Iraqi Leader Threatens Exclusion to Sadr
By Kris Gray
The Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri Maliki, threatened the supporters of a radical cleric, Moqtada Sadr, with exclusion from politics. The main reason behind this exclusion is due mainly to the radical’s army, the Mehdi Army. This is the first time the Prime Minister has singled out the Mehdi Army, even though it has not been a threat in the past. Contradictory to the article, Maliki actually came to power with the help of the cleric Sadr, but broke relations with him a year ago. BBC reporters in Baghdad say the tension between the two men is growing. In order to force the Mehdi army into submission, the Prime Minister sent his own troops into the city of Barsa two weeks ago. What comes with desperate decisions? Minimal results. The militia withdrew from the streets, but kept their operations inconclusive. "We have opened the door for confrontation, a real confrontation with these gangs, and we will not stop until we are in full control of these areas," to quote the Prime Minister. One MP (Member of Parliament) to the Sadr bloc, Liqaa Aal Yassin, said that two delegations -Grand Ayatollah Sistani sent to Najaf and Grand Ayatollah Kazem al-Husseini al-Haeri sent to Iran- will discuss the disbanding of the Army. After Maliki’s comments to Sadr, heavy fighting broke out between the U.S., Iraq, and Mehdi armies, killing 22 and wounding 50 others. Five U.S. soldiers were killed, two of which were standing in the “Green Zone” during a rocket and mortar attack. Afterwards, Sadr demanded a demonstration on Wednesday against the U.S. army.
