Al-Sadr threatens to end 6-month cease-fire

[underpants]

Source: MSNBC

updated 4:23 a.m. ET, Wed., Feb. 20, 2008
BAGHDAD - Radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has threatened to lift by the end of the week a six-month cease-fire widely credited with helping reduce violence in Iraq, officials said Wednesday.

Sheik Salah al-Obeidi, a spokesman for al-Sadr in the Shiite holy city of Najaf, said that if the cleric failed to issue a statement by Saturday saying that the cease-fire was extended "then that means the freeze is over."



The threat was confirmed by another al-Sadr official, who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

The U.S. military has welcomed the cease-fire, saying it is a major factor in the estimated 60 percent decline in violence in the country in the second half of 2007.



Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23249924

---

Do we all remember when though he WAS public enemy #1 luckily for him he was never the #2 in alQaeda in Iraq so he got to stay in power :eyes:


THE SURGE IS WORKING!!!!

[leftchick]

1. he wants more money

can't say as I blame him.

[The Croquist]

13. I thought the same thing

We should pay him more. After all if we pay him in dollars they won't be worth anything in a few months anyway.

[AlphaCentauri]

16. you got it n/t

[Roland99]

2. OMG! He'll pull the veil off the cover of the escalation..er...the surge!

[Hugabear]

3. My thoughts exactly

Kinda puts this whole surge "success" into question, doesn't it?

[sabra]

4. this is a big deal... k & r

[kirby]

5. We will regret not killing him early in the war... n/t

[Magleetis]

6. Yep

Just throw him on the pile with the rest of the people we have killed. Its the American way.

He has more right to be there than we do.

[LynnTheDem]

10. Yes, I often regret not killing tons of people. We haven't killed enough people

who did nothing whatsoever against us until we illegally invaded & slaughtered them.

[leftchick]

17. yes that KILL KILL KILL for resources mentality is so

Romanesque. :puke:

[tom_paine]

7. Smart policy for him. He wants bigger bribes from the Bushies.

[underpants]

11. Everyone plays Bush and Cheney

for all the talk about "adults" and their "business sense" they get played by everyone both in terms of money and power.

and the Amerkan public has NO IDEA

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

8. The Unsurge?

:shrug:

[Serial Mom]

9. Do you think the last 6 months lower death counts may have been because of this?

:sarcasm:

American deaths in Iraq - Jan thru Une 07 = 609
American deaths in Irag DURING THE 6 MONTH CEASE FIRE = 348

And do we ever truly hear about how many IRAQI CITIZENS are still dying that are not reported as battle deaths??

Wonder what gates, candi and dubya will do or say when the counts go up again & our troops won't be drawn down as the pResident said would take place this year?

[acmavm]

12. I think he's under pressure from his followers to stick up for his

people. I think he does want more money. And I think that the continued killing of innocent Iraqis is taking its toll on his stand of nuetrality.

He's between a rock and a hard place. And if he decides to get out of that position, the US may be in for a world of hurt.

[damntexdem]

14. Hmm, I wonder whether or not this puts him in ... oh I don't know ... a position of power ...

or something. ;-)

[ohio2007]

15. Sadr movement backtracks on truce remarks

Radical Iraqi cleric Muqtada Al Sadr’s movement yesterday backtracked from an announcment that it was ending a truce with its main Shia rival aimed at reducing tension between the two groups.

Sadr spokesman Salah Al Obeidi said a statement on Sunday announcing the cancellation of a peace pact between the Sadrists and the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council (SIIC) of Abdel Aziz Al Hakim was meant as a warning.

snip
http://www.gulfinthemedia.com/index.php?id=382217&news_type=Top&lang=en&


Wonder if the recent departure of fellow Shia puppet in Damascus has changed his mind and woill stay the kinder,gentler course ?

Was Syria involved in Mugnieh's death?
snip
First, according to the well-informed Kuwaiti daily al-Seyassah, Mughnieh was reported to have attended a high-level meeting called by the head of Syrian security services and Syrian President Bashar Assad's brother-in-law, Assef Chawkat. The other participants to that meeting included top Syrian leaders, representatives from Hamas (including its top leader Khaled Meshaal), Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah. The purpose of that meeting was allegedly to select the potential targets to strike in Arab countries, if the latter refused to participate in the Arab summit set for the end of March in Damascus. It was purportedly during that meeting that Mughnieh's car was booby-trapped.


Second, and interestingly enough, initially, al-Arabiya TV reported that the victim was allegedly a Hamas top leader.


Third, what is most troubling is that the Syrian authorities were silent for nine hours after the explosion. They then finally announced the victim's name.

snip

Mughnieh, as a top Hezbollah operative working for both Syria and Iran, was suspected of having a hand in the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri, thus the Syrians might have found it convenient to eliminate him and in the process, sever any link to Damascus. Three years after Hariri's murder, it now seems as though the international tribunal established by the United Nations will finally be hearing the case.

snip

http://www.metimes.com/International/2008/02/19/was_syria_involved_in_mugniehs_death/4525/


Discretion being preached by the mullahs in Qom ?

[hollowdweller]

18. McCain better send him some money and a few women or his "surge success" line will be f*d

[truthisfreedom]

19. Sleep with dogs...