That was after the fighting occurred. Furthermore, they're diplomacy has consisted so far of ultimatums and focusing on capturing and killing outlaws (the tenuous ceasefire and move to negotiations being the only worthy diplomatic move so far).
Diplomacy? With criminals? Why?
If I get a gang of like minded people together, get a bunch of guns and take over a town in Montana, terrorising the population and killing the police and others should I expect to be negotiated with by diplomats or killed by the police and the army?
I'd rather expect the latter. Diplomacy? The man's a killer and backer of killers. I don't know why they haven't just gone in there and cleaned him out. I would have. With tanks.
Are we talking about the same guy? Because a certain spokesman was taken away for questioning in this fashion more recently (yesterday or the day before). I'm talking about the aide that was arrested (provoking the insurgency), the CPA denied arresting him initially adn hasn't released him yet.
No, we aren't. I'm not familiar at all with the incident you're quoting.
Only the health ministry is run with complete autonomy. Furthermore, the military and police won't fight Sadr partly because in some cases you are right...they can't but also because they don't want to fight their own people especially when there is an increasing belief that the American/coalition presence is what triggered the massive unrest in the first place.
Nah - they can't because they're useless. Some may not want to fight 'their own people' but mostly that's just an excuse not to get involved. Those who give it should be canned. They're cops and soldiers. Cops are always 'against' their own people (the lawbreakers) and soldiers swear to support their government against all enemies foreign and domestic. It's that domestic part that's important there.
They don't have enough power. The Governing Council is also questionable in terms of respect, since they lack a popular mandate. To illustrate this, Sistani, Iraq's leading religious authority will not affiliate himself with them (coincedentally, he also persuaded Sadr to back down from his own ultimatums and negotiate).
Sistani's a cipher. I'd love to know if he's just an opportunist or a real supporter of something better. He could be either.
As to questionable in terms of popular mandate would you care to relate who the last Iraqui leader with a popular mandate was? As far as I know there has never been one - but I'm not an Persian political specialist. Meaning that the Iraqui people aren't used to one and don't really understand what it means. More western bias.
Somalia - that was led by the US (it was UN backed). Rwanda, I agree totally. Kosovo - what's your point there?
Somalia - try again. That was a UN aid operation propped up by US forces. Far from being "led" by the US (although the more famous actions were) the US forces were a smallish group without proper support. Indeed the only armored units were UN controlled (French or Belgian as I recall) and the bloody mess in Mogadishu was only ended when the US finally managed to get them up off their butts and into action. Somalia was led by the UN and US backed, not the other way around.
And by referencing Kosovo, I'm not talking about what the west did but about what the Serbs and Albanians did to each other.
There were complaints by Iraqi firms that they could facilitate reconstruction faster and cheaper than U.S. companies.
Nice but unsupported. Is it true? We've no idea.
You're demonising him. Sadr is a Shia cleric as are his followers. Fallujah is part of the "Sunni Triangle", and enjoyed privileges under Saddam - that is the speculated reason for their dissent.
Do you honestly think that someone cannot be opportunistic enough to work with other groups if it benefits them? The timing is highly suspicious. Extremely so. Coincidence? Do you really believe that these events are unconnected and just 'happened' to occur at the same time?
Silver Warder
Warder to Rebelaessedai
Risk everything - or gain nothing.
Geoffrey de Charney - 1356
Deeds - Not words
Remembering Joe (CrazedWeasel)
