Why didn't Bush cut a deal with Muqtada al-Sadr years ago and save thousands of lives?

Any ideas? Was it a political calculation? I bet it was.

Don

http://www.pr-inside.com/al-sadr-urges-mahdi-army-to-abide-r327738.htm

2007-12-02 15:16:23 -

Al-Sadr urges Mahdi army to abide by his order to stand down

BAGHDAD (AP) - Radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr on Sunday urged his Mahdi Army to continue respecting his order to suspend its activities and accused U.S. forces of sowing division among Iraqis.

Last August, al-Sadr ordered a six-month suspension of Mahdi Army activities to enable him to purge the force. U.S. officials say the order was responsible in part for the dramatic drop in attacks in the Baghdad area, although splinter groups have disregarded his instructions.

I thank my followers in the Mahdi Army for their obedience to my order and I urge them to continue respecting the freeze, al-Sadr said in a statement on his movement's Web site.

The order was issued after two days of bloody clashes in the Shiite holy city of Karbala that claimed at least 52 lives. Iraqi security officials blamed Mahdi militiamen for attacking mosque guards, some of whom are linked to the rival Badr Brigade militia.

The bloodshed triggered a backlash in the Shiite community about militias, once considered as protection against militant Sunnis but increasingly seen as thugs.

Al-Sadr's freeze also appeared aimed at distancing himself from factions believed influenced by Iran, a charge the Iranians deny.

The cleric had threatened to reverse the order unless U.S. and Iraqi forces halt raids and arrests of his followers in the Shiite cities of Karbala and Diwaniyah.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,310697,00.html

Gen. Petraeus Meets With Al-Sadr Deputies

Monday, November 12, 2007

WASHINGTON — Top U.S. commander in Iraq Gen. David Petraeus has met with representatives of Muqtada al-Sadr, once one of the top enemies fueling the insurgency against the elected Iraqi government, FOX News has confirmed.

The general has not met personally with al-Sadr, the military said, but the meetings come as the Pentagon is softening its approach to the firebrand Shiite leader who recently eased his hard-line stance with a ceasefire call last August.

Al-Sadr's aides have been quietly working with U.S. military officials to discuss security operations.

"Gen. Petraeus has not had any direct engagements or meetings with Muqtada al-Sadr. The command has indeed had direct engagements with some of his people that are within the organization. Mainly that has been via the Force Strategic Engagement Cell or FSEC as part of the overarching efforts to assist with reconciliation efforts," Petraeus spokesman Col. Steve Boylan said in a statement provided to FOX News.

First reported over the weekend in Newsweek, U.S. commanders said the pullback of al-Sadr's Mahdi Army has been a major factor in the decrease in Baghdad violence. They also said U.S. forces and Sadr's forces now have a common enemy: so-called "special groups" that once were aligned with Sadr but have splintered from the main organization.

Click here to read the full story in Newsweek.

They are stringing this occupation out as long as possible--what looks like incompetence is actually what they intended: a civil war in which various factions weaken each other, chaos, a busted infrastructure, an excuse for us to stay--all while we wait for oil and make shitloads of money on defense contracts and rebuilding.

and BushCo didn't negotiate with terrorists. Of course, the list of who is and who isn't a terrorist changes at their whim. Therefore they can only talk to Muqtada al-Sadr on alternate Tuesdays and/or when they feel like it.

Destabilization is part and parcel of the invasion of Iraq.

Now it's Iran's turn.