Are 2,500 soldiers necessary to kill a "marginalized" cleric?

If Sadr is so marginalized why risk the lives of our children to try to kill him? I'm referring to the marks by the "idiot general."

IS HAPPENING IN NAJAF??? Are we the only two who have noticed NO INFO coming from there? If the stupid Amis harm a hair on Al-Sadr' head it's
DO NOT PASS GO, DO NOT COLLECT... :sigh:

Just blather about 'cease fire' 'negotiations' etc.

I think you could find hundreds of clerics just like him all over the Muslim World. There are probably dozens in Islamabad alone.

If I were in charge, I would want him dead just because I see little risk in his becoming a martyr. Every other person in the Middle East has been declared a martyr for 2000 years so what's another? If he lives, he is a risk, because he becomes the cleric who stood up to the Great Satan and lived to tell the tale and can then personally embellish his legacy.

The concern is that this guy was able to get an armed militia of 10,000 put together in virtually no time with nobody aware of it. He proved how quickly you can turn dissent into revolt. So, it makes me wonder how many of these episodes are we going to face.

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and the USA will have "proved" that they are indeed the "evil" ones, and that MORE Iraqis will support the "next" leader.

To me, al-Sadr is not the problem, he is just their leader, and the NEXT leader may be even MORE aggressive?

To just kill Iraqis that the USA doesn't like isn't going to make peace.

Already, there is an increase of hatred for the USA as a result of the Fallujah massacre.

The friends, relatives and families will not forget.

Neither will the World.

You can't worry about the next bad guy. Besides, the next bad guy is rarely as good as the first; you start working your way down the chain of command and find out there was a reason the first guy was the leader.

It's ridiculous that things have gotten to this point, but Sadr absolutely can't be allowed to have a voice after this.

and YOUR community.

Young Mr. Al'Sadr is something of a figurehead for a broad movement of radical Shia. He owes his prominence to his assassinated father, and this family identity has made him a convenient rallying point. Many of the actual leadership behind him are students of his father, and more prominent as clerics. Large numbers of the Shia wish that the main-line clerics, including the revered al'Sistani, would take a harder line against the occupation, particularly as it stretches on, and becomes more violent. Eliminating Mr. al'Sadr will do nothing to alter the power of these forces he represents.

Eliminaton of al'Sadr will tend to discredit al'Sistani and his allies with many of the Shia. The actions of al'Sadr recently have been aimed as much at achieving this as they have been aimed against the occupation. If al'Sistani allows the elimination of al'Sadr, many will see him as acting selfishly, in using the U.S. to eliminate a popular rival within the Shia, and this will strengthen the hand of the more radical elements. If al'Sistani opposed the elimination of al'Sadr, this will also strengthen the hand of the more radical elements. This is a common motif in the current situation in Iraq: there are no good oprions.

"You must mean the old same place...you can't get there from here."

"LET'S GO GET THOSE BUSH BASTARDS!"