WAR: Allawi: Peace Deal Reached With Al-Sadr

Interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi has said that an agreement with Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has been reached which would end the fighting and hopefully dissolve al-Sadr's army and transform the movement into a political party. No exact details have been given on the agreement.



Allawi did not give details on the agreement. Al-Sadr has been under pressure top dissolve the Mahdi Army militia and instead turn his movement into a political party.

Seemingly contradicting earlier comments by his own spokesman, al-Sadr said in a television interview Monday that he will not participate in elections because "these are American elections, not Iraqi elections. I want free and honest Iraqi elections."

al-Sadr supposedly reaching an agreement to end the fighting, but already putting stipulations in place, "no elections, becuase they are American elections", I see this going no where.


[edit on 5-10-2004 by Banshee]

I can't imagine how anyone would think this is a positive thing.

This guy is responsible for the killings of many US soldiers.
He's a murderer, and he can't be allowed to get away with that.

He doesn't deserve to be involved in the political process.

I can't believe they are folding and making a deal wth him.

This is bad news.......

Al-Sadr is probably the only true voice the Iraqis have, it is a reason why he was closed out and put in jail and that is because he made clear his opposition to the invaders, he was a cleric and owner of a newspaper in baghdad.

Originally posted by Critical_Mass
I can't imagine how anyone would think this is a positive thing.

This guy is responsible for the killings of many US soldiers.
He's a murderer, and he can't be allowed to get away with that.

He doesn't deserve to be involved in the political process.

I can't believe they are folding and making a deal wth him.

This is bad news.......

Yeah, cause civil war, continued US deaths, and general destablization of the region is much better than free elections at the cost of a few bad candidates. (Sarcasm)

So if we keep fighting, and keep hunting him, you'd tell the mother of the next dead soldier it was worth it because there are 1,000 other mothers who wanted revenge on the man who lead the opposition?

By your reasoning the first american killed by a russian should have triggered WW3.

Originally posted by marg6043
Al-Sadr is probably the only true voice the Iraqis have, it is a reason why he was closed out and put in jail and that is because he made clear his opposition to the invaders, he was a cleric and owner of a newspaper in baghdad.

Such high praise for the man who terrorized the civilian population of Najaf for weeks, repeatedly held sacred religious sites to ransom and waged a bloody campaign against his Shia rivals. Mr Sadr enjoys little or no support from the Shia community at large, or among ordinary Iraqis.

To refresh your memory:

Iraqis ask Sadr men to quit Najaf
news.bbc.co.uk...

Marge your statement above is such a distorted view of the facts that it beggars belief.

[edit on 6-10-2004 by mattpryor]