Iraq's Sadr calls on followers to march on Najaf

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/YAT534445.htm

BAGHDAD, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Anti-U.S. cleric Moqtada al-Sadr on Wednesday called on his followers to march on the Iraqi holy city of Najaf to break a U.S. siege of Shi'ite militants holed up in a shrine, an aide said.

Mahmoud al-Soundani said the march had been planned before Sadr's political rival, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, issued a call earlier on Wednesday for all Iraqis to go to Najaf to save the "burning city".

"The office of the Martyr Sadr calls on all of Sayyed Moqtada's supporters to march on Najaf. This is a separate call from the one by Ayatollah Sistani," he said.

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[uhhuh]

1. Wow! Al Sadr AND Sistani

BOTH calling on shi'ites to march on Najaf??

I don't even want to speculate on what's going to happen here.

This could be a very big development.

[dbt]

2. Fatwa, anyone?

Even a "dove" like al-Sistani has got to be hearing that word by now.

:freak:
dbt

[Renew Deal]

8. Ductape Fatwa?

He was cool. Anyway, I remember when the call for fatwa's didn't amount to anything.

[acmavm]

3. Sistani could only remain silent for so long as his people were being

blown to bits. Too much longer, and his position as a Shi'ite leader would have been comprimised. Whisking him out of Iraq just before the attacks looked a little too convenient, even if it was necessary.

Now things will get really ugly.

[JNelson6563]

4. Uh oh

This is going ot get worse befroe it gets better. America shouldn't have been hammering away at this holy city and now we will find out why this was a bad idea.

Those who have devised this "strategy" are about to have a lot more American deaths on their tally sheet. I hope they have a reckoning worthy of their horrid deeds, those that devised all this evil.

Julie

[seventhson]

5. I just have this to say: 500 Iraqi (Allawi) forces near the shrine --

surrounded by American troops encircling them

Inside the shrine several hundred to a thousand Al Mahdi fighters and families

Outside the American perimeter millions of Shia faithful. Marching to the shrine.



Bush does it again. FUBAR.

I pray for every soul there. Bush and his minions are suicidally/homicidally insane.

[Dhalgren]

6. It's that "insane" part that worries me.

The US has only two choices, here: back off, cool down, assess; or massive, wholesale slaughter. Now, from his track record, I think I know which way Bush will go, but will the soldiers? I know that the Air Force will bomb anyone anywhere - they don't think about who or what they kill, just drop on the coordinates and fly home. But soldiers on the ground, who have to wade through the bodies of women and children, will they just say, "orders are orders"?

This has become worse than a nightmare, because we can't seem to ever wake up...

[shadu]

7. Let's hope Sadr has some better weapons to issue his men

I hate to see innocent men walk into a meat grinder.

[Jacobin]

9. Just when you think something can't be more screwed up:

Bingo, Smirky outdoes himself again.

From things I've read in the press, there is basically no central command of the forces on the occupation side, because the generals KNOW that anything they do will be a disaster. There is no possible military win in this, only loss. Accordingly, they are sitting around trying to figure out how to blame the coming calamity on someone else and the grunts on the ground are rudderless and calling shots on their own.

A recipe for calamity.

[LeftHander]

10. Here comes the slaughter....

U.S. helecopters will open up with mini-guns on any convoy of people heading tword to Najaf