Al-Sadr Orders Militia To Disarm

Iraqi Shiite Cleric Will Keep Elite Force Until U.S. Troop Withdrawal Timetable Enacted

(CBS/ AP)  Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr ordered most of his militiamen to disarm but said Friday he will maintain elite fighting units to resist the Americans if a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops is not established.

Also Friday, Iraqi police say at least 16 people have been killed and 20 wounded when a car bomb struck a market in the northern city of Tal Afar.

A senior police official in the nearby city of Mosul says the car was parked when it exploded by the market, crowded with shoppers.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to release the information. The bombing is the latest in a series of deadly attacks by suspected insurgents seeking to chip away at recent security gains.

Al-Sadr's statement - read to worshippers during Friday prayers in Baghdad's former militia stronghold of Sadr City - is in line with details revealed earlier this week and appears to be an extension of plans he announced in June aimed at asserting more control over the militia.

"Weapons are to be exclusively in the hands of one group, the resistance group," while another group called Momahidoun is to focus on social, religious and community work, Sadrist cleric Mudhafar al-Moussawi said.

He said the announcement was particularly aimed at members of al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia, which has been blamed for some of the worst violence against American troops and rival Sunni Arabs.

Thousands of worshippers streamed out into the streets after the Islamic service, burning an American flag and shouting: "No, no to America. No, no to occupation."

The cleric has linked the reorganization of the Mahdi Army to U.S.-Iraqi negotiations over a long-term agreement that would extend the American presence in Iraq after a U.N. mandate expires at the end of the year. Al-Sadr and his followers want the deal to include a timeframe for an American withdrawal and have warned they may not suspend operations without such a clause.

Several cease-fires by al-Sadr have been key to a sharp decline in violence over the past year, along with a Sunni revolt against al Qaeda in Iraq and a U.S. troop buildup. But American officials still consider his militiamen a threat and have backed the Iraqi military in operations to try to oust them from their power bases in Baghdad and elsewhere in Iraq.

The fighting cells will be "small and limited" and will only launch attacks under direct orders from al-Sadr in case of "dire necessity," the cleric's spokesman Sheik Salah al-Obeidi told The Associated Press in the holy city of Najaf.

He also ruled out attacks on Iraqis and claimed Mahdi Army members had shown interest in making the program a success.

"Now our stance is to watch the political developments and the security agreement. We will see if there will be a withdrawal timetable or not. We will wait for the results. These cells have not yet conducted any operations," he added.

Two Iraqi officials close to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki have said government and U.S. negotiators are near an agreement on all American combat troops leaving Iraq by October 2010, with the last soldiers out three years after that. The officials all spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks are ongoing.

U.S. officials, however, insisted no dates had been agreed.

"It's premature to say what the aspiration goals and time horizons are going to be," and a date for troop withdrawals will not be "plucked out of thin air," White House press secretary Dana Perino said, speaking to reporters in Beijing on Friday where U.S. President George W. Bush is attending the Olympics.

Throughout the conflict, Mr. Bush steadfastly refused to accept any timetable for bringing U.S. troops home. Last month, however, Mr. Bush and al-Maliki agreed to set a "general time horizon" for ending the U.S. mission.

Both Iraqi and American officials agreed that the deal is not final and that a major unresolved issue is the U.S. demand for immunity for U.S. soldiers from prosecution under Iraqi law.

In northern Iraq, Kurdish leader Massoud al-Barzani visited the disputed city of Kirkuk and called for rival Kurds, Turkomen and Sunni Arabs "to have an open dialogue" to resolve their disagreement over sharing control of the oil-rich city.

His appeal came two days after the issue blocked passage of a provincial elections law, casting doubt whether U.S.-backed balloting can be held this year in the country's 18 provinces.

The bill failed because the sides were unable to come to terms on a power-sharing deal for the multiethnic region around the city of Kirkuk, the center of Iraq's northern oil fields.

Kurds consider Kirkuk their ancestral capital and want to incorporate it into their self-ruled region in the north. Most Arabs and Turkomen want Kirkuk to remain under central government control.

In Washington, the State Department expressed irritation that the parliament had gone into summer recess without having reached a compromise on the matter.

"The status of Kirkuk is indeed a sensitive issue that needs to be addressed in a serious fashion, but it is an issue that cannot be solved through the legislative mechanism of the election law," spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos said. "The election law should not be held hostage to that problem."

[beboldin09]

What blind and ignorant fools like this moron fail to see, is that removing Saddam Hussein, turned Iran into a regional power house.
posted by hungry1968

Hey cry baby defeatest hungry1968, according to your Messiah Obama, Iran is just a "tiny country" and they pose no serious threat.

Oh wait a minute....he made that comment one day...and that''s right, he flip flopped the next calling Iran a threat.

You liberals are beyond dumb.

