Al-Sadr cuts and runs...to Iran

[Regis Philbin]

He's showing his true colors...yellow, as in coward. :redmad:


http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2007-02-14T030024Z_01_N13243567_RTRUKOC_0_US-IRAQ-SADR-USA.xml&WTmodLoc=NewsArt-L3-Top+NewsNews-4

Sadr has left Iraq and now in Iran: U.S. officials

Tue Feb 13, 2007 10:01pm ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. military believes radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, one of Iraq's most powerful figures, has left the country and is now in Iran, two senior American officials said on Tuesday.

Sadr's departure was first reported by the ABC News network which said he had fled to Iran because of fears that he might be targeted by U.S. bombs and worries over his safety because of a fracturing within his organization.

The U.S. officials spoke to Reuters about the report on condition of anonymity.

Washington has identified the Mehdi Army -- a militia loyal to Sadr -- as the biggest threat to Iraqi security and has urged Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to disarm it. But Maliki's government depends heavily on Sadr's political movement for support.

In recent months, U.S. forces have killed or detained hundreds of people from Sadr's movement.

The report of Sadr's departure comes just days after U.S. military officials in Baghdad showed journalists fragments of what they said were Iranian-manufactured weapons and asserted that people at the "highest levels" of Tehran's government were involved in arming Iraqi militants.

In a report on CNN, administration officials said Sadr's departure may have been prompted by President George W. Bush's plan to add 21,500 troops in Iraq.

[Richard Tafoya]

Yep, when the going gets tough, cowards retreat to their safe, undisclosed locations.

[Richard Tafoya]

Or maybe he's still in Iraq and this is a smokescreen.

AP:
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=2873895&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312

In Baghdad, officials linked to al-Sadr denied that the reclusive cleric had fled the country.

A close aide who meets regularly with him said al-Sadr was not in Tehran. The aide said the U.S. report probably stems from a campaign by al-Sadr's people to put out false information about his movements amid fears he will be detained by U.S.-led forces. The cleric also is sleeping in different places each night, the aide said.

An official in al-Sadr's main office in the Shiite holy city of Najaf said the cleric had decided not to appear publicly during the current month of Muharam, one of four holy months in the Islamic calendar.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to disclose the information.

Lawmaker Nassar al-Rubaie, head of Sadrist bloc in parliament, also denied the U.S. report.

"The news was not accurate because Muqtada al-Sadr is still in Iraq and he did not visit any country," al-Rubaie told The Associated Press.

[pinky]

Yep, when the going gets tough, cowards retreat to their safe, undisclosed locations.
I'm literally laughing out loud at that!