August 18, 2004

THEY DON'T MAKE MARTYRS LIKE THEY USED TO:

Sadr agrees to accept peace mission demands (Midle-East Online, 8/18/04)

Shiite militia leader Moqtada Sadr has agreed to disarm and quit a holy shrine in Najaf as demanded by Iraq's key national conference, one of the organisers of the meeting said Wednesday.

"We have just received a letter from Moqtada Sadr's office in Baghdad that confirms 'in the name of God' ... Moqtada Sadr's acceptance to the conditions imposed by the conference," said Safia al-Suhair, who is also the wife of the human rights minister.

She then called on Jalil al-Shamari, a representative from Sadr's office in the Iraqi capital, who said he was carrying "the acceptance letter from the Sadr movement and from Sayyed (honorific) Moqtada Sadr on the three points put forward by the conference".

"Today, Moqtada Sadr accepted the three points to put an end to Iraqis' bloodletting and demonstrated his desire to take an active role in the new Iraq," she said.

The announcement followed an ultimatum from Defence Minister Hazem al-Shaalan that Sadr's Mehdi Army surrender or be crushed in battle.

"The coming hours will be decisive and we will teach them a lesson they will never forget," Shaalan told reporters on a visit to Najaf. "In the coming hours they must surrender."


Meow...

Posted by Orrin Judd at August 18, 2004 11:38 AM
Comments

Moe pointing to Curly and Larry: "I'll fight to the last drop of his blood."

Some martyr.

Posted by: Mike at August 18, 2004 11:53 AM

He should be dealt with now - incapacitated or locked up. If he generates another uprising in 2-3 months (like he just did after being crushed in April) then the US and INC will look foolish (again).

Posted by: AWW at August 18, 2004 12:00 PM

Will no one rid us of this troublesome Imam?

Posted by: David Cohen at August 18, 2004 12:06 PM

AWW:

Why do we look foolish? We're offering to let him be a normal politician and he keeps vowing to seek death, until we whack enough of his henchmen that he begs for mercy.

Posted by: oj at August 18, 2004 12:10 PM

Instead of "meow," I believe the correct animalistic onomatopoea is "buck-buck-braaawk!"

Posted by: Mike Morley at August 18, 2004 12:16 PM

Surrender or hudna?

Posted by: Ken at August 18, 2004 12:23 PM

I thought yesterday everybody wanted this knob dead.

He's made monkeys of us again.

Posted by: Harry Eagar at August 18, 2004 1:38 PM

Harry:

It's unbecoming to shoot even a coward in the back.

Posted by: oj at August 18, 2004 1:50 PM

Sadr's pretty much like the drunk in the bar who challenges the football player to fight, then runs and hides in the bathroom until he's gone, and comes out to make some more threats until the guy comes back. Since the Iraqi government is basically the bartender in this secnario, they just need to bean him over the head with a pool cue and get him out of there before we have to go through this same routine for a fourth time.

Posted by: John at August 18, 2004 4:59 PM

I suppose the argument for letting him continue is that if we just kill him, Iran might pick a more competant surrogate.

Posted by: AML at August 18, 2004 5:10 PM

AML:

THe Iranians oppose him.

Posted by: oj at August 18, 2004 5:20 PM

They have a vote?

Posted by: Harry Eagar at August 18, 2004 6:50 PM
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