Al-Sadr forbids his militia to fight Iraqi troops

[Lord Zentei]

Anti-U.S. cleric forbids his militia to fight Iraqi troops

POSTED: 1:03 p.m. EDT, May 25, 2007

• NEW: AP: White House official hopes Shiite cleric will play "positive role" in Iraq
• Muqtada al-Sadr urges his militia to stop fighting the Iraqi government
• Radical Shiite cleric appears at mosque in Kufa after four-month absence
• Shiite militia leader in Basra reported killed by British troops

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, making his first public appearance in four months, on Friday ordered his Mehdi Army militia not to fight with Iraqi police and army forces.

"From time to time, we hear of clashes between our brothers in the Mehdi Army and the brothers in the Iraqi police and army," al-Sadr said in a sermon at a mosque in the holy Shiite city of Kufa, south of Baghdad.

"Pay attention: This is an important point," he said. "As far as I know, the occupation is behind this, creating an excuse for it to stay in our beloved Iraq. So don't give it a reason, please." (Watch al-Sadr deliver a fiery sermon Video)

Calling the message a fatwa -- a religious legal ruling -- al-Sadr said that "any fighting between the brothers is not allowed and [is] forbidden as long as they follow the good and reject the wrong. I advise the dear brothers in the Mehdi Army to resort to peaceful choices if they are attacked by the weak souls."

Al-Sadr, thought to have been in Iran since February, reiterated his call for a timetable for the withdrawal of foreign troops.

He also reached out to Sunnis, who have been locked in sectarian struggles with Shiites in Iraq.

"From here, I specifically mention the Sunni brothers. It is the occupier who came between us and divided us from them to weaken the Iraqi people."

He said he is ready to cooperate with Sunnis and welcomes them.

"I am doing this for God and the good of the Iraqi people and for Iraq, to liberate it and free it and regain its complete sovereignty that we are still deprived of," he said.

In Washington, National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said he hopes that al-Sadr's return indicates that he wants "to play a positive role inside Iraq," according to The Associated Press.

"He has an opportunity to be a part of the political reconciliation process. We'll see if he and his followers participate," Johndroe told the AP.

Al-Sadr called on the government to rebuild Samarra's Askariya mosque, which was bombed in February 2006 by Sunni militants, sparking a wave of sectarian warfare that has engulfed Iraq.

He also urged protection of minorities in Iraq, namely Christians.

According to witnesses at the mosque, the radical cleric was surrounded by heavy security and received a warm greeting from thousands of supporters at the mosque.

Iraqis could be heard chanting "long live al-Sadr," "Muqtada is our bridge to heaven" as well as anti-American slogans calling for a U.S. troop pullout, witnesses said.

U.S. and Iraqi government officials contend the anti-American cleric slipped out of Iraq before the start of a U.S.- led security crackdown in February.

At that time, Sami al-Askari, a member of parliament and a political adviser to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, said the militant cleric was in the predominantly Shiite nation of Iran.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman denied the claims, chalking it up to U.S. "propaganda."

Al-Sadr has been supportive of al-Maliki's government and helped him become prime minister last year.

Militia leader killed by British troops, official says

British forces killed a Shiite militia leader in the southern Iraqi city of Basra on Friday, an Iraqi Interior Ministry official said.

Wissam al-Wa'ili, 23, was the leader in Basra of al-Sadr's Mehdi Army. Two of Basra militant's aides also were killed in clashes.

The British Defense Ministry said a member of the Mehdi Army was killed in Basra on Friday but listed a different name. He was identified as "criminal leader" Wissan Abu Qadir. The Associated Press reported that both names refer to the same person.

Basra is a predominantly Shiite city where the British military command has been based during the Iraq war.

Search goes on for missing U.S. soldiers

Thousands of U.S. and Iraqi troops Friday continued their search for two missing U.S. soldiers believed abducted during a May 12 ambush at a military observation post south of Baghdad. (Watch commander describe troops' mood as search continues Video)

Lt. Col Christopher Garver, a U.S. military spokesman, said that two individuals have "confessed to some involvement in the attack." The military said this week four people had been detained for direct involvement in the attack.

Garver said 11,000 people have been questioned, 84 individuals have been detained for further questioning, 159 tips were investigated and more than 260 square miles south of Baghdad were searched.

The two missing soldiers are Spc. Alex R. Jimenez, 25, of Lawrence, Massachusetts. and Pvt. Byron W. Fouty, 19, of Waterford, Michigan.

Insurgents on May 12 attacked a U.S. military observation post in the Mahmoudiya area, south of Baghdad, in a stretch known as the Triangle of Death. Four other American soldiers and an Iraqi soldier were found dead at the scene of the ambush.

