Iraqi cleric against pact
LK is optimistic to a point: once this goes to parliament there will be some resistant from Sadr’s groups. But they only have 15 seats in parliament which is not enough. (But Sadr is load and influential and he’s threatened armed resistance in opposition to this deal. Should that be taken seriously?) Everyone is taking it seriously and Sadr City is already surrounded by the U.S. military in Baghdad. But Sadr’s followers are weaker today than they were a year ago. (Why?) Because the Maliki government had cracked down on them seriously and Maliki has shown he wants control in Baghdad. So that gives the government the upper hand especially with the American presence. (The Iranian government today publicly endorsed this deal, and Iran has in the past supported Sadr. What does Iran’s support mean?) it’s significant, if Iran wanted to have blocked this, they could. There was a lot of speculation on what would happen if McCain had won the election, and McCain made tough statements against Iran. Obama prefers diplomatic channels and said he wanted to pull out of Iraq anyway, so this softened Iran’s stance to the point where they’re not threatened by this agreement to pull out within three years. (Why are you not in Iraq and what’s it like to be watching from the outside?) I’m not there because of security reasons. I would be targeted. So many people like myself and looking forward to the day when they can go back and contribute to rebuilding the country.
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