Sadr ties involvement in Iraq poll to exodus of foreign troops

[maddezmom]

NAJAF, Iraq (AFP) - Iraq (news - web sites)'s radical Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr tied his involvement in the country's January 30 general election to the departure of foreign forces, dominated by more than 130,000 Americans.


"I am asking our religious heads and our leaders to obtain from the occupier and his unjust agents the guarantee of an immediate departure of their troops after the elections, or of a timetable for departure," Sadr's office said in a statement published in the holy city of Najaf.


"Otherwise, our participation (in the elections) will be unlikely," the statement added Tuesday.


No member of Sadr's movement, which earlier was in bloody conflict with US troops, features on the main Shiite list submitted for candidate registration with the blessing of Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, the most respected religious leader among Iraq's majority population.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1515&ncid=1515&e=7&u=/afp/20041214/wl_mideast_afp/iraqvoteshiitessadr_041214124800

[bemildred]

1. I've been waiting for that.

The "firebrand radical cleric" actually seems fairly sedate here.

[maddezmom]

2. honest request

only problem: there is no plan to leave.

[Guarionex]

3. yeah, really...

i kinda liked firebrand Sadr, as opposed to diplomatic Sadr...

but don't worry...Sistani is counting on the democratic process to get Shiite power...if Americans THINK they are gonna stay after the new government takes power, they will soon find Sistani is not so moderate as he seems...when he's had to, he's thrown thousands of supporters into the streets, and the American army has never dared shoot on his supporters...they know better.

Patience everyone....after the elections, the Americans will leave...

[psychopomp]

5. al-Sistani reined him in

My question is, did this statement have approval of al-Sistani?

[bemildred]

7. Yes, I know. The question is whether he will stay "reined in".

He has been complaining (through "spokesmen") for some time about
the treatment of his people, the Fallujah debacle, the occupation,
the elections, and so on, but has not been much of a "firebrand".

Your question is rather a good one, and I wish I knew the answer.

[maddezmom]

4. Mousa Jabar, killed in drive-by shooting

Also in Baghdad, unidentified gunmen shot to death Mousa Jabar, a commander in the al-Mahdi army of firebrand anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, officials said. Jabar was killed in a drive-by shooting in Baghdad's Sadr City, a stronghold of the militia group.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=540&ncid=736&e=1&u=/ap/20041214/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq

[bemildred]

6. "firebrand anti-U.S. cleric"

There it is again.

[maddezmom]

8. another version

In Baghdad's Sadr City, gunmen shot to death Mousa Jabar, a commander in the al-Mahdi army of anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Gunmen in the northern city of Mosul killed Dr. Sinan Salem Salo, a provincial council member.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=540&ncid=736&e=2&u=/ap/20041214/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_developments

[bemildred]

9. I may sound odd, but it reminds me of Homer,

like in the Oddysey, where all these repetitious tags are applied
to things as a mnemonic device and to fill out the meter in the verse.
Our news media seem to feel the same need to keep us informed as to
who the players are and what role they have been assigned in the drama.

[NNN0LHI]

10. I have a question

Wasn't this fellow supposed to be dead or captured (for murder) over 6 months ago according to our Crackhead In Chief? The Bushies were calling him a terrorist too. What happened? Has all been forgiven or something?

Don