Muqtada al Sadr threatens to call off ceasefire

Iraqi Army soldiers take take part in a military operation in Basra, Iraq, 550 kilometers (340 miles) southeast of Baghdad, Saturday April 19, 2008.

al Sadr sounds serious this time (AP/Yahoo link);

“So I direct my last warning and speech to the Iraqi government to refrain and to take the path of peace and abandon violence against its people,” al-Sadr said in the statement. “If the government does not refrain and leash the militias that have penetrated it, we will announce an open war until liberation.”

Associated Press must feel relieved that there’s something besides good news to report since they rushed this particular story out but it’s mostly bluster on al Sadr’s part. He’s still in Iran hiding out, and his “army” is being worn down to a nub. You don’t know because the media is only reporting the bad news. They’ve neglected to rush out stories like what Bill Roggio reported yesterday;

In today’s New York Times, Michael Gordon writes about the wall being built to partition Sadr City. Buried in the article, we learn that the Mahdi Army assaulted a police station and the Iraqi forces were running low on ammunition. As the U.S. military prepared to reinforce the position, the Iraqi Army beat them to the punch:

The militias’ main effort on Thursday was focused on dislodging Iraqi forces from a police station. American advisers took up positions with the Iraqi unit.

As the fighting intensified and there were reports that militia fighters had closed to within 100 yards, Colonel Barnett moved tanks into position so they could rush to the Iraqis’ aid. Stryker vehicles also moved forward.

But two Iraqi T-72s and four other Iraqi armored vehicles arrived on the scene before the American tanks were needed. The Iraqi Army has rushed ammunition to Sadr City, including machine-gun rounds and rocket-propelled grenades to give its units more firepower and address complaints of shortages.

Moving armor into Sadr City while under fire is no small feat, particularly for the young Iraqi Army. The Iraqi Army outperformed their American betters on that day. Isn’t that worth a headline as well?

Well, not really, Bill, it doesn’t fit the template. AP still thinks it’s 2006 and they write that the Iraqi Army is just a participant in the battle, notice the caption under the photo above. You have to reap into the story to find the Iraqis are leading the battle against al-Sadr;

At least 14 people were killed and 84 wounded in Saturday’s fighting in Sadr City, police and hospital officials said. Sporadic clashes were continuing after sundown, with gunmen darting through the streets, firing at Iraqi police and soldiers who have taken the lead in the fighting.

al Sadr is out numbered by his own countrymen, even the Shi’ite leadership has thrown him under the bus. Bluster won’t save him this time.

Category: Media, Terror War