Heh, lotp. A militia of one in Horn's case, or so Marshall Joe Belle successfully peddled to the court.

I'm surprised nobody's brought up the Lincoln County War, yet - pretty flashy militia, er Regulators, like William Bonny, Dave Rudabaugh, Jose Chavez, Doc Scurlock, Dick Brewer (&etc)...

Posted by .com 2006-10-26 09:34|| 2006-10-26 09:34|| Front Page Top

#14 Maliki, standing by his Sadrist coalition partners, or Maliki, playing good cop? Both seem plausible.

What seems more significant is that A. Coalition forces are FINALLY launching raids in Sadr City, and hitting the Mahdi army there, on its homeground. B. The raid was launched Iraqi forces (albeit by Spec Forces, probably the most reliable units in the Iraqi Army IIUC) C. So far no apology from MNF or from Iraqi army for the raid, despite Maliki.

If Maliki seriously opposed this, then the coalition has just demonstrated that at least some units in the Iraqi army will work with the US and ignore Maliki (perhaps on orders from Min of Def Dulaimi) In which case what LOTP said is what is going on. Sort of a creeping coup d'etat.

Posted by liberalhawk 2006-10-26 11:22|| 2006-10-26 11:22|| Front Page Top

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