Baghdad's Mahdi Army Stronghold Brimming With Confidence After Fight

[Purveyor]

Apr 02, 2008 10:09 EST

Black banners announcing the deaths of Mahdi Army fighters plaster the streets. Scores of Shiite militiamen gather at the funeral of a fallen comrade as a U.S. helicopter gunship hovers above.

The Baghdad district of Sadr City bears the scars of recent fighting, but those loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr are showing a renewed confidence after his Madhi Army militiamen rose up against an Iraqi government crackdown last week in the southern city of Basra.

Both sides claimed successes: Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki says that Iraqi forces have broken control of Shiite gangs in Basra, and the supporters of the radical cleric al-Sadr boast that they humbled the government's plans to take full control of the city.

But in Sadr City — the main Baghdad stronghold for the Mahdi Army — there was little regard for the government assertions. Such bravado could lead al-Sadr and his backers to take even bolder steps to leverage concessions from Iraq's U.S.-backed leadership.

The fighting, which began in Basra but soon spread to Baghdad and elsewhere, ended when al-Sadr issued a statement Sunday calling his militiamen off the streets. He also demanded the freeing of security detainees not formally charged and a halt to the arrests of his supporters — two issues that led to the latest violence.

A top Mahdi Army commander, speaking on condition of anonymity because he feared reprisals from the government forces, claimed al-Sadr's forces interpret the outcome in their favor. But Iraqi forces also expanded their presence in Basra on Wednesday by moving into central districts and setting up checkpoints.

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http://wiredispatch.com/news/?id=111442

[Supersedeas]

1. but but but Gates believes in appearances

[Igel]

2. So does as-Sadr.

Abdul-Zahra understands the culture. He knows how to interpret the divergent interpretations and why they're necessary, and if he's a journalist he knows how to interpret facts.

People knew a long time ago that the police in Basra and Sadr City, as well as many army units, had a not insignificant number of Sadr acolytes. Didn't mean they didn't feign shock and surprise--or treat as a revelation--when some of them took up arms for Sadr's side. The old news is new news, it seems, when really it's the same news.

Then people look at journalists. Nobody would dream of believing an Armed Forces correspondent with the rank of lieutenant if they said something positive about the US. It's a given; you can't trust them. But when it comes to reporters, the assumption is apparently that Sadr's guys are too stupid to think, "Gee, if I get a job as a stringer, since there are no or nearly no Western reporters on the ground, and those few have barely an inkling as to any culture outside their own, I have a monopoly not only on the facts, but on the interpretation."