Al-Sadr Blames U.S. For Iraq's Woes

Militant Shiite Cleric Calls For Nationwide Protest; 20 Militants Reportedly Killed In Air Strike

(CBS/AP)  Al-Sadr, whose Mahdi Army militiamen fought U.S. troops in 2004 but have generally cooperated with an ongoing U.S.-Iraqi security push in Baghdad, blamed the presence of U.S. forces in Iraq for the rising violence, lack of services and sectarian bloodshed.

“You, oppressed people of Iraq, let the entire world hear your voice that you reject occupation, destruction and terrorism,” he said in calling for the April 9 demonstration.

“Fly Iraqi flags atop homes, apartment buildings and government departments to show the sovereignty and independence of Iraq, and that you reject the presence of American flags and those of other nations occupying our beloved Iraq. Keep them there until they leave our land,” he said.

Also on Friday, coalition forces detained a suspect who the U.S. military said was linked to networks bringing sophisticated roadside bombs into Iraq.

The suspect, who was detained during a raid in the Shiite militia stronghold of Sadr City — the radical cleric's stronghold — was believed to be tied to networks bringing the weapons known as explosively formed projectiles, or EFPs, into Iraq, the military said.

It did not identify the suspect or the groups he was accused of having ties to, but the U.S. military has asserted in recent months that Iran's Revolutionary Guards and Quds force have been providing Shiite militias with weapons and parts for sophisticated armor-piercing bombs. The EFPs are responsible for the deaths of more than 170 American and coalition soldiers since mid-2004, the military says.

The U.S. military also said a soldier was killed and another was wounded Thursday during a patrol in southern Baghdad, raising to at least 3,245 the number of U.S. service members who have died since the war began in 2003, according to an AP count.

Local officials in Baghdad said U.S. airstrikes targeting a Shiite militant base on the city's eastern outskirts killed 20 suspected fighters and wounded 14 militants, along with seven civilians in neighboring houses. The U.S. military said it was looking into the report.

Thursday's deadliest bombing was in Shaab, a predominantly Shiite neighborhood in northeastern Baghdad, where two suicide attackers wearing explosives blew themselves up in the Shalal market, which was crowded with shoppers seeking provisions on the eve of the Muslim day of rest and prayer. At least 82 people were killed and 102 were wounded, police and hospital officials said.

The Imam Ali hospital in nearby Sadr City was packed with the wounded on Friday, with two children lying in one bed, according to AP Television News video.

The Shaab neighborhood was one of the first that U.S. and Iraqi forces tackled when the security crackdown for which President Bush has committed nearly 30,000 additional troops to dampen what had become uncontrollable violence in the capital. It also was the scene of a bombing nearly two weeks ago in which officials said a car bomber used children as decoys to get near the busy complex of shops and street vendors.

That attack occurred about two hours after three suicide car bombers struck a market in Khalis, a mainly Shiite town 50 miles north of the capital.

The drivers of the three suicide vehicle bombs, including an explosives-packed ambulance, detonated in a market that was especially crowded because government flour rations had just arrived for the first time in six months, TV stations reported. At least 43 people were killed and 86 wounded, police said.

The combined toll from the two bombings was at least 125 people killed and more than 150 wounded in one of Iraq's deadliest days in years.

The situation remained tense in Tal Afar, a religiously mixed Turkomen city of more than 200,000 people.

“Now the Sunnis are too afraid to cross Shiite areas and vice versa,” said Mohammed Kamal, a 35-year-old Sunni teacher in the northwestern city. “Dead bodies are still being kept at the hospital because their relatives are too afraid to bury them in the cemetery because they would have to cross Shiite areas.”

Provincial police chief Brig. Abdul-Karim al-Jibouri said 18 policemen suspected in the case were back in custody, a day after authorities said they had been released.

The U.S. military said it was providing meals, water, shelter and medical supplies to help residents who had been displaced by the bombing.

[toolmangler-2009]

TooManglers says : When we LEAVE it will be butchery

Posted by mh4cbs1

I see your brilliant plan, 'When all else fails, 'obfuscate' or in other words "If you can't dazzle them with daring-do, baffle them with B.S. Read my entire post (both of them) and use 'that' to show my erroneous thought processes.

