Al'Sadr extends the cease-fire in Iraq

[Guardsman Bass]

New York Times]BAGHDAD — The Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr ordered his Mahdi Army militia on Friday to extend its cease-fire for six more months, bolstering hopes that a recent trend toward sharply lower Iraqi civilian and American military deaths in Baghdad would continue.

His announcement, read by Sadrist clerics at mosques throughout southern and central Iraq, came precisely two years after the bombing of a revered Shiite shrine in Samarra that unleashed a wave of sectarian violence and plunged Iraq into civil war. After the bombing, Mr. Sadr’s huge militia rampaged in Sunni neighborhoods of Baghdad, killing hundreds of Sunnis every week and seizing control of three-quarters of the city.

The decision to extend the cease-fire was immediately welcomed by the American military, which called for dialogue with Sadr officials and predicted the renewed cease-fire would make it easier for the nation’s antagonistic political factions to come together. The Americans also said it would allow the military to focus more efforts on Sunni guerrillas, who still dominate parts of northern Iraq.

In the early days of the occupation, American officials frequently dismissed Mr. Sadr as a thuggish phony trying to capitalize on the memory of his venerated father, Grand Ayatollah Muhammad Sadiq al-Sadr, a leading Shiite cleric who was assassinated in 1999 on orders from Saddam Hussein.

But as the occupation wore on and the Mahdi Army proved to be the most effective — and most bloody — armed force in Baghdad, American officials leaped to embrace any hint of restraint offered by Mr. Sadr.

The cease-fire has also benefited Mr. Sadr, who is believed to be in his mid-30s. As the Mahdi Army’s killings spun out of control, many Shiites who once favored the protection it brought from roving Sunni insurgents grew troubled by the movement’s increasingly bloodthirsty activities and the thuggish and criminal behavior of many fighters. Mr. Sadr was widely seen as losing control over much of the force.

Under the cease-fire, Mr. Sadr has sought to wipe some of the stain away from the militia’s more brutal past activities.

But the cease-fire has been deeply unpopular with many Sadrists in southern Iraq, where militiamen loyal to a powerful and rival Shiite cleric, Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, dominate many elements of the Iraqi security forces.

Moreover, many fighters in Baghdad continue to resist the cease-fire, and carry out rocket and mortar attacks against American and Iraqi forces. The American military calls these cells “special groups” and says they have Iranian backing.

Separately on Friday, the military announced that a marine was killed in combat on Thursday in Anbar Province in western Iraq.

*Tags fixed, this is why we have a preview button -Bean*

[Guardsman Bass]

Fuck- I forgot to add the end-quote! Could a mod help me- it's not letting me edit my post.

[MKSheppard]

I guess he wanted to live a bit longer.

[Sea Skimmer]

No surprise, the main reason why al-Sadr called the ceasefire to start with was because his origination was breaking apart. The US kept killing off important commanders, whole hoards of random bandits and small insurgent and terrorists groups started using the Mahdi Army banner. A ceasefire was the only way for him to hold onto a coherent organization.