The US needs someone in Iraq that is strong enough to unify the country and who has the authority to represent the Iraqi people. Right now all the US has is a weak, fragile Shiite-led government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, which is widely criticized as corrupt, inefficient and biased in favor of Iraq's majority Shiites.
The Maliki government draws it authority form the fact that it is back by US forces, and does not seem to represent all Iraqis. This is a problem, since the US can't negotiate with the Maliki government, because too many Iraqis do not see the Maliki government as their true leader or representative, so Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr may be the unofficial leader in Iraq right now, or he is moving towards becoming the unofficial leader of Iraq in the near future. Trying to put a government together in Iraq that is representative of all Iraqis has not worked, because the country is too fractured along secretarian lines, which makes the government too weak to protect the constitutional rights of all the people of Iraq within a government patterned after the US government. It may be time to point Iraq towards a more traditional or customary form of government that has served the ME region very well for centuries. If al-Sadr were in power the US could probably negotiate terms of withdrawal from Iraq including al-Sadr's promise to protection the lives of all Iraqis regardless of their religion as Shiite, Sunni, or Kurd. This would avoid a blood letting when the US forces pulled out of Iraq. Perhaps we could also negotiate an acknowledgment from al-Sadr that Israel is a sovereign state with the same rights as any other country around the world. Al-Sadr preferences for Iraq closely parallel those of the US including: 1) Al-Sadr is opposed to terrorism, especially al Qaeda which he would drive out of the country. 2) Al-Sadr would purge his army and police of extremist. 3) Al-Sadr wants a unified Iraq with justice for all and a fair sharing of the Iraqi wealth. 4) Al-Sadr would enforce tolerance amoung the Sunni, Shiite, and Kurdish people and stop the senseless killing. 5) Al-Sadr would rebuild Iraq into a functioning country and would accept aid from the US in the effort to restore Iraq. Regards, LelandJ Adam Buckland wrote: > >From today's Daily Telegraph.... > > Radical Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has appeared in public for the first > time in months, delivering an anti-American sermon to thousands of > followers and demanding US troops leave Iraq. > > Al-Sadr had gone into hiding in Iran four months ago at the start of the > US-led Baghdad security crackdown. It was not immediately clear why he > chose to return to his base in the Shia holy city of Najaf. However, he > could be trying to take advantage of the absence of a major rival, > Supreme Islamic Council of Iraq leader Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, who was > recently diagnosed with lung cancer and went to Iran for treatment. > > Al-Sadr's reappearance coincides with a US military announcement that > six of its soldiers were killed in a series of attacks across Iraq in > recent days. The deaths put May in the running to become one of the > deadliest months for US forces in Iraq. Al-Sadr travelled in a long > motorcade from Najaf to the adjacent holy city of Kufa on Friday morning > to deliver his sermon before 6,000 worshippers. "No, no for Satan. No, > no for America. No, no for the occupation. No, no for Israel," he > chanted in a call and response with the audience at the start of his > speech. > > He also repeated his long-standing call for US forces to leave Iraq. "We > demand the withdrawal of the occupation forces, or the creation of a > timetable for such a withdrawal," he said. "I call upon the Iraqi > government not to extend the occupation even for a single day." He went > on to condemn fighting between his Mahdi Army militia and Iraqi security > forces, saying it "served the interests of the occupiers." Instead, he > said the militia should turn to peaceful protests, such as > demonstrations and sit-ins, he said. > > As part of his effort to recast himself as a nationalist - instead of a > radical with a narrow Shia agenda - the 33-year-old leader called on > Sunnis to join with him in the fight against the US troop presence. He > also criticized the government's inability to provide reliable services > to the people. > > Al-Sadr is believed to be honing plans to consolidate political gains > and foster ties with Iran. His Mahdi Army fought US troops to a virtual > standstill in 2004, but to avoid renewed confrontation he ordered his > militants off the streets when the US began its security crackdown in > the Baghdad area 14 weeks. His associates say his strategy is based > partly on a belief that Washington will soon start reducing troop > strength, leaving behind a hole in Iraq's security and political power > structure that he can fill. > > > ::a > > > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On > Behalf Of Leland F. Jackson, CPA > Sent: 25 May 2007 03:02 > To: ProFox Email List > Subject: Re: [OT] Iraq's Sadr Overhauls His Tactics, Shiite Woos Sunnis, > PurgesExtremists > > Al-Sadr is proving to be a politician that seems to be winning some > trust among the Sunni community. He may be the last best chance of > achieving a unified Iraq in which Shiite, Sunni, and Kurds tolerate one > another. If he became the leader of Iraq, he would have the power to > punish those who refuse to live in tolerance. > > He might become a strong enough leader with authority over, and support > from, the masses, so the US could negotiate a surrender or peace within > the region. Having Al-Sadr lead Iraq is better than death, destruction, > > and ciaos which is extremely contagious and could spread beyond the > borders of Iraq to a much wider region of the ME. Right now there is no > > authority, or leadership figure, within Iraq with support from the > majority of the Iraqi people with which the US can do business or > contract. Al-Sadr on the other hand might be strong enough to control > the country and enforce settlement reached in negotiations or other > business contracts. Hey, it beats civil war and ciaos. > > Besides, at the end of the day, we may be stuck with Al-Sadr, whether we > > back him or not. It would be better for the US to have Al-Sadr as an > ally, than as a foe, and surely we can find common ground with Al-Sadr > as a basis for doing business. > > Regards, > > LelandJ > > [excessive quoting removed by server] _______________________________________________ Post Messages to: [email protected] Subscription Maintenance: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profox OT-free version of this list: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profoxtech Searchable Archive: http://leafe.com/archives/search/profox This message: http://leafe.com/archives/byMID/profox/[EMAIL PROTECTED] ** All postings, unless explicitly stated otherwise, are the opinions of the author, and do not constitute legal or medical advice. This statement is added to the messages for those lawyers who are too stupid to see the obvious.