The body of a third missing soldier, Pfc. Joseph J. Anzack Jr., 20, of Torrance, California, was pulled from the Euphrates River, in Babil province south of Baghdad on Wednesday. (Read how Anzack's hometown friends remember him)

Other developments

• Five U.S. soldiers were killed Thursday in separate incidents across Iraq, the military said. The death of a sixth soldier, who died Tuesday, also was announced. An Iraqi interpreter was also killed. Since the start of the war, 3,434 U.S. military personnel have died in Iraq. Seven civilian contractors of the Defense Department have also been killed in the war. The death toll for May is 90.
• The U.S. military said Iraqi and U.S.-led coalition forces detained a "suspected terrorist" in Baghdad on Friday with ties to a training and weapons network in Iran. The U.S. military has been saying for months that militants are getting explosively formed penetrators, or EFPs, from Iran's Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force and that Iraqi militants are being trained in Iran. The U.S. military also has said it can't link the Iranian leadership to such activities.
• Congress sent a $120 billion war spending bill to the White House late Thursday, abandoning a call for most U.S. troops to leave Iraq after an earlier veto by President Bush. The bill replaces the earlier goal of withdrawing U.S. combat troops by March 2008 with a series of political benchmarks for Iraqi leaders to meet to receive continued American support. (Full story)
• Bush on Thursday warned Americans to expect "heavy fighting" this summer during a critical time in his war strategy. He said the developments would occur once U.S. military reinforcements are in place in mid-June. "We can expect more American and Iraqi casualties," Bush said. "We must provide our troops with the funds and resources they need to prevail." (Full story)

A favourable development. I can't help but wonder whether he is getting nervous about his ability to actually control the situation. A concern that will only increase as he realizes that not all of the government troops neccesarily see his militia as "brothers" (even though he will no doubt continue to blame the occupying forces for this alienation when speaking in public).

[K. A. Pital]

Sadr is consolidating his political presence. I think he watches the U.S. news closely and knows that Bush is only there for 2 years.

After that... Sadr-boy, it can be his Big Time, y'know. Saddam is dead, religious fervor on the rise... all cards in Sadr's hands

[The Duchess of Zeon]

Sadr is consolidating his political presence. I think he watches the U.S. news closely and knows that Bush is only there for 2 years.

After that... Sadr-boy, it can be his Big Time, y'know. Saddam is dead, religious fervor on the rise... all cards in Sadr's hands ;)

I agree. He is manoeuvring for a post-war chance to become the Supreme Ayatollah of an Islamic Republic of Iraq. Which may in short order unite with Iran.

[K. A. Pital]

He is manoeuvring for a post-war chance to become the Supreme Ayatollah of an Islamic Republic of Iraq

Which is IMHO a definete possibility. There's a very high probability of either the entirety of Iraq becoming an Islamic Republic, or a large part of it. All thanks to Bushie's war, of course.

[The Duchess of Zeon]

He is manoeuvring for a post-war chance to become the Supreme Ayatollah of an Islamic Republic of Iraq

Which is IMHO a definete possibility. There's a very high probability of either the entirety of Iraq becoming an Islamic Republic, or a large part of it. All thanks to Bushie's war, of course.

I wouldn't go that far. Saddam's death would have probably had the same result. Of course, he might have lived for another twenty years.

Also, I doubt Kurdistan will be included in any effectual fashion, if at all. They'll have a hard enough time dealing with the Sunnis in the triangle to try and overrun Kurdistan, which has a proper military of its own.

[metavac]

I agree. He is manoeuvring for a post-war chance to become the Supreme Ayatollah of an Islamic Republic of Iraq. Which may in short order unite with Iran.

Try this narrative on for size. Muqtada al-Sadr started as the thirty year old successor to his father after having grown up as privileged a life as a non-Baathist Shi'a possibly could in Southern Iraq. He's spent a lot of time in Iran, yes, but he's hostile to factions that share a closer relationship with Tehran, namely SCIRI and a good portion of Dawa. He kicked off his post-2003 career as a rabble rouser in Najaf and Karbala who was quickly sidelined by the Iraqi Governing Council and its supporters amongst the Shi'a middle class. He then cashed his checks with the Iraqi poor, became a nationalist, nominally anti-Iranian figure in politics, and starting throwing verbal bombs at the Coalition for backing his clerical rivals. At some point, he facilitates the funneling of men and resources into a militant offshoot of his seminary. Some Iranians take notice and offer his senior leadership significantly more logistical support and training. Now it's 2004, he's still an snotty upstart but he's got a newspaper and a growing militia. The CPA says "fuck that" and the bullets fly.

