Influential Iraqi Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, head of the largest bloc in parliament, has issued a statement Wednesday calling on all Shi’ite militias to “stand down” as the US and Iran work to deescalate tensions.
Sadr also said that the militias should not start any new military actions, and should refrain from any extremist rhetoric within their ranks. Sadr also called for a new, stronger Iraqi government to protect the nation’s sovereignty.
Sadr expressed support for expelling foreign troops from Iraq, but said the country should be patient, and use political, parliamentary, and international methods to accomplish this.
Sadr has long been an advocate of Iraq forging an independent path away from the US and Iran, and with Iraq’s top priority being to avoid becoming the battlefield of a US-Iran War, it makes sense that he wants to avoid the militias doing anything to restart the fighting now that things might finally be calming down.
Iraq just another Okinawa.
Wow. Pretty much total capitulation. I guess El Trumpo is pretty good at sniffing out weakness and bluffs. Credit where credit is due.
Do you believe that there will be no further reprisals or consequences?
I tend to agree with Scott Ritter writing in TAC (linked here the other day) that Iran will strike at a future date of its choosing and that “Iran has the ability to take its foot off of the neck of a prostrate ISIS and facilitate their resurgence in areas under U.S. control” leading to increased US commitment and deaths of its soldiers.
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/iranian-revenge-will-be-a-dish-best-served-cold/
And that the US has lost leverage to effect outcomes in the region, is diminished in the eyes of its allies, has given Iran more leeway over its nuclear program, that civilian targets are more susceptible to revenge attacks and that neocons, zionists and other hawks have the upper hand in decision-making. Plus the President’s impulsiveness tells me that future miscalculations, misinformation or lies are more likely than ever to result in dramatic escalation.
No I don’t. I might have before, but now it looks more like wishful thinking. As far as ISIS goes, the US was allowing it to be supplied by our own “allies” mainly Turkey. Look at a map. Heavy weapons weren’t sprouting ex nihilo out of the desert. The evidence is telling me I was wrong about Iram’s moxie and/or capabilities. Ritter, Saker, and Co were wrong too but are spinning baloney to try to save face.
That’s my read of the situation.
Fair enough. But I swear your talk of total capitulation and Trump’s cunning reminds me of the Iraq invasion.
I see you indicated that your opinion has changed over the years but if the above comment were written in 2003 it might sound like:
“Bush sniffed out Saddam’s bluffs and the Baathists’ weaknesses. We are liberators, the conflict will be over in 6 months and oil revenue will pay for reconstruction. Toppling the government was easy. Mission accomplished!”
Point is, the President acted recklessly and we won’t know the true consequences for years.
Destruction is easy to do quickly. Building something sustainable takes time. Moqtada al-Sadr has seen plenty of his friends and family die in these wars. He’s not stupid. He’s planning to kick out the Americans without more bloodshed. He’ll probably succeed.
That’s fine with me, but don’t pretend this is what we were expecting.
Another element of it might be that Moqtada al-Sadr isn’t actually pro-Iranian. Qasem Soleimani was actually his opponent, not his ally. The same with the leaders of the Popular Mobilization Forces who were killed – they were not al-Sadr’s allies. He doesn’t like the Americans, he wants to get them out of Iraq, but he also wants to get the Iranians out of Iraq and he has no intention of letting Iraq be used for a proxy war between America and Iran.
It wasn’t what YOU were expecting ma’lord, but it is exactly what many of US were. Goading Iran and the militias into a battle is exactly what the architects of that action wanted. We’re sorry if things haven’t worked out the way you’d have hoped. With each passing transgression the Shiite and Sunni move closer to common ground. This is about the long game. It’s tough I know, we are accustomed to instant gratification, aren’t we. The petrodollar weakens by the day, while China and Russia grow stronger. The random guy from Venezuela? The one you had high hopes for? Juan Guido? He’s done, discarded like excess weight at the airport luggage scale. You’ll get your war, just show some patience. It won’t be the one you’d “expect” though. I personally assure you of that.
Oh man. You sound like one of the “Trump is playing 13 Dimensional Chess” people, except you are rooting for the other side.
You are brilliant lordbaldrie! Who else would have come up with the idea that maybe those mullahs wanted him out of the way?
Really though? “Rooting for the other side” eh? All you could come up with spur of the moment? That’s it?
No, I root for the planet, not for men. Unlike some here, my thoughts are not limited by indoctrination, conditioning, subservience, conformity, tunnel vision, and blind obedience. Maybe you’d consider elaborating on that theory about Suleimani being too demanding for those mullahs? The part about them throwing him to the wolves in order to save their own asses I find especially intriguing. How did you come to develop such a theory anyway. Get rid of a very popular potential leader, and inflame passions against the USA? Prompt Iraq to expell the invader/occupiers? You may be onto something there! It’s like a triple play, a hat trick!
“Maybe you’d consider elaborating on that theory about Suleimani being
too demanding for those mullahs? The part about them throwing him to
the wolves in order to save their own asses I find especially
intriguing. How did you come to develop such a theory anyway.”
Where did I even say any of this? Are you confusing me with another, s*** for brains?
Sadr is accurately referred to as a firebrand, but apparently he’s also a grown-up and convinced that some patience will be most effective at getting the Americans out.
Astonishingly Sadr has more diplomatic sense than any other player in Iraq, certainly Washington France and Britain haven’t displayed any.