Iraq's Al-Sadr Harbors Ambitious Plans

[frogcycle]

Source: Associated Press

By HAMZA HENDAWI and QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA
Associated Press Writers

BAGHDAD (AP) -- From hiding, possibly in Iran, U.S. nemesis and radical anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr is believed to be honing plans to sweep into the power vacuum made all the more intense by news that his chief Shiite rival has lung cancer. And he's betting the U.S. won't keep its troops in Iraq much longer.

Al-Sadr aides and loyal lawmakers have told The Associated Press the cleric's ambitions mean he will avoid taking on the Americans militarily as he did in 2004, when his Mahdi Army militia fought U.S. forces to a standstill.

Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/IRAQ_AL_SADRS_PLANS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2007-05-22-14-59-27

[Kagemusha]

1. Fear not! Our hero, President Bush, is not for withdrawing.

So Sadr's plans shall be thwarted! :sarcasm:

[acmavm]

2. Just what the world needs, a whackjob like al Sadr running things and

his followers believing that he is their messiah.

Well george, it's not like people didn't try to warn you that all you'd end up with is violence, civil war, and a religious theocracy.

And people say the neocons are smart. :sarcasm:

[madeline_con]

4. "... violence, civil war, and a religious theocracy."

OH! You're talking about IRAQ! My bad!

[frogcycle]

3. we did Iran a huge favor

the Saudis are going to hate us so much for this that they will just cut off oil and sell it to China. The Europeans hate us, the South Americans hate us... Russia is reverting to the Cold War posture...

ol' georgy suuuuure managed to outdo himself - all he'd managed to screw up before was a couple of oil companies and the state of texas - chump change. Now he's made his indelible mark on the world for sure. Right up there with Ghengis Khan, Attila the Hun, Hitler... someone who actually changed the course of world history. And we thought the USA was forever! Ha! not with ol' georgy around.

Hell, he even managed to re-start the Cold War! Even undid ol' ronnies supposed heroics.

[acmavm]

6. Yep. george and the neocons have managed to turn our country into

an international pariah. Universally hated, universally disrespected, universally mistrusted.

[krkaufman]

8. Yep, the relative peace and prosperity of the '90s seems a long way off.

(Not that some of that prosperity didn't come at the suffering of others, but ...)

[MrPrax]

5. Holy Cow! I'm Breathless, Batman n/t

[rpannier]

7. Neverfear...Commander Guy is on the job

He'll use his special powers to thwart Muqtada al-Sadr -- like invade Iran.