Now fast forward to 2006. Sadr's found it increasingly difficult to maintain his anti-Iranian politics and control the Mahdi Army. He also has this idea he can buy his way into politics by the UIA list into the Assembly elections. But increasingly he's finding his pocket men in the government and, even more importantly, his militia, increasingly difficult to control. Sure, they're still following the general thrust of Sadr's opening course of action, but they're not really following his orders anymore. Remember, last October there was a huge battle in Amarah between Coalition/Iraqi forces and the Mahdi Army. There were recorded demands by Sadr for his militia to lay down their arms and withdraw blaring on loudspeakers throughout the city. Nobody listens.

Sadr's a bomb thrower with a great name and a natural constituency, but the evidence indicates that he's no politician, he's no resistance fighter, and he sure as hell is no cleric. His larger vision for Iraq seemed to grow in an ad hoc fashion from his desire to control holy sites in Southern Iraq in the name of his family. He's as opposed to vilayat al-fiqh in Iraq than his counterparts, although he believes that clerics need to more actively advise political leaders. Beyond that, he doesn't seem to have a vision, let along program, that extends past the very limited view of community services and irregularly imposed social conduct that we see his followers erecting in Sadr City. Nevertheless, he was the rallying point and large part remains a figurehead for a huge militia that apparently receives more direction from Iranian patrons than the Sadr seminary.

[metavac]

Oh, and he really hates Sunnis and Baathists. He's even more bloodthirsty about that than his counterparts. Not that it means he's managed to keep the reins on his movement.

[metavac]

Just another interesting point. If CNN's translation and account of the sermon is right, Sadr was not only pleadingly weak in his sermon, but he also called his demand a fatwa, an edict he presently has no religious authority to make. This is evidence of a man going to extraordinary, possibly desperate, lengths to exude authority over something he may no longer control.

[Sea Skimmer]

Joining with Iran could do nothing but reduce Sadrs personal power, he’ll never do it. He may command the strongest non government force in the country, but he doesn’t have anything like enough organization and manpower to do more then rule a cluster of city states to start with. It’s more likely he’ll end up fighting Iran then joining it.

[Patrick Degan]

The Iraqis would never accept a union with Iran. Just because you're Shia does not mean you're going to forget who's Arab and who's Persian.

[The Duchess of Zeon]

The Iraqis would never accept a union with Iran. Just because you're Shia does not mean you're going to forget who's Arab and who's Persian.

The whole driving concept of Islam is the abolishment of such distinctions in favour of the universal brotherhood of the ummah. I'm not necessarily saying it will turn out well, but if Shia clerics gain control in Iraq it could be attempted.

[metavac]

The whole driving concept of Islam is the abolishment of such distinctions in favour of the universal brotherhood of the ummah. I'm not necessarily saying it will turn out well, but if Shia clerics gain control in Iraq it could be attempted.

An ethnically-blind ummah hasn't emerged in the Near East in the millenia and a half history of Islam. What makes you think that one's going to suddenly sprout in Iraq and Iran?

[General Trelane (Retired)]

It’s more likely he’ll end up fighting Iran then joining it.

Why fight first and then join? That seems counter-productive. Ya, I know what you meant, but "then" and "than" mean different things and are not interchangeable.

[Patrick Degan]

The Iraqis would never accept a union with Iran. Just because you're Shia does not mean you're going to forget who's Arab and who's Persian.

The whole driving concept of Islam is the abolishment of such distinctions in favour of the universal brotherhood of the ummah. I'm not necessarily saying it will turn out well, but if Shia clerics gain control in Iraq it could be attempted.

Yes, that's a nice theory. Unfortunately, those distinctions haven't been abolished in fourteen centuries and they're not likely to disappear any time soon. Particularly as there's still a lot of bad blood left over from the Iran/Iraq War between the two countries.

[Kane Starkiller]

Not to mention that Iran itself is ethnically diverse with Persians comprising 51% of the population of Iran. There is even a Baloch separatist movement and there were some rumors of US supporting them. I think it's more likely that Iran might be broken apart in a civil war then Iraq and Iran uniting.

[jegs2]

He is manoeuvring for a post-war chance to become the Supreme Ayatollah of an Islamic Republic of Iraq. Which may in short order unite with Iran.

While a Shia dominated Islamic state may well result, and possibly an alliance with Iran, a merger is highly unlikely. Shia Arabs have little love for or trust of Persians, be they Shia or otherwise. Even if the Shia can unite long enough to form such a government and alliance, they'd have the Sunnis and Kurds to deal with, and the Kurds would put up one hell of a fight. They are highly trained and motivated warriors who are already running a de-facto Kurdistan in the north of Iraq. A Shia seizure of Baghdad would likely trigger a declaration of Kurdish independence - not to mention the Turkish reaction to that.