[gigantorx-2009]

Al-Sadr smartly gave a general cease-fire because of the US commitment to stay, building additional forces, build-up Iraqi forces and become more aggressive. He saw what was coming and smartly put his head down attempted to wait it out. Without the build up of both forces (US, IA) and the change in strategy, he would have not given his cease-fire, period. His bid to wait the storm out failed in the end because Maliki confronted Al-Sadr and defeated him in Basra, Sadr City, Amara and where ever else his gutted JAM exists. He has no choice but to disband his militia because he really doesn''t have one anymore. Horrendous casualties, surrenders, and those just laying down their arms and walking away have gutted the JAM militias. This is all bluster in an attempt for him to save face, he knows the Provincial Elections are coming in December, and if he doesn''t do something now he will be forever marginalized.

[gigantorx-2009]

THAT is why the violence has reduced, not because of some idiot named BUSH and his ''''surge'''' Muqtada al-Sadr is the one who gets the credit 100%.

Some of he posters attempts to further bury their heads in the sand and refuse to accept reality is funny. But you missed a big point, which isn''t surprising. Both the Awakening in Anbar and the JAM militia''s having a cease-fire were largely, if not direct a result of the additional 30,000 US troops, the new strategy which was the most important part, and the "2nd Surge" which was the accelerated build-up, equipping and training of the Iraqi forces.

The Awakening would not have been sustained if the US had signaled and voted that it would be leaving no matter what. Those that rose up and cooperated against Al-Quida would have been slaughtered, period. US presence and fostering of the movement allowed the protection, training, organization and intelligence gathering necessary to sustain the movement and eventually defeat AQI.

[terrorislamw]

FASCIST NAZI TERRORISLAM IS THE PROBLEM,,,

DEMONIC-RAT HUSSEIN IS NOT THE SOLUTION,,,

EXPOSE HUSSEIN
http://www.exposeobama.com/obamaislam.html

www.obamatruth.org

www.stop-obama.org

A Video Portrait Of Barack Hussein Obama
http://www.eyeblast.tv/public/video.aspx?RsrcID=2036

The Barack Obama Test
http://www.americanthinker.com/2007/02/the_barack_obama_test.html

Obama-Odinga-Rezko-Ayers-Auchi-Saddam Hussein
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIe4d9Nmg9k

Raila Odinga was also financially backed by Muammar al-Gaddafi. Raila Odinga is Obama''s cousin:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/717...

Why does Raila Odinga use Obama''s exact same campaign slogan: CHANGE....Vote for CHANGE: Look at his website:
http://www.raila07.com/

IMPEACH HUSSEIN NOW,,,

SIGN THE PETITION

Impeach, expel Barack Obama
http://obamaimpeachment.org

HUSSEIN IS NO COMMANDER IN CHIEF,,, lol

McCain Tops Obama in Commander-in-Chief Test; Stays Competitive on Iraq

Poll Finds 72 Percent of Americans Say McCain Would be Good Commander-in-Chief
http://abcnews.go.com/PollingUnit/Politics/Story?id=5370538&page=1

Obama: Commander-in-(mis)chief?
http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/imperium/2008/07/200872011345855233.html

[nothappyatall]

Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr ordered most of his militiamen to disarm but said Friday he will maintain elite fighting units to resist the Americans if a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops is not established.

THAT is why the violence has reduced, not because of some idiot named BUSH and his ''surge'' Muqtada al-Sadr is the one who gets the credit 100%.

[hungry1968]

That''''s why there''''s not agreed date on Americans leaving Iraq, got it? And who knows if al-Sadr will still be alive when we do...

Like the US is stupid enough to leave and and let Iraqi''''s be shuttled under Sharia law.

Posted by WellHell3 at 04:17 PM : Aug 09, 2008





Why isn''t McSame complaining like Obama is about this proposed agreement?

Bush has only a few short months left (mercifully) - he SHOULD NOT be negotiating anything and signing agreements binding our nation to other nations with legal contracts, if he''s not going to be the one stuck with these agreements.

He''s setting policy for the next president - hasn''t he done enough damage already?

And why isn''t McCain complaining about this? Is it because he likes and agrees with Bush''s policies, AS USUAL?

[hungry1968]

One question for Sadr. Why was it that during Saddam''''s rule, all ****** were starving, but Sadr''''s problem was getting too fat?

Posted by downsteamjim at 12:26 PM : Aug 09, 2008





The Iraqi''s food shortage problem didn''t start until March 2003.

That''s when those "with guns" (militias, insurgents, terrorists) were able to get what they needed such as food and water, and those "without guns" (civilians mostly) were forced to either starve to death or become refugees.

[hungry1968]

The war was already won a long time ago. And, the situation in Iraq improves everyday. The great thing about this situation is that Iraq no longer has Hussein, and Iraq''''s status in the world will greatly improve over time.

Posted by poopus123 at 07:29 AM : Aug 09, 2008





What blind and ignorant fools like this moron fail to see, is that removing Saddam Hussein, turned Iran into a regional power house. And not only that, but that increase in stature has allowed Iran to negotiate new deals with Russia, China, and North Korea to become not just a regional power house, but a NUCLEAR ARMED regional powerhouse.

