Thousands of Iraqis have already traveled to the southern holy city of Najaf. Moqtada al-Sadr has called for a million Iraqis to come protest on the 4th Anniversary of the Invasion of Baghdad. By car and bus they have been showing up ready to display the way they feel about the American Occupation of their country.
Are you ready to hear the Right start screaming ? How many hundreds of times have we been told how grateful the Iraqis are that we are there ? Some politicans have gone as far as to say if they thought they Iraqis didn't want us there, they would vote for the withdrawl, oops! I wish I could remember the names, but I'm sure someone here will know who they are. What kind of reaction can we expect once the News gets out of how many showed for this action ? Will the MSM even report on it ?
I don't think the MSM will be able to sit on this one. Micheal Ware from CNN will probably be more than happy to discuss this with Leslie in the S Room. This Protest is to take place in the same city that has had some deadly fighting in the last couple days. From the BBC we gain some insight into what's coming.
Mr Sadr has called for a million-strong protest to coincide with the fourth anniversary of Saddam Hussein's fall.
The protesters will demand the withdrawal of coalition troops.
No car and trucks for 24 hrs basicly shuts the city down to all but the Military, if they can enforce it. They will allow buses to take people to the center of the city while keeping the cars out. As someone who has been in a few rather violent protests, I'm not sure I would attend this one even if I was Iraqi. Since damn near everyone, it seems, owns a automatic weapon in Iraq, chances that more than a few will be around , are pretty high. Breitbart News has more on the precautions.
"All vehicles including motorcycles will be banned from 5:00 am (0100 GMT) on Monday to 5:00 am the next day," Iraqi Brigadier General Qassim Atta Mussawi told state television on Sunday.
Mussawi is spokesman for the Baghdad security plan launched in the capital on February 14 in an effort to quell sectarian violence that threatens the entire region and has turned the US victory four years ago into a poisoned chalice.
So General, how is that all working out for you ? That Poison Chalice seems to be holding a rather bitter potion wouldn't you say?
Gone are the euphoric April 9 cheers of "Good, Good, Bush" praising US President George W. Bush for ousting the regime. Angry chants of "Down with Bush" are a frequent background to brutal Shiite and Sunni sectarian strife.
A cleric speaking on behalf of radical Shiite leader Moqtada al-Sadr, whose Mahdi Army is what the Pentagon calls the biggest danger to Iraq, has urged mass anti-American protests on Monday's anniversary.
"It will be an Iraqi demonstration in the name of all Iraqis. We will raise the Iraqi flag and also banners demanding that the occupation leave," a Sadr representative in his Najaf office told AFP on condition of anonymity.
This is where some of the Rights propaganda will start to fall apart. I can only hope to see O'Llielys head explode after all the times he has claimed how pleased the Iraqis are to have our Troops there. What I would really enjoy seeing is Liebermans shittyassed smirk wiped off his face after his claim about this protest.
In the US, Senator Joseph Lieberman said that Mr Sadr's words were proof the US troop surge was working.
"He is not calling for a resurgence of sectarian conflict. He's striking a nationalist chord," he said. "He's acknowledging that the surge is working."
Just what the hell is Joe talking about ? A Nationalist chord? WTF ? How did the WaPo piece describe al-Sadr, oh yeah a "Fiery Shi'ite". Not the type of guy to be calling all the factions together is it Joe ? Between Joe and Bush, they probably still can't tell the different groups apart anyway.
This next quote comes from BreitBartDotCom, a right-leaning news source, but how this slipped thru the editors is beyond me. It does go a ways to show us once again that Joe is talking out of his ass.
Despite a massive US and Iraqi security operation launched eight weeks ago in Baghdad to stem sectarian violence and insurgent attacks, the daily bloodshed shows no let-up, with at least 23 people killed in attacks including car bombings on Sunday, the eve of the anniversary.
Yes indeed, Monday should be a very interesting News day. The Americans in charge say
Senior American officers have described Moqtada al-Sadr as the biggest threat to Iraq's stability, says the BBC's Jonathan Charles in Baghdad.
They accuse his Mehdi army militia of carrying out killings, fuelling the sectarian divide between Shias and Sunnis....
The Americans claim he has fled to Iran but he still remains a powerful figure in Iraq, preparing for the moment when Iraqis eventually take full control of their country.
This could all be very well true even if al-Sadrs people say he is still in Iraq. If he is in Iraq and shows up at this event, it would be a major show of power and defiance. A huge thumb of the nose, not only to the Occupation Forces, but to the Iraqi authoritys he has chosen to break with. I have said more that once recently that I think al-Sadr may be one of Iraqs few leaders that could actually bring some kind of peace to the region, possibily as another Strongman type leader, but even that could be better for Iraq than what they have now. Granted he could not be left to do it on his own when we consider his ties to the ethnic cleansing, but has a piece of the puzzle he may be useful to his people.
So this is the part where I ask you what you think? Will the Right have any reaction at all, or will it be a muted one? Are there any Democratic leaders ready to callout those that have preached how much we are wanted in Iraq ? Remember when or if you go to frame this issue in the next day or 2 to use al-Sadrs own words to make the point of this Protest march.
"In order to end the occupation, you will go out and demonstrate," said Sadr
Never let it be forgotten that we Invaded this Independant Nation after being fed False Intelligence by our Own Executive Branch of the Government. If a country did this to America there would be a whole lot more going on daily than a demonstration or 2. My prayers are that Millions show up, and no one gets hurt while they try to show the World that people that claim the Iraqis want us there are doing nothing more than telling another lie to feed this War.
Breaking Update :Ht to sc kitty
HUNDREDS of thousands of Shiites burned and trampled on US flags as they gathered in the Iraqi holy city of Najaf for an anti-American rally called by firebrand cleric Moqtada al-Sadr on the fourth anniversary of the fall of Saddam Hussein.
Large crowds of men, women and children holding Iraqi flags and anti-US banners massed in Najaf and the nearby twin city of Kufa to protest against what they said was an American occupation of Iraq.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au...
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