Influential Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr would dissolve his Mehdi Army militia if the United States started withdrawing troops according to a set timetable, a spokesman said.
The comments come at a crucial point in talks between Baghdad and Washington over a new security pact that will provide a legal basis for U.S. troops to operate in Iraq when a United Nations mandate expires at the end of the year.
I wrote about this yesterday and said that I believed Sadr was manipulating the situation to get the Americans out so he could negotiate with the Iraqi government without outside interference. And now this story illustrates the point I was making.
Oh and the surge that McCain and the Bush administration are so proud of? Well guess who REALLY made that happen?
A ceasefire imposed by Sadr on his militia a year ago has been a major factor in a drop in violence to four-year lows. Sadr, whose political movement controls 10 percent of seats in parliament, has long demanded U.S. troops leave Iraq.
Now I am not arguing that we need to stay in Iraq to protect the Iraqi government from the obvious Sadr agenda. I firmly believe it is time for us to leave that country as quickly as possible. I just wanted to make the point that Bush and his cronies had little to do with the reduction in violence and if they think this puppet government is going to last six months after we leave, no matter when we leave, then they are bigger fools then even I ever imagined.
I have one thing to say- we are being TOLD that he is manipulating the situation...the papers overseas are NOT saying that...
ReplyDelete( he is whipped out whenever the terra mongering evil islamofascist bs line is needed by the Bush Regime...with evil photos etc..and next there will be some kind of video- they "use" him just like they used Bin Laden...)
just something to think on...