Iraq's president Maliki melts down over U.S. raid on Sadr City

[bigtree]

August 9, 2006

Maliki's anger exposes growing rift with US and Iraqi military

… "angered and pained" by US attack on Baghdad stronghold.

Mr Maliki's criticism followed a predawn air and ground attack in Sadr City, the stronghold of the radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and his Mahdi Army. Police said three people, including a woman and a child, were killed in the raid, which the US command said was aimed at "individuals involved in punishment and torture cell activities".

Mr Maliki, a Shiite, said he was "very angered and pained" by the operation, warning that it could undermine his efforts towards national reconciliation.

"Reconciliation cannot go hand in hand with operations that violate the rights of citizens this way," Mr Maliki said."This operation used weapons that are unreasonable to detain someone - like using planes."

He apologised to the Iraqi people for the operation and said "this won't happen again".

The President, Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, also met the top US commander in Iraq, George Casey, to discuss security. "It is in no one's interest to have a confrontation" with Mr Sadr's movement, Mr Talabani was said to have told General Casey.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/malikis-anger-exposes-growing-rift-with-us-and-iraqi-military/2006/08/08/1154802890470.html#


related:

US Airstrike Kills Three in Baghdad

Deutsche Presse-Agentur

BAGHDAD, 8 August 2006 — US jet fighters bombed civilian targets in the Sadr suburb, a Shiite stronghold in east Baghdad, killing three civilians and injuring 12, witnesses said yesterday.

Fire erupted in several residential blocks and several cars were left torched after the operation late Sunday, the witnesses said. A leading official in the Shiite Sadr group, Fattah Al-Sheikh, said yesterday that the two-hour operation by joint US and Iraqi troops left a number of civilians, mostly women and children, killed or wounded and also caused damage to nearby homes and cars.

Al-Sheikh denied that the Mahdi Army, the armed wing of the Sadr bloc, was present in the neighborhood, adding that the leader Moqtada Al-Sadr has urged his fighters to “(maintain) self-restraint and abort any provocative attempt by the US to target them.”

&category=World

[OwnedByFerrets]

1. When they stand up....................

.............when will we stand down?

[bigtree]

4. we're still busy creating them there

so we can fight them everywhere else

[skooooo]

7. Lieberman said Iraqis were very close...

...to being able to handle the situation themselves on Imus last week. I want what he's smoking!

[bigtree]

8. what else can they say

except that it's all out of their hands? What a disgrace.

[warrens]

2. we only love em when they're OUR death squads

The hypocrisy of the U.S. government just knows no bounds.

[bigtree]

5. Sadr and his followers reportedly showed restraint as they were attacked

and their comrades were mowed down . . .

BAGHDAD, Iraq — U.S. and Iraqi forces strike the Baghdad base of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr — but his gunmen hold their fire. U.S. soldiers kill 15 of al-Sadr's followers, drawing little more than a few perfunctory complaints.

But the Americans cannot afford an all-out move against al-Sadr. That would trigger a backlash among the Shiite majority — a nightmare scenario for the troubled U.S. mission in Iraq.

Al-Sadr's movement holds 30 of the 275 seats in parliament and five Cabinet posts. Al-Sadr's backing helped al-Maliki win the top job during negotiations within the Shiite alliance that led to the ouster of Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari.

As a result, the Americans have been careful to avoid mentioning the Mahdi Army as the target of their attacks, including the raid early Monday in Sadr City or the July 22 attack on al-Sadr's office in Musayyib where 15 militiamen died.

http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/news/ci_4150116

[shain from kane]

3. Howdy Doody, Mr. Former President. Another puppet that has outlived

its usefulness.

[bigtree]

6. Guardian's account

Iraqi PM attacks heavyhanded US tactics

Michael Howard in Irbil
Tuesday August 8, 2006
The Guardian

Iraq's prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, has angrily charged American forces with undermining national reconciliation after a US-led raid in the eastern Baghdad stronghold of the radical Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr reportedly caused the death of three people, including a woman and a child.

"This operation used weapons that are unreasonable to detain someone, like using planes," said Mr Maliki. He apologised for the operation and vowed "this won't happen again."

The prime minister today sent an envoy to Sadr City to offer cash payments to families of the dead and wounded.

Naser al-Saedi, a pro-Sadr member of parliament, welcomed Mr Maliki's comments. "We have an agreement with the Iraqi government not to attack Sadr City in the night," he told the Guardian. "It's the safest area in the capital. But Iraq is an occupied country and the Americans are interfering with everything. These attacks will feed the sectarian tension and that's what the Americans want."

article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,1839817,00.html

[OwnedByFerrets]

9. If he keeps up that kind of banter.....

Bush will have no choice but to declare war on Iraq. :sarcasm:

[High Plains]

10. Isramerica: Bombing Arabs Whenever Necessary

and even when it's a really brutal, stupid thing to do.

[Canuckistanian]

11. Is there any doubt who's in charge now?

Obviously the US didn't even consult with Maliki on this.

[me b zola]

12. And not a word on cnn or msnbc

Maliki has just learned the lesson that Saddam has learned, it doesn't pay to be a puppet for neocons. How long has it been since Maliki was in the WH mouthing all of the words that bush*co wrote for him, maybe a week?