BBC: Iraqi PM lifts Sadr City cordon (US spokesman unaware)

[Rose Siding]

Iraq's prime minister has ordered the lifting of all US and Iraqi military checkpoints around the Shia stronghold of Sadr City in Baghdad.
US forces put a security cordon around the area recently as they carried out searches for an abducted soldier....

"The prime minister, in his capacity as commander in chief of the armed forces, has decided to lift the blockade of the access roads to Sadr City and other areas of Baghdad," his office said in a statement.

His announcement came shortly after radical Shia cleric, Moqtada Sadr, called for a general strike to protest against the blockade.
...
A US military spokesman said that he was not aware of the order but told the AFP news agency that any concerns of the prime minister would be addressed "at the highest command levels".

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6102118.stm

And from the AP:

Iraq to Lift Sadr City Checkpoints

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Tuesday ordered the lifting of joint U.S.-Iraqi military checkpoints around the Shiite militant stronghold of Sadr City and other parts of Baghdad - another apparent move to assert his authority with the Americans and appeal to his Shiite support base.

U.S. officials apparently did not have advance warning of the order to remove the around-the-clock barriers by 5 p.m. Tuesday. A military spokesman, Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, said officers were meeting to "formulate a response to address the prime minister's concerns."

Witnesses said U.S. forces were seen dismantling checkpoints around Sadr City made of sandbags and concrete blocks Tuesday afternoon.
...
Al-Maliki's demand threatened to further upset relations between the U.S. and the Iraqi government, which hit a rough patch last week after Al-Maliki issued a string of bitter complaints, at one point saying he was not "America's man in Iraq."
...
Meanwhile, the U.S. military announced the deaths of two soldiers in fighting Monday, bringing the number of troops killed in Iraq this month to 103.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/IRAQ?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2006-10-31-05-55-48

[acmavm]

1. Go for it Al. Show 'em who's running things!!!

I say more power to him. Next, they can take over the whole shebang.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

2. fulcrum, meet rock.

This is it, folks. Here is where the real shit is separated from the hype.

Will the US military accept an order from a puppet government they installed? Will they agree to something that Rummie will chafe against? Will we see Maliki removed from office just like we removed the president of VietNam when it suited us?

If the US refuses to obey Maliki's orders, it will prove that Bush, Rice, Cheney and Rummie have repeatedly lied about the "political process" in IraqNam.

[Dhalgren]

3. An even bigger consideration is how this will sit with the troops on

the ground. They are out there dying by the score, getting maimed by the hundreds, and this just points up very clearly how the American "leadership" can't find their own ass with both hands, with their pants on fire. If the US forces in Iraq cannot even manage to coordinate with their own puppets, how can the US soldiers continue to die and bleed for what is obviously NOTHING?! This is far, far past stupid or incompetent, this is blatantly criminal. The troops are going to just have to quit and quit now....

[ChairmanAgnostic]

4. I repeatedly make the mistake of believing that the military mind is like

concrete - set in its ways and incapable of independent action. I know that is what the leadership in the military strives for, to some degree. So, your point that they might start speaking and acting independently jars me, and I have to think twice about your issue. And you are correct. It does not bode well for a soon to be broken military.

Recall WWI? German, brit and french troops in the trenches stopped fighting over christmas, and exchanged food stuffs, sang songs and held informal meetings.

Both the German and brit-french leaders went APESHIT! What if their troops rebelled and refused to fight? Who would fight their war for them? Wouldn't that be nice if it happened here?

[Javaman]

9. And hense the following christmas was an all day artillery barage.

They were afraid peace might break out.

:cry:

[happyslug]

45. Yes, the Pope asked for a Christmas Truce and the only people who listen were in the Trenches

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_truce

http://www.1914-1918.net/truce.htm

http://stud-www.uni-marburg.de/~Loewer2/The%20Chritstmas%20Truce.pdf

Now Pope Benedict XV had proposed a truce (as had other neutrals) that proposal had been rejected. The main rationale was given that since Russia being Orthodox and Orthodox Christmas was almost two weeks after Western Christmas it would be impossible to grant such a long Truce (Orthodox Christians use the Julian Calendar, as did Imperial Russia, while the rest of the world used the Gregorian Calendar, there is a 13 day difference between the two).