Too bad world - The neo cons won, and the rest of us all lost.

[wellhell3]

It looks like Al-Sadr is a more intelligent leader that our POTUS. He has managed to keep a cease fire for year and violence has dropped dramatically. His reward will be us leave a new Shia State for him to control.

Bravo, Mission Accomplished on the tax payers dime.


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Posted by curse914 at 09:34 AM : Aug 09, 2008

That''s why there''s not agreed date on Americans leaving Iraq, got it? And who knows if al-Sadr will still be alive when we do...

Like the US is stupid enough to leave and and let Iraqi''s be shuttled under Sharia law.

[downsteamjim]

One question for Sadr. Why was it that during Saddam''s rule, all ****** were starving, but Sadr''s problem was getting too fat?

[latrocinor-2009]

The Dog and the Shadow

It happened that a dog had got a piece of meat and was carrying it home in his mouth to eat it in peace.

Now on his way home he had to cross a plank lying across a running brook. As he crossed, he looked down and saw his own shadow reflected in the water beneath. Thinking it was another dog with another piece of meat, he made up his mind to have that also. So he made a snap at the shadow in the water, but as he opened his mouth the piece of meat fell out, dropped into the water and was never seen more.

Beware lest you lose the substance
by grasping at the shadow.

[latrocinor-2009]

Why is this clown still alive?

Posted by bigwhtpony
.......
....
..

If we can convince him to join the national government in Iraq it would help a lot. If we kill him it''s called shooting ourselves in the foot.

We can take him out any time but it''s best to get him to start acting like an Iraqi rather than a hater.

[poopus123]

Be patient - soon you''''ll have Obama and a perfect world.




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by Latrocinor

The problem with SKYK, and all the other dummy liberals on here, is that he/she comes from a long line of dummy liberals that have been consistently WRONG with every agenda they''ve tried to support against Bush for the last few years.

The war was already won a long time ago. And, the situation in Iraq improves everyday. The great thing about this situation is that Iraq no longer has Hussein, and Iraq''s status in the world will greatly improve over time.

We now have a new ally in the middle east and in time, a new ally that we can share ideas and partnerships that will benefit us both.

The only sad thing is that the liberals dont care about this. They were only driven by the liberal talking points and their hatred of Bush.

Too bad libs.....you lose again.

[bigwhtpony]

Why is this clown still alive?

[latrocinor-2009]

What difference does it make? At least they are getting along long enough to get our troops out of this mess. George W. Bush should be taken out and HORSE WHIPPED for what he did here!!

Posted by skyk
........................
........
....

The reality is the this is just a continuation of a policy formulated and agreements made with the current Iraqi power structure leaders long before President Bush was President.

It''s very comfortable to have a moderate view of history rather than a Moveon.org type of knee-jerk hate based BDS (Bush Derangement Syndrome).

The lack of the syndrome allows a person to attend a various social functions without blurting our some type of smear against President Bush.

Be patient - soon you''ll have Obama and a perfect world.

[skyk-2009]

Sadr is trying to refashion himself as an anti-American politician after the setbacks the government has dealt his militia this year. He said he was going to disarm most of his militia weeks ago. The newest twist that he''''ll end his militia entirely if the U.S. leaves is electionerring for the coming provincial elections. The problem is, Sadr can say he''''ll disarm if the U.S. leaves, but Maliki can say he is the one that got the to withdraw in the first place, thus outdoing Sadr. For more see: http://musingsoniraq.blogspot.com/2008/0
8/maliki-hits-campaign-trail.html

Posted by motown67usa at 01:36 AM : Aug 09, 2008

What difference does it make? At least they are getting along long enough to get our troops out of this mess. George W. Bush should be taken out and HORSE WHIPPED for what he did here!!

[acarponzo]

Yes, I really do want world peace!!!!!!

Paris bops! for President!!! You''ve gotta love it.

Get your bops in at

http://www.bop-o-rama.com

Your bops really count!!!!!

"Bop early and bop often." --Alphonso Carponzo

[stn_sage]

Considering that the "weak minded liberals" have been ignored in the first 5 years of the Iraq war, how can you possibly blame them for "not winning"?

Posted by hungry1968 at 12:51 AM : Aug 09, 2008
--------------------
BTW, I do agree with you in the point you''re attempting to make with this person! :)

[hermitdave]

This is such a silly song and dance. This guy has to be just part of the system. The BUSH AMERICA invaded his country. They need to be driven from his country. Other wize it is just a silly game.

[stn_sage]

Considering that the "weak minded liberals" have been ignored in the first 5 years of the Iraq war, how can you possibly blame them for "not winning"?

Posted by hungry1968 at 12:51 AM : Aug 09, 2008
--------------------
You''re asking this question of a rightwing nutjob and avid supporter of every mistake Bush & Cheney have made in conducting the Iraq war, and you wonder how they could blame it on liberals?!! C''mon, who else are they going to blame?! THEY aren''t going to accept any responsibility for what THEY DID! SHEESH!