by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright May 6, 2006
All Rights Reserved.

howing appreciation for Great Britain's sacrifice to secure a new Iraq, Iraqis jumped for joy after a British helicopter was shot down killing all four crew by guerrillas in Shiite-dominated Basra. Pelting British soldiers with stones and setting fire to armored rescue vehicles, an angry crowd of around 250 expressed its disgust with the 8,000 troops costing Prime Minister Tony Blair dearly back in the U.K. Once considered friendly territory before the war began March 20, 2003, a growing of Iraq's Shia population swears its loyalty to radical cleric Muqtada Al Sadr, every bit the U.S. enemy as Al Qaeda's chief Iraq operative, Jordanian-born terrorist Abu Musab Al Zarqawi, whose bloody insurgency threatens to upend coalition efforts to stabilize a new government. Recently found documents prove Al Zarqawi's intent of fomenting a civil war by attacking the Shiite population.

      Al Zarqawi's mission, worked in concert with Al Sadr's Mahdi 10,000-plus strong militia, involves punishing Shiites who dare to support Iraq's U.S.-backed government. Al Sadr's ultimate aim is to inherit Saddam Hussein's crown as Iraq's new dictator. Unlike Saddam, a Baathist secularist, Al Sadr parallels the religious militancy of Osama bin Laden, whose brand of radical Islam calls for annihilation of Western “invaders” and all other groups not adhering strictly to Sharia—the most primitive, outdated and backward Islamic laws. Like Bin Laden, Al Sadr seeks to enslave Iraq's population for his own power grab. U.S. authorities chose not to take out Al Sadr during the March 24,2004 battle of Fallouja, allowing the radical Shiite cleric to cut-and-run with his Al Mahdi army. Today, Al Sadr, more than Al Zarqawi, represents Iraq's biggest obstacle.

      Watching Iraqis cheer the downing of a British helicopter speaks volumes about why the U.S. cannot succeed in Iraq: The vast majority of Iraqis, with the possible exception of the Kurds, want the U.S. out. “We are all soldiers of Al Sayed,” chanted the crowd hurling rocks at British troops, swearing loyalty to the U.S. and U.K.-bashing cleric Al Sadr. When Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld talks about turning security over to Iraq's new military and police forces, he's not acknowledging massive infiltration by Al Sadr's militants. U.S. and British forces are routinely sabotaged by Al Sadr's forces deeply imbedded in Iraq's new military. There's no way to protect U.S. troops when Al Sadr and Al Zarqawi command strategic and tactical influence inside Iraq's new military and security services. More than 70 U.S. soldiers lost their lives in April, 15 in the first six days of May.

      President George W. Bush touts the recently completed Iraqi parliament, including its new Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, who refuses to deal with Al Sadr. Bush cites attempts to disarm Iraq's minor militias as proof of progress, yet mentions nothing about dealing with Al Sadr, whose Al Mahdi militia controls large parts of Baghdad and southern Iraq. Even Iraq's most revered Shiite leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali Al Sistani can't contain Al Sadr, who currently pulls the strings in Iraq's Shiite community. Al Sistani is one bullet away from opposing the incorrigible young cleric, who many compare to the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the father of Iran's Islamic revolution. All the efforts to “democratize” Iraq find rank-and-file Shiites following the charismatic Al Sadr over handpicked U.S.-backed Shiites. Any puppet that opposes Al Sadr will have their strings cut.

      Bush has put the U.S. military into the untenable position of fighting a guerrilla war, where Iraqi loyalty lies with the insurgents and foreign terrorists fighting U.S. occupation. Al Sadr has won more hearts-and-minds than the U.S. military, despite efforts to control the media by planting stories in Iraqi newspapers. When British forces arrested two of Al Sadr's chief lieutenants last Sept., Al Sadr declared war on British forces. Letting Al Sadr escape from Fallouja proved the U.S. can't play both sides against the middle. Without defanging Al Sadr, coalition forces face an unending guerrilla war, currently spiraling out of control. Al Sadr works closely with Al Zarqawi to fight U.S. occupation. Both know that growing casualties and a lack of measurable progress hurts U.S. public opinion, now opposed to the war. Letting Al Sadr run amok has sabotaged the U.S. mission.

      U.S. forces can't succeed in Iraq without taking out Al Sadr and his Al Mahdi army. Pretending that Al Sadr can be ignored contributes to U.S. casualties, now spiraling out of control. Watching Iraqis celebrate U.S. and British helicopter crashes should give the White House second thoughts about the current mission. It's not enough for the White House to support politicians loyal to U.S. interests. There's no reason to sacrifice the U.S. treasury and more American lives when the bulk of Iraqis want to be left alone. If Iraq's new found freedom chooses a lunatic like Al Sadr, or a government like Iran, then there's little the U.S. military can do to stop it. Seeing Iraqis rejoice after U.S. and British deaths raises serious doubts about U.S. plans. Without admitting defeat, there's nothing face-saving about wasting more money and losing more lives when there's no gratitude.

About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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