While there appears to be NO connection between Pope Benedict's request for a Christmas Truce and the 1914 Christmas Truce, that such a truce was proposed was known to the troops (at least by the Orders from the High Command NOT to have a Truce). Furthermore a long tradition of Christmas being a time to "Celebrate Peace" was a practice in each of the Countries involved. Thus you had pre-existing conditions for the troops to have a truce.

The sad part was the Pope seems to have saw a Christmas Truce as a way to stop the Fighting permanently by the expedite of having the truce extended over time from Christmas onward. Simply put, the Pope wanted to use the excuse of a Christmas Truce to STOP the war, but the plan failed. The Warring powers saw that possibility not as a hope but as a Threat and thus rejected the idea of the Truce and even in 1914 made efforts to make sure the Troops did NOT participate in any types of Truce. Thus the Christmas Truce was a wasted opportunity to end the bloodshed of WWI and by doing so prevent WWII from ever occurring.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

47. Patton had the right idea. Forget the troops. put opposing leaders

in their own tanks, and let them battle it out against each other.

[Shipwack]

7. Good point... even though the troops probably do not want to leave

Even though the troops probably hate standing at check points, they are going to feel conflicted about this. The reason there are so many checkpoints and a lock down in Sadr City is that they are looking for a soldier that was kidnapped. They are not going to be happy about reducing the efforts to find him, especially at the request of the Iraqis.

It's about a half hour past the deadline now... who blinked?

[0007]

6. Rummy will go ten yards with Iraq leader as long as he calls the shots

When Saddam had enough of Rummy it was time to remove him. Go figure!

[Eugene]

5. But it was perfectly okay to cordon and disarm Sunni neighborhoods.

Freedom of movement became an urgent concern as soon Muqtada al-Sadr
raised his voice. Al-Maliki can tell American officials whatever they
want to hear, but he will not challenge the militias.

If the U.S. is counting on the Iraqi government to stop the civil war
and secure the country so that Coalition forces can withdraw,
it's not going to happen that way.

[Jacobin]

8. So, does this mean the Iraqis won't allow what the

Israelis have imposed on the Palestinians??

Bad, Iraqis. Bad, bad bad.

[Shipwack]

10. It appears that the US has complied.

"BAGHDAD, Iraq -- U.S. troops on Tuesday abandoned checkpoints around the Shiite militia stronghold of Sadr City on orders from Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, the latest in a series of moves by the Iraqi leader to assert his authority with the U.S. administration.

::snip::

U.S. forces disappeared from the checkpoints within hours of the order to remove the around-the-clock barriers by 5:00 p.m. (1400 GMT), setting off celebrations among civilians and armed men gathered on the edge of the sprawling slum that is under the control of the Mahdi Army militia run by radical anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/31/AR2006103100452.html

The worst part is that we have just given a big boost of credibility to an anti-American militia leader, not that there was any other way we could have handled this without destroying the credibility of the Iraqi government. From the article:

"Iraqi troops loaded coils of barbed wire and red traffic cones onto pickup trucks, while small groups of men and children danced in circles chanting slogans praising al-Sadr, who earlier Tuesday had ordered the area closed to the Iraqi government until U.S. troops lifted what he called their "siege" of the neighborhood."

We're in a maze of twisted little choices, all of them bad.

[DeepModem Mom]

11. NYT/AP: Iraqi Leader Orders Lifting of Checkpoints

Iraqi Leader Orders Lifting of Checkpoints
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: October 31, 2006

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- U.S. troops on Tuesday abandoned checkpoints around the Shiite militia stronghold of Sadr City on orders from Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, the latest in a series of moves by the Iraqi leader to assert his authority with the U.S. administration....

U.S. forces disappeared from the checkpoints within hours of the order to remove the around-the-clock barriers by 5:00 p.m. (1400 GMT), setting off celebrations among civilians and armed men gathered on the edge of the sprawling slum that is under the control of the Mahdi Army militia run by radical anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

Iraqi troops loaded coils of barbed wire and red traffic cones onto pickup trucks, while small groups of men and children danced in circles chanting slogans praising al-Sadr, who earlier Tuesday had ordered the area closed to the Iraqi government until U.S. troops lifted what he called their ''siege'' of the neighborhood.

