Al-Maliki and his gang, including U.S. forces, have suddenly begun an offensive against Moqtada al-Sadr, who has kept a cease-fire for months and is still holding to it. Al-Sadr and the Mahdi Army did not instigate this war between Shiite factions.
Maliki is offering money to members of the Mahdi Army for their weapons. Dough-boys is taking on a whole new meaning in Iraq.
Bush immediately raised the stakes by declaring this new war a “defining moment.” Bush’s remarks were incredibly out of touch with reality. He called the attacks “an interesting moment for the people of Iraq.” He sees this as a test of “their government’s ability to protect them and to be even-handed.”
This is protection?? This is even-handedness??
This is a raw and desperate attempt by Maliki, with U.S. support, to extend what little power he has beyond the embattled Green Zone. The only way that it can succeed is by a ruthless destruction of Sadr City and other al-Sadr strongholds.
It is clearly part of a three-pronged plan. One prong was to subdue the Kurds using the Turks. Another prong was to buy off the Sunnis via the surge. The third prong is to remove al-Sadr as an independent force.
Maliki and the U.S. are still dreaming and trying to attain a united Iraq State.
The long-run odds are stacked against them. In the meantime, U.S. air power will add to the devastation of Iraq and its people.
4:00 pm on March 28, 2008
