IRAQ: Not quite the surrender Maliki had in mind

It appears that Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's ultimatum to Shiite Muslim militiamen to surrender to the Iraqi government might not be working precisely as he had intended.

When nobody had turned up by Friday, Maliki gave members of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada Sadr's Mahdi Army militia 10 more days to turn in their weapons and renounce violence.

Instead, about 40 members of the Shiite-dominated Iraqi army and National Police offered to surrender their AK-47s and other weapons this morning to Sadr's representatives in the cleric's east Baghdad stronghold of Sadr City.

One of the police officers told journalists assembled at Sadr's office that he was heeding a call by an Iraqi cleric based in Iran, Ayatollah Fadhil Maliki, to stop fighting fellow Muslims.

"We came here to tell our brothers, the followers of Sadr, that we will not be against you," said the officer, who was dressed in civilian clothes and had his face covered with a scarf and dark sunglasses.

Sadr's representatives refused to take the men's weapons, saying they belong to the government. Instead, the representatives offered the men olive branches and copies of the Koran.

Maj. Gen. Abdul Kareem Khalaf, a spokesman for Iraq's Interior Ministry, said today that lots of militiamen had also handed over weapons since the deadline was extended but provided no specifics.

More than 150 people have been killed since the crackdown began Tuesday in the violence-plagued southern oil hub of Basra. Fighting quickly spread to other Shiite strongholds in the south and parts of Baghdad, raising fears that a unilateral cease-fire declared by Sadr in August could collapse.

Sadr has urged his followers to abide by the truce. But the cleric does not want them to hand over weapons to the current Iraqi government, said Sheik Haider Jabiri, a member of Sadr's political committee based in the Shiite holy city of Najaf.

"They should hand over the weapons to a government that will be able to take out the occupier," said Jabiri, a reference to U.S.-led forces in Iraq.

— A Times special correspondent in Sadr City

Comments

[Nobody Important]

Both sides fighting in Basra have connections to Iran, though the Iraqi government is more connected to them than Sadr. And let's not forget that a lot of insurgents are coming from our BFF Saudi Arabia. Gee, I bet that these pro-Iran-war people want to go after Saudi Arabia, too. Oh, wait, Cheney wouldn't like that...

Anyone who fell for WMD and the fake Iraq/al-Qaeda connection shouldn't be lecturing others on how well thought-out arguments are, btw.

I love my country, that's why I'm looking forward to Bush being out of office.

[The Suck]

Comment sections are amazing. I have never read an intelligent argument on these pages, just punditry. Amazing thing is, the liberals in this crowd, the ones who are supposedly the intelligent and educated ones, have the least thought out arguments. They boil down to "I hate G.Bush", "I hate my country", and "Everything they tell me is a lie". Maybe you should come to Iraq and see what it is really like over here instead of just reading misinformation and propaganda?

[Anis Mohiuddin]

Every American seems to know that Mahdi army is Iran backed and that they are ready to overthrow Iraqi Govt as soon as Americans leave. Is n't this knowledge the same as WMD Bush claimed Iraq had before he started the war? After the war what happened to WMD? It does n't matter. Bush never was turned in but Iraq got destroyed.

This typical Israel fed knowledge is the most dangerous element in American brains which is as empty as that of Bush; or full of crime filled rubbish? Arabs are most foolish people in this world. America, their arch enemy is harboured by the same Arabs as their friend.

Bush cannot do anything in China and will not attempt any of his nonsense there despite Tibet.

[james hendricks]

The surge is working. The surge is working. The surge is working. The surge is working. The surge is working. The surge is working. The surge is working!
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
Come on everybody...all together...THE SURGE IS WORKING.

[G.Bush]

"Everyone with any sense knows that the Mahdi are Iran supported insurgents waiting to overthrow the Iraq government as soon as the coalition forces leave."

LOLOLO

more spin from Imperial Headquarters & King George

[jj]

Is that glee that we discern from the writer of this article? Everyone with any sense knows that the Mahdi are Iran supported insurgents waiting to overthrow the Iraq government as soon as the coalition forces leave. Within a few months after they do leave Iraq will be an autonomous territory of the Iranian 'empire' of Shite fundamentalists. They will then quickly be terrorizing every other middle-eastern country trying to control them also. How stupid of the Brits to not have known that the Mahdi were really running Basra from "underground".