Father knows best. It is something to wonder about that Brent Scowcroft and Bush I were so on the mark predicting the results of an invasion of Iraq, and Bush II so keen on invading. Not to mention the Brits ignoring their own history in Iraq.

A radical Shia cleric by the name of al-Sadr led the revolt.

Artillery rounds fell around the golden dome of the Imam Ali mosque in Najaf, while al-Sadr’s black-masked militia battled occupation forces in the streets of Iraq’s holy cities.

The year is 1920, and the radical Shia cleric terrorising British occupying forces is Mohammad al-Sadr – whose great-grandson Moqtada al-Sadr is now leading a second revolt.

You’ve said this before. Do you think this is a real possibility?

Far more likely is conservative Christian law: illegal contraception, jail for homosexuals, forced Protestant prayer in school, … . All these things have existed in the US in my lifetime.

The sad thing about posts like these, is they reflect the ignorance of the left.

My friends, as Islam continues to surge exponentially in power under the very noses of liberal democracies, if…alright, WHEN sharia comes to power in certain areas of the West, there will be liberals who as they are carried off to the local mosque (most likely a converted church) for prayers, they will be shaking their fists at white, Protestant American leaders. Make no mistake about it.

Iran is fighting a proxy war in Iraq. This shouldn’t surprise anyone, and they are doing it to weaken the US, which is the same reason France, Germany Russia and China weren’t involved. Three of the four may think differently about it when sharia law and a mass of angry, 7th-Century minded Muslims take over their nations and expel their cultures to museums.

Bonhomme Richard makes some good points in the post immediately below, about the week’s fighting in Iraq. There is yet more to be said. If the ISF are standing fast in Baghdad and Basra– whether they need help or not–……

I wonder how liberal groups here in the USA would accept Muslim law.

You’ve said this before. Do you think this is a real possibility?

Far more likely is conservative Christian law: illegal contraception, jail for homosexuals, forced Protestant prayer in school, … . All these things have existed in the US in my lifetime.

From Reuters,

Sadr aide Hazem al-Araji said Mehdi Army fighters would not hand over guns. Araji also said there had been an agreement with the government to stop “random arrests”, an underlying grievance of Sadr’s followers that has fuelled this week’s violence.

Translation: Maliki tried to neutralize the Mahdi army but failed. Sadr gets to keep control of Basra and Maliki will go home to the green zone.

Boomer said (#11):

Still say it’s time to take out Sadr once and for all while dismantling his militia, then take out the Mullahs and the Republican Guard in Iran.

Read up: Maliki has closer ties to Iran than Sadr. Iran has been calling for a stop to the fighting. As for “taking out Sadr”, even with the surge we don’t have the forces for that.

“The rockets used in the Green Zone attacks “were Iranian-provided, Iranian-made rockets,” General Petraeus said.”

“Can we dismiss this from the most successful US commander in Iraq since the conflict began? Further, is it wise to also dismiss the trend of Iranian command changes across the board to operational ground commanders? And, is it wise to forget that Muqtada al-Sadr announced his seclusion and withdrawal from command (at the behest of his Iranian masters)?”

Boomer is right, if Iraq is to stand up on its own, then we have no choice but to deal with Iran on the most severe and harshest terms necessary. We could start by giving Israel the go-ahead in bombing Iran’s nuclear “power plant” sites, and proceeding from there with our own 12 step “intervention.” Perhaps giving Iran something to occupy its time within its own borders will keep it out of southern Iraq.

Breaking news from Fox (yep actually trying to watch it again), radical cleric order militants off the streets in Basrah is the headline. They showed footage of Sadr’s troops firing their guns in the air running around the way only muslims can a burning military vehicle.

Still say it’s time to take out Sadr once and for all while dismantling his militia, then take out the Mullahs and the Republican Guard in Iran with conventional long range air launched cruise missiles. It would not take much to get the local population in Iran to rise up and dismantle the current Government given a little help in taking the Mullah’s muscle away from them.

These reports are all good ones.

I’m not sure ChiefRZ. It appears the Threatswatch link provided some incorrect information about al-Sadr role in this. And as Michael Yon pointed out it will get worse, which it appears it has in the last 24 hours.

Regardless, this is an ecouraging sign that Maliki and the Iraqi security is getting close to standing on it’s own 2 feet. I’m concerned that Maliki may just be in a tad bit over his head and the vacuum left by a possible defeat here will negate the gains we seen in the last 6 months.

Al-Sadr To Followers: Don’t Surrender Your Weapons

by Robert H. Reid

Anti-American Shiite militia leader Muqtada al-Sadr ordered his followers Saturday to defy government orders to surrender their weapons, as U.S. jets struck Shiite extremists …

Michael’s done a great job and I’m going to pre-order book now.

Lots of claims in the links MM provides are contradicted by other sources. For example, the threats watch source says al Sadr is out of it, while Reuters reports otherwise.

The overall picture that Iran is pulling he strings is contradicted by two facts. One is that (as everyone agrees) it was Maliki who started he current fighting. Yes, as the official government of Iraq, you would think he ought to attack independent militias. That’s what he did. Iran did not start this round, Maliki did.

The second is that Maliki is closer to Iran than the militias he’s attacking.

Before the invasion of Iraq, experts at the State Department and elsewhere told Bush that without a very strong occupation force the situation could degenerate into chaos. Neocons said the people at State were incompetent. What do they say now?