Extra checkpoints were set up last week as U.S. troops launched an intensive search for a missing soldier, who has yet to be found....

Al-Maliki's statement said U.S.-manned checkpoints ''should not be taken except during nighttime curfew hours and emergencies.''...

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Iraq.html?hp&ex=1162357200&en=a64cbb4cd1c6af27&ei=5094&partner=homepage

[Bonescrat]

12. Why doesn't al-Maliki tell us to get the hell out of Iraq...

Seemed to work for one city...

"U.S. forces disappeared from the checkpoints within hours of the order to remove the around-the-clock barriers by 5:00 p.m. (1400 GMT), setting off celebrations among civilians and armed men gathered on the edge of the sprawling slum that is under the control of the Mahdi Army militia run by radical anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/20...

[wellst0nev0ter]

13. Easy, He Needs Us For Protection (n/t)

[wordpix]

15. this is why, among other reasons, we need to be OUT. It's their war now.

of course, it appears BushCo has made deals with al-Maliki---Iraqi oil in return for his protection, no doubt.

[wordpix]

14. Gergen: looking at disengagement & Rummy firing, now on CNN's Anderson Cooper

[maddezmom]

16. kick

[Pale Blue Dot]

17. Iraq Tells U.S. to Quit Checkpoints

BAGHDAD, Oct. 31 -- American soldiers rolled up their barbed-wire barricades and lifted a near siege of the largest Shiite Muslim enclave in Baghdad on Tuesday, heeding the orders of a Shiite-led Iraqi government whose assertion of sovereignty had Shiites celebrating in the streets.

The order by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to lift the week-old blockade of Sadr City was one of the most overt expressions of self-determination by Iraqi leaders in the 3 1/2 -year-old U.S. occupation. It followed two weeks of increasingly pointed exchanges between Iraqi and U.S. officials, as well as a video conference between Maliki and President Bush on Saturday.

Maliki's decision exposed the growing divergence between the U.S. and Iraqi administrations on some of the most critical issues facing the country, especially the burgeoning strength of Shiite militias. The militias are allied with the Shiite religious parties that form Maliki's coalition government, and they are accused by Sunni Arab Iraqis and by Americans of kidnapping and killing countless Sunnis in the soaring violence between Iraq's Shiite majority and Sunni minority.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/31/AR2006103100225.html

[Rick Myers]

18. Part of what those soldiers were doing was...

...looking for our lost soldier! Will Bush and Rummy apologize to his family?


edit: sp

[acmejack]

19. Iraqi Demands a Pullback; US Lifts Baghdad Cordon

New York Times, United States - 18 hours ago
By KIRK SEMPLE. BAGHDAD, Oct. 31 — Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki demanded the removal of American checkpoints from the streets ...

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-11/01/content_5274011.htm
Xinhua, China - 21 hours ago
BAGHDAD, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) -- US troops pulled out of checkpoints around Shiite militia's stronghold of Sadr City in eastern Baghdad ...

[AndyA]

20. Well, that should help things over there quite a bit. Look for violence

to escalate, and casualties to increase. Just before the elections. How nice.

George Bush owes an explanation to every American as to why we've spent so much money and lost so many troops in Iraq. And not a bullshit excuse about fighting them over there, we know that isn't true.

We know there are/were no WMDs.

We know Saddam was not harboring terrorists.

We know Saddam had nothing to do with 9/11.

We know Saddam was not a threat to us.

So...WHY ARE WE IN IRAQ?

[Parche]

21. iraq

The right wingers talk about the UN and they would never conced control of the military to them....
like that would ever happen anyway....
But now they let Iraq dictate what our military does with the check points??

[bpeale]

22. we should immediately leave iraq

if this asshole has the right to order checkpoints down then he is obviously ready to assume complete jurisdiction of iraq and therefore our troops are no longer required. they should come home immediately.

[saigon68]

23. But Halliburton is not done FEEDING AT THE PUBLIC TROUGH

Just a few more hundreds of billions to steal

[Tempest]

24. Unfortunately, we can't leave yet

Not unless you want to see Iraq turn into a anti-American terrorist state with a huge oil supply.

[tabasco]

25. So US commanders are no longer in charge.

The Iraqis are telling our troops where to go now.

Where's the outrage from the right-wingers on this?

