Mahdi Army offers olive branch to U.S.?
posted at 1:45 pm on January 25, 2007 by Allahpundit
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Could be for real. Would Shiite Nazis lie?
Sadr’s not involved. The liaison, Rahim al-Daraji, is the mayor of Sadr City.
During the meetings, which took place on Jan. 17 and, most recently, on Monday, Mr. Daraji laid out a proposal from what he said were all the major political and militia groups in Sadr City, the senior Iraqi official said. The groups were eager to head off a major American military offensive in the district, home to two million Shiites, as the Americans begin a sweeping new effort to retake the streets of Baghdad.
Mr. Daraji said in an interview that field commanders would forbid their foot soldiers to carry guns in public if the American military and the Iraqi government met several basic demands, mostly involving ways to ensure better security for Sadr City. He is communicating with the commanders through a Shiite politician who is close to them…
Saleh al-Agheli, a member of Parliament from Mr. Sadr’s political bloc, said the bloc’s political committee had “blessed and supported” the effort by Mr. Daraji…
The American ambassador, Zalmay Khalilzad, confirmed that meetings had taken place and said that Mr. Daraji had told representatives from the American Embassy and from the military that local residents would not challenge weapons searches by American soldiers.
Michael Yon says the only way to win is to take on the militias. The more I read, the more convinced I am that that ain’t happening. Not because it’d be too bloody but because you can’t make them fight if they don’t want to, and at this point they’d be crazy for wanting to. They’ve won the game; all they have to do is run out the clock. It’d be like a team up seven with the ball running pass plays at the end of the game. Even if we start arresting guys in black turbans, even if we arrest Sadr, what do they stand to gain by resisting? All they have to do is wait until we’re gone and then Maliki will let them out.
Exit question: Is this Sadr’s way of kneeling on the ball?
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Sure is; I bet that eventually though his offensive linemen are going to turn around and lop his head off. If Sadr can be publically proven to be weak, ineffective, and hiding in a spider hole from one night to the next ala Saddam, one of his lieutenants might decide its time for a promotion to JAM boss. Would Sadr’s replacement be any better/worse than him? Gotta ask Abu Musab al-Zarqawi’s replacement (who?) about that.
Sadr’s going to die - its just a question of who gets to him first.
blogRot on January 25, 2007 at 2:09 PM
Even if the sectarian violence is quelled, there is plenty to do in Baghdad that will takes years to accomplish. As soon as the militias are disarmed (either voluntarily or by force), the process of building a functioning safe society can be started and maintained and we aren’t going anywhere until that is accomplished. If the militias think otherwise, they are fooling themselves. I know that our military leaders understand this, and will not withdrawl or make deals that will effectively null our goal.
csdeven on January 25, 2007 at 2:13 PM
Riiiiiiggghhhtttt.
Editor on January 25, 2007 at 2:14 PM
It doesn’t mean that we can’t hope Mookie will pull a Tony Romo. Sorry… I thought we were doing that whole football analogy thing.
SailorDave on January 25, 2007 at 2:17 PM
I’m suprised that the CIA hasn’t taken him out. It’s not like there aren’t random Bombings going off around Iraq anyway.
I mean if life gives you lemons make lemonaide.
If people are blowing stuff up anyway, take the opportunity to take out a wanna-be-genocidal-warlord…
Makes sense to me. But then I’m somewhat cold blooded about killing “Evil Warlords bent on world domination that use religion as a recruiting tool to achieve their personal goals.”
Jones Zemkophill on January 25, 2007 at 2:20 PM
Yes. They understand partisan guerilla tactics in a way Joe MSNBC’Viewer in the states could never hope to. They’ve lived with them. It’s as much their culture as the superbowl is ours.
Examples would be statues dedicated to AK-47s and RPGs. (Which does NOT stand for Rocket-Propelled-Grenade, a pet peeve of mine)
Ringmaster on January 25, 2007 at 2:22 PM
Noooooooo, really??? I go back to the footage of our gun ships lighting up the night sky.
Kinda reminds me of Hammas in Lebenon asking for a cease fire from the Israelis…. just a chance to reload, regroup, and rearm. Then they celebrated “victory”.
I think the surge is working, keep the gloves off, pound them into dust!
PinkyBigglesworth on January 25, 2007 at 2:25 PM
You can bet your arse that he is kneeling on the ball. Why would he kneel on the ball? To keep from getting sacked and probably hurt.
The thing to do is take out the quarterback and watch to see if the rest of his team wants to keep on playing. If they do - take them out one by one.
Let them know we are in the two minute warning and we still could win.
Sorry, I got carried away.
OBX Pete on January 25, 2007 at 2:28 PM
Actually, it is kind of nice how RPG can mean BOTH a: Ruchnoy Protivotankoviy Granatomet
AND a
Rocket Propelled Grenade
and be accurate with either meaning.
Jones Zemkophill on January 25, 2007 at 2:29 PM
Here’s hoping that they don’t letup until Sadr is confirmed dead. He has too much blood on his hands.
