Jan

19

Madhi Army On The Run

January 19, 2007 | By Sniper One |

The Bush plan is already showing results. Small results, but victories none the less. Each militia member that puts down his arms, even for a few hours, allows a more peaceful Iraq to emerge. The more peace, the less need for the militias in the first place.

Hopefully this will provide a chance for peace to find good ground in Iraq and take root. All the people need is a the chance to plant a seed of faith in the Iraqi Security Forces, and peace will follow.

It’s much, much too soon to start uncorking champagne, but it’s a baby step, or a stumble, in the right direction.

BAGHDAD — Mahdi Army fighters said yesterday they were under siege in their Sadr City stronghold as U.S. and Iraqi troops killed or seized key commanders in nighttime raids. Two commanders of the Shi’ite militia said Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has stopped protecting the group under pressure from Washington and threats from Sunni Muslim Arab governments.

The commanders’ accounts of a growing siege mentality inside the organization could represent a tactical and propaganda feint, but there was mounting evidence the militia was increasingly off balance and had ordered its gunmen to melt into the population. To avoid capture, commanders report no longer using cell phones and fighters are removing their black uniforms and hiding their weapons during the day.

Violence continued in Baghdad yesterday, claiming 59 lives, including 10 from a triple car bombing at a vegetable market.

An al Qaeda-linked coalition of Iraqi Sunni insurgents claimed responsibility for an attack on a convoy of the Washington-based National Democratic Institute. The attack Wednesday killed Andrea Parhamovich, 28, of Perry, Ohio, and three security contractors from Hungary, Croatia and Iraq.

During much of his nearly eight months in office, Mr. al-Maliki has blocked or ordered an end to many U.S.-led operations against the Mahdi Army, which is run by radical Shi’ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, the prime minister’s key political backer. But he reportedly had a change of heart in late November while going into a meeting in Jordan with President Bush.

Yesterday, Mr. al-Maliki said the U.S. plan to send more troops into Baghdad could “drastically improve” the situation there, but complained that Washington has not provided Iraqi forces with adequate equipment, the Italian daily Corriere della Sera reported.

This doesn’t look like sending more troops to the meat grinder so far, however it’s like the weather… give it five minutes it will change.

 

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Filed Under: Global War On Terror, Muqtada al-Sadr, News of the Day, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Prime minister Nouri al-Maliki

  • Blogger News Network » Senator Chuck Hagel and the War On Terror pinged this post.
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    2 Comments so far

    1. Blogger News Network » Senator Chuck Hagel and the War On Terror on January 27, 2007 11:30

      [...] Jan 19th: Mahdi Army On The Run [...]

    2. “7.62mm Justice” ™ » Sen. Chuck Hagel (Weekly BNN Post) on January 27, 2007 11:31

      [...] Jan 19th: Mahdi Army On The Run [...]

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