[OKNancy]

26. FWIW

this was yesterday

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=2588277

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=2589653

[enough]

27. Iraqi Demands Pullback; U.S. Lifts Baghdad Cordon (NYT)

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/01/world/middleeast/01iraq.html?hp&ex=1162443600&en=25533569e4a2a8f1&ei=5094&partner=homepage

November 1, 2006
Iraqi Demands Pullback; U.S. Lifts Baghdad Cordon
By KIRK SEMPLE

BAGHDAD, Oct. 31 — Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki demanded the removal of American checkpoints from the streets of Baghdad on Tuesday, in what appeared to be his latest and boldest gambit in an increasingly tense struggle for more independence from his American protectors.

Mr. Maliki’s public declaration seemed at first to catch American commanders off guard. But by nightfall, American troops had abandoned all the positions in eastern and central Baghdad that they had set up last week with Iraqi forces as part of a search for a missing American soldier. The checkpoints had snarled traffic and disrupted daily life and commerce throughout the eastern part of the city.

The language of the declaration, which implied that Mr. Maliki had the power to command American forces, seemed to overstep his authority and to be aimed at placating his Shiite constituency.

The withdrawal was greeted with jubilation in the streets of Sadr City, the densely populated Shiite enclave where the Americans have focused their manhunt and where anti-American sentiment runs high. The initial American reaction to the order, which was released by Mr. Maliki’s press office, strongly suggested that the statement had not been issued in concert with the American authorities.

snip>

[Erika]

28. Iraqi cleric militias ordering our troops

W's war.

[SharonAnn]

29. This is a really big deal! Really big!

[enough]

31. Yes, though you wouldn't know it from most of what is being talked about right now.

[NanceGreggs]

30. Does this mean we WON'T be getting those ...

... 'sweets and flowers' after all, Georgie?

[bigbrother05]

32. We have got the UN in charge of the troops in Afghanistan

Mr. Maliki’s appears to be calling the shots for today.
Rumsfeld needs to step down.
Troops need to leave now.

[Terri S]

33. Rumsfeld was asked to comment on this..

I saw a quick blip on the news today, I think it was CNN, and Rummy acted like he didn't know anything about it... said he had to look into it before he could comment!

[Duppers]

34. THIS IS INDEED SIGNIFICANT!

I agree with all posts here. Why is everyone ignoring this?

Maliki is thumbing his nose at US command here.

[acmavm]

35. Or it's a set up to make him look like a strong leader and not a US

puppet.

How in the hell are we ever supposed to know what the truth is? We're dealing with liars, murderers, traitors, thieves, you name it, they're running it.

[Gin]

36. If he wants more independence from the US.....fine...one way to give it

to him is to withdraw the troops from Iraq. He can be the true leader of the quagmire once we are out of there. Perfect opening to get out of that hell! (IMHO)

[acmavm]

37. Maybe if we weren't hearing a different Iraqi government official

releasing a statement everyday, sometimes twice a day, that the American presence is needed in Iraq for at least XXXXXXX long I'd believe that. But that doesn't make me feel any easier to hear them mouthing their dependence on foreign troops and then playing the tough guy and telling the foreign troops to get out of where ever.

I just wonder.

[customerserviceguy]

38. That was my thought

If there's some kind of secret deal to get the US soldier out alive, let the Shia clerics shake their fists in defiance, show al-Maliki to not look like a puppet, and make the chimp look like he's not going to do anything tough in Iraq (just before an election), then it can be seen as win-win-win all the way around. Stuff like that doesn't normally happen in Iraq.

[enough]

39. kick

[Supersedeas]

40. Nothing to see here--the Corp Media would rather talk about botched jokes

[Az_lefty]

41. Kerry's comments are all that matter today....

never mind the troops and the battle we're losing for Baghdad.
fucking media whores...:puke:

[rocktivity]

42. Who does this al-Maliki think he is anyway?

The head of a soverign nation?

[Eugene]

43. Reuters: Iraqis spar over order to lift U.S. checkpoints

Iraqis spar over order to lift U.S. checkpoints
01 Nov 2006 23:03:55 GMT
Source: Reuters

By Mussab Al-Khairalla

BAGHDAD, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Shi'ite and Sunni leaders argued on Wednesday
about a government order lifting U.S. checkpoints around a Baghdad militia
stronghold as figures showed more than 40 Iraqi civilians died on average
each day in October.