CrazyFool on January 25, 2007 at 2:30 PM
If the Sadrists sit on thier hands for a while, waiting for a US withdrawal, then they risk losing. If the militas are quite, how much violence will there be in Iraq, and how much pressure for immediate US withdrawal?
Clark1 on January 25, 2007 at 2:38 PM
But baseball doesn’t have a clock.
Yeah, I know Congress is telling us there is a clock - it’s always Viet Nam o’clock in D.C.
And the other guys never quit when the “clock” gets to 0:00.
And the gentlemen of the press will not report activities after 0:00.
Stephen M on January 25, 2007 at 2:54 PM
We’ve got to martiulate the ball down field. Until they lay down their arms and surrender in the streets its still GAME ON!
journeyscarab on January 25, 2007 at 2:58 PM
Seems like too little too late. We are binging it to them now . We need to eliminate all the vigilante justice in Iraq. Why do they want to deal now all of a sudden. The US givith the US taketh away. They want jobs and construction projects and police stations! We have a list of prerequisites and criteria that need to be met first. As far as their demands go , thats laughable we don’t deal with guys wearing black hats!
sonnyspats1 on January 25, 2007 at 3:04 PM
Yes, I’ll bet he’s pulling a Roger Staubach, with a 2 minute warning.
sonnyspats1 on January 25, 2007 at 3:11 PM
That olive branch was broken after the death of the first US soldier at their hands. We need to make an example of these people, starting with Sadr.
It should not matter if they want to fight or not. It is too late. If we know who they are, they should be rounded up and punished until there is no one left to wait out the clock. Start with the leaders and work our way down.
jman on January 25, 2007 at 3:19 PM
I dunno. Is a modified warlord better than just blowing him up and getting lord-knows-what to replace him?
johnnyU on January 25, 2007 at 3:31 PM
You assume he has the ball. He’s just trying to play prevent (victory) defense.
steveegg on January 25, 2007 at 3:32 PM
Exit question: Is this Sadr’s way of kneeling on the ball?
Who cares? I mean, you ask that as though its a bad thing. If Baghdad’s mean streets look nicer to American media, Bush buys time and good will for our efforts in Iraq. At that same time, the more people get to see what “normal”, i.e. non explosive, life looks and feels like, the less inclined they may be to return to the bad old days.
Fred on January 25, 2007 at 3:33 PM
If we keep killing the new warlords as they replace the old ones, how long do you think this will last? I think most of the would be leaders do not want to be martyrs themselves, preferring to send their followers to do this type of work.
jman on January 25, 2007 at 3:37 PM
Mookie doesn’t want to get his butt kicked by the U.S. Army again like he did back in ‘04. Why bother? All he’s gotta do is wait for us to pull a “Spain” and elect a socialist president in ‘08. As soon as Hillary pulls us out, Mookie’s mahdi militia makes it’s move on Maliki. Say THAT five times fast!
Tony737 on January 25, 2007 at 3:47 PM
I think it’s not football but gopher-whomp, and whoever screams jihad loudest runs the herd. If Sadr pulls back, some other turbin will pop up.
laelaps on January 25, 2007 at 4:17 PM
A note to Sunni’s in Iraq…now is a good time to seek asylum in Kuwait or Saudi Arabia, or Jordan. The Shia’s will pull back and wait patiently. Once the world’s eyes are looking the other way, they will commence with their version of ethnic cleansing. Or hell, go north and join the Kurds…just leave..
ritethinker on January 25, 2007 at 8:15 PM
DO NOT GET SUCKERED BY THIS!!! arabs are two-faced stinking weasels who will offer you an olive branch and prostrate themselves before you on one hand while they are carrying the dagger that will go in your back in the other… someone put a bullet between sadr’s eyes right now… he will be a martyr, but that will only last about 2 months and people will forget who he was and then crumble…
Asmodeus on January 25, 2007 at 9:36 PM
…or Reproduction Prevention Glasses…
91Veteran on January 25, 2007 at 10:23 PM
Given his (and his militia’s) lack of discipline, if they aren’t serious about this affair, they won’t be able to resist attacking in a very short period of time.
Natrium on January 25, 2007 at 11:48 PM
Allah, my take after all the years of reading I’ve done on these Sunni-
ShitsShites is that they can’t be trusted. Their culture is you’re my friend one day my enemy the next. Iran has been funding Sadr and what’s to say they will stop. Just ask Israel about the Hezzies. You’re right saying that Mookie is “keening the ball.” He had his biggest triump in 2003 when he walked free from the Mosque he was in when he was a breath away from death.He’s a weasle of a scumbag like most of them and their end game is control of the precious resourse of oil. It’s a big payday and your’re right: Time is on their side and he knows it. The Sunnis and the Shia are going to have to have one hell-of-a- cumbya moment if anyone thinks THEY are going to do a Rodney King deal of “can’t we all just get along.”
I am on the edge of my seat just waiting to see how Petraeus is going to play this one out. However he does it and turns Bahgdad into a rosey situation, they will put HIS statute where Sadaams was torn down. He would deserve it.
auspatriotman on January 26, 2007 at 12:54 AM
The only olive branch I want to see is the one stuck in his butt after we kill him….
Tim Burton on January 26, 2007 at 2:47 PM