The Beginning of the End for the Occupation?

The recent demonstration ordered by Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in Najaf proves that his contrary to the wishful thinking of the Surge fans, the influence of al-Sadr has not waned.

Hundreds of thousands of chanting Iraqi Shias burned and stamped on US flags at an anti-American rally called by firebrand cleric Moqtada Al Sadr on the fourth anniversary of the fall of Saddam Hussein.

Jubilant Baghdadis who welcomed the US troops on April 9, 2003 now blame the rampant bloodshed and chaos on what even some of Iraq’s most senior leaders brand an unwanted occupation.

Hundreds of banners saying ”˜Down with Bush, Down with America’ were carried by protestors as Iraqi police and soldiers guarded checkpoints in and around Najaf and Kufa.

General Patreaus, who is hedding the surge, stated that the success of this operation would not be achieved only militarily, but also politically. Another cleric, the Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani put a nail in that coffin a week ago.

Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has put the last piece of straw on the poor camel called Iraq. And its back is about to break. The keys to success in Iraq were never military strategies. Everyone knows this, well, except of course for George W. Bush. To be fair, even John McCain knows this — and he hardly knows what planet he’s on lately (he just came back from the planet where Iraq is a really safe place to shop).

Text and images ©2024 Antony Loewenstein. All rights reserved.

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