-snip-

After the roadblocks were lifted, backers of anti-American Shi'ite cleric
Moqtada al-Sadr celebrated in Sadr City, bastion of his Mehdi Army. An aide
hailed the end of a "barbaric siege" begun to help find a kidnapped American
soldier possibly being held by militiamen.

-snip-

Iraq's Sunni vice president condemned the move. The once-dominant Sunni
minority blames sectarian death squad violence on the Mehdi Army.

"I'm afraid that by lifting the siege, the government sent the wrong message
to those who stand behind terrorism in Iraq. It says the iron fist will loosen
and they can move freely," said Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi.

-snip-

Full article: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/PAR153887.htm

[Ethelk2044]

44. Soldier Left Behind

Please Please I beg all of you to write or call your Senators
or House of Representative membes.  They need to put pressure
on the Administration.   They have called off the search for
the missing soldier in IraQ.  Please do whatever it takes to
keep this in the media.  The military should never leave a
soldier behind.  We should never let another country tell us
what we can do, when it could cost one of our soldier's life.

[happyslug]

46. And How do you propose the Military get that Soldier?

Sorry, every Army in Retreat HAS to leave people behind. It is the nature of a Retreat. If you do NOT leave them behind all it does is that the WHOLE Army is destroyed.

I am sorry, in Baghdad we do NOT have enough troops to look for this Soldier. To do so we have to look in EVERY HOUSE while making use NO ONE MOVES AT ALL. We can NOT do that. People will stave without being able to go out to buy food. People will die unless they can go to the Hospital and/or to Doctors. Given the lack of electrical Service to Baghdad, people have to go out to buy Gasoline for Electric Generators (Or to travel to cool places during the heat of the day, and warm places when the night chill comes). Given those facts unless we want to KILL Iraqi women and Children (and Kill them deliberately not by "accident") we have to leave people move about, and once you permit people to move about the capturers of this soldier can move him about and keep him while hidden from our people looking for him. Remember we do NOT have enough soldiers in Iraq to PREVENT ALL movement of non-US people and forces, without that ability the soldier's captors can move the soldier from one safe house to another IF our soldiers get to close to his location in any house to house search.

Unless the US forces found the Soldiers within a few days of his capture, the possibility of finding the soldier is somewhere between slim or nil. This brings us to a plan that will get this soldier back, working through third parties that we know, know the Captors of the Soldier and negotiate some sort of release of the Soldier through those third parties. That may mean paying off the captors, it may be an exchange of prisoners, it might be a general release of prisoners, but some sort of deal has to be made to get this soldier back (OR admit that it is impossible and write him off as dead).

Let us NOT get into the problem that the Right Wing developed at the end of the Vietnam War, "LET's US NOT FORGET OUR MISSING SOLDIERS". How the Right wing used that term and phase meant we should NEVER leave Vietnam until EVERY soldier was accounted for. Since that was Impossible it meant staying in Vietnam forever. Thus the reason for my Rant here, this is NOTHING but a ploy to say we should NOT pull out of Iraq no matter what, much like the same play was used at the end of the Vietnam War to Keep the US in.

[Ethelk2044]

48. Missing Soldier

Please give me a break.  The army has a never believed in
leaving any soldier behind.  It sounds to me like you are
drinking from the water cooler of the repugs.   The army has
also never let another government determine what happens with
its soldiers except when we have a weak president such as
bush.   The Dems needs to make sure that we find the soldier
and get him out.  The prime minister of Iraq has no place in
telling the US what we can and can not do when it comes to
this.  The only time they will do this is when we have a weak
administration such as the one we have now.  In the next war,
are we going to wait till that government decides what to do. 
Let our soldiers die because the government does not want us
to go here or there.  Then if that is the case the prime
minister needs to be told we will pull all of our troops out. 
The prime minister is making the soldiers job much harder and
our administration is allowing it because the administration
does not know what to do.  They do not have the right people
in the right places.  Rummie needs to go along with other top
officials.  They need to put Powell or another General in his
place.  Someone who is used to fighting wars.  We took the
wrong stance when we allowed the prime minister to tell us we
can no longer look for one of our own.  Other governments in
future wars will feel the have the right to do the same.