(Badr 2 the Bone)
It’s a shame the Speaker of the House is a moron. Nancy Pelosi has been a less effective majority leader than Newt Ginrgrich—if that’s possible. And she seems to know as much about Iraq as John McCain. Today Politico runs a story where Pelosi threatens Petreaus with nonsense:
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) warned Army Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker on Thursday not to “put a shine on recent events” in Iraq when they testify before Congress next week. “I hope we don’t hear any glorification of what happened in Basra,” said Pelosi, referring to a recent military offensive against Shiite militants in the city led by the Iraqi government and supported by U.S. forces.
Although powerful Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr agreed to a ceasefire after six days of fighting, Pelosi wondered why the U.S. was caught off guard by the offensive and questioned how the ceasefire was achieved, saying the terms were “probably dictated from Iran.”
“We have to know the real ground truths of what is happening there, not put a shine on events because of a resolution that looks less violent when in fact it has been dictated by al-Sadr, who can grant or withhold that call for violence,” Pelosi said.
What does that even mean, Nancy? What exactly was dictated from Iran? Maliki’s Sciri-Dawa governing coalition has more Iranian ties than Sadr. And today’s WaPost says:
Sadr apparently hopes to bolster his credentials as an Iraqi nationalist.
There’s no evidence Sadr’s 9-point truce had anything to do with Iran. In fact, Maliki is arguably more of an Iranian puppet than Sadr. During last week’s fighting, Maliki merged the Badr Brigade, Sciri’s Iranian trained militia, with the Iraqi Army.
Again, who is taking orders from Iran? I can’t find a full copy of Pelosi’s speech, but from this reading it seems she’s just throwing the I(ran)-word out there for no reason. I agree that Petreaus ought not try and spin Basra as anything but a victory for Sadr. But the Dems need to back their questions and criticism with solid rhetoric. Don’t just throw Iran into a sentence sans context. All it does is make you sound dumb.
Ladies and gentlmen, meet your new Iraqi National Army:
TAGS: Congress, Crack, Iran, Iraq, Islam, John McCain, mccain, Shiite, Slam, spin, warWhat is the Badr Organization?
It is the Iranian-trained wing of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), the largest Shiite party in Iraq. During the U.S.-led occupation government’s crackdown on militia groups in 2003, the 10,000-strong militia changed its name from the Badr Brigade to the Badr Organization of Reconstruction and Development and pledged to disarm. The group, however, has reportedly remained armed, and today operates mainly in Shiite-controlled southern Iraq, where a number of regional governments are dominated by SCIRI representatives. One of Badr’s recent offshoots is a feared, elite commando unit linked to the Iraqi Interior Ministry called the Wolf Brigade. Sunni leaders have recently accused the Badr Organization of revenge killings against Sunni clerics and unlawful kidnappings.
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