Al-Sadr Press
But let’s give the AP credit where it’s due. Even though this article on the arrest of an allegedly corrupt deputy health minister is overly concerned with the reaction of Sadrist members of parliament, it does include some kickass details. This is surge as surge is supposed to done, and gives me hope. I’d like to thank the Associated Press for the imagery that follows:
BAGHDAD, Iraq: U.S.-backed Iraqi forces stormed the Health Ministry and arrested the No. 2 official, accusing him of diverting millions of dollars to the biggest Shiite militia and allowing death squads use of ambulances and government hospitals to carry out kidnappings and killings.
… The arrest took place at 9 a.m., an hour after Iraqi government offices generally open. Iraqi troops pushed through the iron gates of the Health Ministry building in northern Baghdad, ordered people to drop to the ground and rushed to al-Zamili’s ground-floor office, witnesses said.
One of al-Zamili’s bodyguards said American soldiers accompanying the force asked everyone to step aside and approached the deputy minister, who introduced himself. A U.S. soldier handcuffed al-Zamili and led him away, the guard said on condition of anonymity because he feared reprisal.
AP Television News footage of al-Zamili’s office showed overturned chairs and smashed computers along with scattered files and telephones on the floor. Dusty, white boot prints marked the door, apparently because the troops had kicked it in.
Lovin’ the dusty boot prints. Amazingly, no fewer than six graphs follow describing how al-Sadr’s people have cynically used, abused and subverted Iraq’s health system for murder and self-promotion, culminating in this graph:Â
The clinics helped al-Sadr build a powerful nationwide political movement modeled in part on the Shiite Hezbollah militia in Lebanon.
Interesting. Is the AP actually suggesting that Hezbollah is a murderous criminal racket just like the Mahdi Army? Can’t the AP find enough Sadrist PMs to condemn this outrage?Â
Hold up, here we go:
Nasr al-Rubaie, leader of the Sadrist bloc in parliament, called al-Zamili’s arrest a “kidnapping.”
Health Minister Ali al-Shemari also denounced the raid.
“This is a violation of Iraq’s sovereignty,” he said. “They should have a court order to carry out a raid like this.”
The AP also offers this assessment all on its own:
The arrest is likely to add new strains to al-Maliki’s fragile coalition as it embarks on a high-risk campaign to curb violence in Baghdad. Shiite politicians persuaded al-Sadr to pull his militiamen back from the streets in the run-up to the security campaign.
New strains … I’ll say: Get religion, Sadrist scum. You’re next. Â
Posted by Jules Crittenden at 1:12 am on Friday, February 9, 2007
7 Responses to “Al-Sadr Press”
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February 9th, 2007 at 1:19 am
Wonder if they found any of the $12 billion worth of cash Bush shipped to Baghdad in there?
February 9th, 2007 at 3:41 am
Bill’s Nibbles– 2007.02.09
Some Bill’s Bites posts, some things I excerpted and linked but I’m sending you to the original post. I may rearrange the order of the items within this post as I add new things that I think belong above the
February 9th, 2007 at 3:49 am
Al-Sadr Press
Al-Sadr PressJules Crittenden[L]et’s give the AP credit where it’s due. Even though this article on the arrest of an allegedly corrupt deputy health minister is overly concerned with the reaction of Sadrist members of parliament, it does include so…
February 9th, 2007 at 10:58 am
Web Reconnaissance for 02/09/2007
A short recon of what’s out there that might draw your attention.
February 9th, 2007 at 12:04 pm
[...] You’re also not hearing about these remarkable medical advances using amniotic (not embryonic) stem cells. Jules Crittenden catches the press almost getting a story right. [...]
February 9th, 2007 at 6:33 pm
This is an extremely positive sign that Maliki has finally seen that he can’t have it both ways. Actually, the first sign was when he gave an interview reportedly stating that he “wished his term as PM was over already.” But this is the first positive development in terms of actually engaging the Sadrist elements militarily rather than politically appeasing them ad nauseum.
One of the hallmarks of Jaish al-Mahdi was to emulate Hezbollah in the ways they got the people on their side by offering public services and protection (a la the Mob) that the new government was struggling to accomplish. Infiltration of the highest level of the Health Ministry fits their m.o. perfectly. Expect to see other ministry officials running for cover in the weeks to follow.
If this more serious attitude had been in place last fall when my Stryker unit was still in country, we already would have had things under control. The problem was, we had the military muscle in place but not the political will to back it up. Didn’t do much good to wrap up rogue elements if the Iraqi government was going to cave and make nice with them afterward. Political will is everything in a low intensity war like this one.
February 9th, 2007 at 6:51 pm
Welcome back and welcome to the site, sarnt, always good to hear from someone who’s been there and done that.