al-Sadr called for a national uprising against American and coalition forces

[HasimirFenring]

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/05/international/middleeast/05CND-IRAQ.html

Just was Iraq needs...

[Wolf]

Wasn't al-Sadr's private army the one giving the Coalition so much trouble earlier this year?

[HasimirFenring]

It was one of the things giving the coalition so much trouble earlier this year.  I think you're right, yes.  They've had an uncertain cease-fire for a few months now.  Or they used to have one.

[Caid Ivik]

Another little skirmish, which will be wiped out in two days. Iraq is ours, paraphrasing one cinematical creation, resistance is futile.

hayyyaaaaaaa biiiila djihaaaaaaaaaaaad!

[HasimirFenring]

300 of al-Sader's militants killed in 2 days, I read.  Fantastic.  Lets improve our public image by killed a Muslim cleric and get it over with  :-

[Wolf]

I just read that, too. It seems only two marines were killed in the gunbattles, however.

[HasimirFenring]

Which sends an alarming message about how devoted they are.  They will fight under near hopeless circumstances in the hopes of killing a single marine...

[Wolf]

It doesn't seem that all Iraqis are taking up the call to battle, however. Truly, this situation seems localized and the insurrection doesn't appear to be spreading, however, 300 is an alarming number.

Well, maybe not to marines.

[Caid Ivik]

While their battle spirit is strong, they should limit the pride and at least organize themselves. Tough era since him little changed, Abdullah ibn Jasin turns in his grave.

[HasimirFenring]

It doesn't seem that all Iraqis are taking up the call to battle, however. Truly, this situation seems localized and the insurrection doesn't appear to be spreading, however, 300 is an alarming number.

Well, maybe not to marines.

It doesn't seem to be making him popular with the general public in Iraq, and they don't seem to be following his banner, but I fear we may make a martyr out of him (for foreign militants who will go to Iraq).

[Wolf]

Yes, let's just hope we can manage to capture him, and not kill him. Though, I do believe you understand that not all dead rebels become martyrs. Only the popular ones. It's possible that Iraqis currently live in anxiety because they know he is out there, and might feel relief if otherwise. It's hard to tell, but I think the latter situation is more likely. If he were popular, we wouldn't be down just two marines.

[HasimirFenring]

He may not be popular with many Iraqis, but Muslims throughout the region would object to a prominent cleric being killed.

[Wolf]

In any case, it probably wouldn't help us in Iraq's reconstruction.

[Caid Ivik]

Arabs are of very impatient nature. They could do it easily in ie our way. We opened borders for Germans and Russians and waited until they had problems. Then they ran crying why they even came here... Their fight is absolutely senseless, primitive, unhonest, ineffective, bloody. I don't know how can someone sympathize with them.

[nemafakei]

"Arabs are of very impatient nature [...]  I don't know how can someone sympathize with them"

Uh, care to furnish that with a few qualifications or quantifications, Caid?

Sadr will have to be dealt with by the Iraqis themselves.

[Caid Ivik]

There was more than three dots between those sentences. As first is more about Arabs generally, second about those "djihadists".

[nemafakei]

Thankyou.

[ordos45]

In April he fielded thousands of militiamen, now it is hundreds.  The Iraqi Police are actually fighting back for the territory they have lost.  And all this did start with a warrant for Sadr's arrest, even Bush must realize he cannot make this man a martyr.

[Ninja_Sher]

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/05/international/middleeast/05CND-IRAQ.html

Just was Iraq needs...  Another extremist calling for an uprising.

Yea if you support American occupation you are like [insert your words] and when you call for freedom you are an extremist. That would make Americans and us extremists too ( We did battle for freedom under Mckenzie and Papineau ).

[HasimirFenring]

Yea if you support American occupation you are like [insert your words] and when you call for freedom you are an extremist. That would make Americans and us extremists too ( We did battle for freedom under Mckenzie and Papineau ).

I'm sorry, but when you order your personal militia to fight to the death, then you are an extremist (to me).

[Wolf]

I heard that Muqtada himself was wounded, and that they're now having peace talks in Najaf. Good to hear.

[ordos45]

Then the talks collapsed, and now supposedly they're back on.  Coward.  Hiding in the third holiest shrine in all of Islam so that any Iraqi or US firings into it will damage it.  It's like attacking the Vatican.

[HasimirFenring]

Then the talks collapsed, and now supposedly they're back on.  Coward.  Hiding in the third holiest shrine in all of Islam so that any Iraqi or US firings into it will damage it.  It's like attacking the Vatican.

He's desperate, and he knows that the US doesn't want to attack that shrine.  THAT would look very bad to the Iraqis.  I'm not even sure why al-sadr is doing this.

[ordos45]

I'm unsure...probably the arrest warrant out for his murder of a rival cleric?  His uprising in April was ended when he was told he could form his own political party and run in the elections if memory serves, but I'm not sure.

[HasimirFenring]

Maybe he just likes the power all of this publicity brings him...