Thursday, June 17, 2004

A HUGE VICTORY BY THE GOOD GUYS
Rebel cleric orders army to disband

Moqtada al-Sadr, a Shia cleric who has been leading a revolt in southern Iraq for more than two months, yesterday bowed to intense peer pressure and told his followers in his Jaysh al-Mahdi militia to return home.

Mr Sadr's order comes amid intensive efforts on the part of local Iraqi leaders and even the US president to end a bloody insurgency in the run-up to the transfer of sovereignty now only two weeks away.
Lesson for those paying attention: Using your pulpit to raise an Army to make you a "strong man" is no longer an acceptable scenario in this new country.

1 comment:

Dave Greinke said...

Or - Sadr could have already achieved his objective. Gained some power. Now is a good time to quit - while he is still alive and still has standing in his community.