[randalds]

The US supports brutal dictators (like we supported and armed Saddam) all overthe world. Americans have such short memories, and are so easily duped by the likes of this fascist Cheney and Bush.

Posted by mh4cbs1 at 01:21 AM : Mar 31, 2007

Like we are doing with Musharraf in Pakistan right now. One more country on it's way to becoming a hater of America because of the right wing stupidity of those like Bush and Cheney.

[mh4cbs1]

Did you know that it was our CIA that overthrew democratically elected President Mossadegh, installed the brutal dictator, the Shah. His brutality led to the 1979 revolution by the Isamic fundamentalists. What sould have happened if we had worked peacefully with Mossadegh instead of sponsoring a coup.

The US supports brutal dictators (like we supported and armed Saddam) all overthe world. Americans have such short memories, and are so easily duped by the likes of this fascist Cheney and Bush.

[randalds]

"Al-Sadr Blames U.S. For Iraq's Woes"

Well DUH! Of course the bulk of the problems going on in Iraq right now are the US's fault! Or rather more on point, Bush and Cheney's fault. When these two idiotic world conquer want to be's launched this war of choice for profit, they tore open a centuries old wound and poured dirt on it. They've done nothing more then create one huge infection in a very dangerous part of the world! Because of their greed (Cheney) and stupidity (Bush) they've opened the entire region to the very real possibility of an out of control wildfire of a civil war. One that could cost millions of lives. To say nothing about that it will drive up oil so high the average American will need to work three jobs just to pay for the $20 a gallon gas.

[mh4cbs1]

TooManglers says : When we LEAVE it will be butchery.

Say what?!? It is butchery ever since Bush Invaded based on his LIES (fake WMDs, fake aluminum tubes, fake uranium from Niger, fake Al Quaeda links to Saddam, fake bio-mobile labs, fake NEI suammary reports, fake "intelligence sources" like curveball...)

3,200 US troops have been "butchered". a few hundred thousand Iraqis have been "butchered" by Bush's needless horrific War.

We butchered a few million in Vietnam - and when we left, guess what, the butchering in Vietnam ended. And it was the US that destabalized the region allowing Pol Pot to murder a few more million (which the Vietnamese finally stopped).

[radiob-2009]

ToolMangler Very articulate post.

[toolmangler-2009]

Many books and articles have been written on this subject The most telling of them are The Orwellian prophesies, the Prophecies of Nostradamus, The books of Revelation,Isaiah, Daniel and others have all foretold of what globalization will look like in the not too distant future. Secular infighting and war on opposing viewpoints or politics will result with one ideological/political faction or another controlling the world and imposing its particular form of attempted mind/thought control on the rest of us. The Internet as it is, if unhampered will result in the total end of hypocracy in government. But before that happens Orwell will be proved right and the world will go through Big Brotherism in several forms. Right now whomever controls the Internet can control the world. But it will not last because freedom of knowledge will finally hold sway and mankind will benefit. What amazes me is that the world is ignoring the
fact that 95% of the conflicts going on right now are fueled by poverty fired by religious zealots and inflicted anywhere free thought has a foothold. I was born prior to WWII and know that there is a God. I am now seeing the prophecies unfold and there is not a thing anyone can do to stop them. The only thing we can do is mitigate the effects.

[zootallures2]

Dear Muqtada al-Sadr,

They say don't wake up a sleeping Giant and let sleeping dogs lie, 911 woke the U.S. up, Saddam splashed cold water in its face, your militia threw sand in its face and Iran has made the Giant angry, deal with the consequences! Like the British say, who is going to tie down Gulliver?!! Gulliver is wide awake and running loose! LOL
Posted by tbweb at 06:24 PM : Mar 30, 2007

Easter Island.... they have giants too.

[toolmangler-2009]

Of course he wants America to leave. When we are gone it will be butchery, errr... (business) as usual.The only way the Islamist can fullfil their dream of a totally Muslim world is to have a unchallenged base of operation. Control of the mideast oil reserves is dependant on the ability to totally destroy them. and that ability would give them autonomy (in their minds). The Imams and Ayatollahs would then have free reign to start controlling the world country by country. Islam will not tolerate any form of lifestyle but its own and it will destroy anything that threatens its existence. Truth is the biggest threat to Islam. Free internet spreads the truth although many people see the truth through prejudiced eyes sooner or later it 'will' win. I can live with the Muslims but they can't live with me. I must be muslim or die in their way of thinking.

