Thursday, April 10, 2008

Alright Iraq!!

Iraqi Leader Tries to Isolate Sadrists

"Iraq's prime minister got a show of support from political leaders of both Muslim sects on Thursday as he moved to isolate anti-U.S. Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and his followers."
[snip]
"Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, himself a Shiite, convened the meeting of the main political blocs to discuss the Iraqi-led crackdown on militias that began March 25 in the southern city of Basra, triggering the current crisis.

But the notable absence of the Sadrists signaled that al-Maliki was making good on a threat to try to isolate the movement politically if its Mahdi Army militia is not disbanded."
[snip]
"A marked reduction in casualty rates began around September 2007, and daily averages continued to decline throughout the rest of that year. However, since reaching a low this past January of 20 Iraqis killed per day, casualty levels have once again started to rise, with 26 killed per day in February and 41 per day in March, an Associated Press tally showed."
[snip]
"The clearing of former insurgent strongholds also has led to the increasing discovery of mass graves. More than 30 bodies believed to have been buried for more than a year were unearthed Thursday by Iraqi troops at a house south of Baghdad, the military announced.

The killing of the American soldier pushed the average U.S. death rate to 1.8 per day so far in April, compared with 1.2 per day last month, according to the AP tally."
[snip]
"But prominent Sunni politician Adnan al-Dulaimi, who leads the largest Sunni bloc in parliament, emerged from Thursday's meeting to say the operation was "a courageous step."

"We stand beside this government and support it. It was a good and blessed step to prevent militias in all provinces," al-Dulaimi said, adding his Accordance Front would begin discussions soon on ending its Cabinet boycott."
Never mind all the non-sense about death rates. Apparently AP doesn't realize that when a battle ensues, death rates rise. In between battles, they fall. This is really, really good news. Once the Sadrists are defeated, look for Iraq to soar. Maliki finally developed some balls. Must be that election that's coming.

Next on the agenda: Iran

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