MAHDI ARMY SEIZES AMARA, IRAQ

Last month I posted a plea for disbanding the various militias in Iraq (2 September), and left it on the blog as a warning of what was to come if the militias were not disarmed immediately. Today, the ugly side of radical Islam reared its head as the strongest militia made its move.

The Shiite militia, known as the Mahdi Army/Militia, run by anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, seized total control of the southern Iraqi city of Amarah. Hundreds, if not thousands of black-clad heavily-armed militia invaded the city in one of the boldest acts of defiance yet by one of the country's powerful, unofficial armies, according to the Associated Press.The report also stated that, " Mahdi Army fighters stormed three main police stations Friday morning, ... planting explosives that flattened the buildings in Amarah, a city just 30 miles from the Iranian border that was under British command until August, when it was returned to Iraqi government control."

According to the AP, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki dispatched an emergency security delegation that included the Minister of State for Security Affairs and top officials from the Interior and Defense ministries. Just great! Both of these ministries have been infiltrated by the Mahdi, and al-Maliki announced last week that he MIGHT approach the militias about disbanding after the first of the year. Mind boggling, indeed!

Muqtada al-Sadr

However, when I was posting on my Tolerance Blog, "America and War," I called Muqtada al-Sadr the most dangerous man in Iraq. The specific post was Monday, 27 October 2003, where I quoted the Baghdad blogger Riverbend, "Al-Sadr has been making waves in the south and Baghdad, having over a million followers (some say it’s up to 4 million) and they revere him. While the majority of the middle and upper class Iraqis want a secular government, Al-Sadr seems to resonate with the impoverished currently jobless men in the south and in some of Baghdad’s slums. . . . For the last few months he has been building an armed militia known as the 'Imam Mahdi's Army'. The majority of this militia are young, and very angry."

In that post about parallel governments in Iraq, I wrote further, ". . . many consider Al-Sadr the most dangerous man in Iraq. However, I doubt that he would defane Ramadan, the holy month of Islam, like the terrorists are doing, as they are nothing but hooligans and criminals."

Today, 20 October 2006, this year's Ramadan observance is about to close. Was I ever wrong in that statement made in October 2003. Defane Ramadan? He just did.

However, even before that post, I also posted three years ago,13 October 2003, "The Biggest Threat to Iraqi Stability -- The Parallel Government of Moqtada Al-Sadr". I wrote about the cleric, "He's the son of a cleric who was murdered by Saddam. He has strong ties to the extreme ruling government in Iran. The American Press is walking very light on this with only slight mentions about this cleric, but he is probably more scary than even Saddam himself, especially to the moderate citizens of Iraq."

Al-Sadr should have been taken out three years ago. Today's action by the militia proves that Al-Sadr is not a cleric to be revered by the Shia in Iraq. He is a common criminal who should have been arrested, jailed and/or deported three years ago. Now, he MUST BE ARRESTED, and tried on war crimes. In my opinion, he is no better, and far more dangerous, than Saddam ever was.

Will the Bush Bunch do it? I sincerely doubt it. They talk and spin propaganda, but they have no balls!

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UPDATE! 21 October: Yesterday, members of the Iraqi Army stepped up to the plate and routed the hoodlums from Amara as British forces stood by. That's exactly the way it should be. However, the militias still must go and as soon as possible!