[radiob-2009]

J I do not know, 22mths. of Bush left and the crop of candiates we have now are not that grand I like Clark but he does not have a chance of winning.

[j-whitman]

Radio, No I haven't noticed. Been busy doing other things...

It's amazing anyone is still supporting Bush, with all the news... How on Earth can anyone with any honor can still support him ??

[radiob-2009]

J not much just reading the news. It is amazing at all of the posts that have disappeared on various stories.Have you encountered it happening to you?

[tbweb]

Dear Muqtada al-Sadr,

They say don't wake up a sleeping Giant and let sleeping dogs lie, 911 woke the U.S. up, Saddam splashed cold water in its face, your militia threw sand in its face and Iran has made the Giant angry, deal with the consequences! Like the British say, who is going to tie down Gulliver?!! Gulliver is wide awake and running loose! LOL

[j-whitman]

Hey Radio,, What's up ?? Bush will continue to sell out our nation to him..... Now our military's uniforms & vehicles are being made in Iraq ---- George is his grandfather re-doux

[radiob-2009]

The Saudi King, Bush's handholding family friend Blames us for Iraq failure, occupation & mess... An illegal War........
Posted by j-whitman

The king must have forgotten about Bandahar giving all that advice.

[j-whitman]

The Saudi King, Bush's handholding family friend Blames us for Iraq failure, occupation & mess... An illegal War........

[j-whitman]

Lars,,,, You're only 19 -- Enlist & serve your country

[lars008-2009]

the war is legal

the resumption of hostilities was only a matter of time since iraq broke the ceasefire agreement.....

blame saddam for iraq%u2026%u2026. Even clintoon and the dems wanted the resumption of hostilities back in 1998

"Saddam Hussein has been engaged in the development of weapons of mass destruction technology which is a threat to countries in the region and he has made a mockery of the weapons inspection process." - Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D, CA), Dec. 16, 1998

"One way or the other, we are determined to deny Iraq the capacity to develop weapons of mass destruction and the missiles to deliver them. That is our bottom line." - President Clinton, Feb. 4, 1998

"If Saddam rejects peace and we have to use force, our purpose is clear. We want to seriously diminish the threat posed by Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program." - President Bill Clinton, Feb. 17, 1998

[finewoven]

How nonsensical your point is; no better than Sadr%u2019s comments. This commentary is part and parcel of a blame mentality, commonly used by cowards and whiners. Not cowards who are defined as not willing to fight . . . no cowards that blow up their own people and then blame others for their plight. [Their] God ignores them since they murder innocents in the name of their religion of hatred. The Bush administration and now Mr. Gulliani suggest that the Iraqi people are responsible for 9/11, and that we are there because we don%u2019t want to fight them here. This when it has been proven that there is no nexus between 9/11 and the Iraqi invasion. And the worse part about it is, if we pull out now, all our hard work will be replaced by fanatical opinions that they (the cowards) won. This culture of blame will continue, except at some point they will blame America for pulling out too early before any stability came about. They, like some in the Bush administration, live in a state of denial%u2014not willing to take responsibility for their choices and actions. They conveniently forget what they previously said and did to make the situation like it is, and repeatedly change their story to accommodate their newfound opinions. The days of Republican leadership of the Lincoln-noir has been replaced by party incoherence and pithy excuses for bad decisions.

[lars008-2009]

I NO LONGER SUPPORT THE OCCUPATION

The real %u201Coccupation%u201D
1400 years of muslim occupation

muslims, whose home is Arabia, have occupied and brutalized for centuries.

During that time, non muslims have...

been murdered en masse
had their land stolen
their holy places destroyed and desecrated
been sold into slavery
their women raped
their children butchered


and the arabs have the nerve to whine about "occupation" when non muslims fight back

I NO LONGER SUPPORT MUSLIM OCCUPATION