This Thorn in U.S. Side Must be Removed

If the United States ever hopes to develop a stable government in Iraq there is one man who must be removed one way or the other from the scene. His name is Mugtada al-Sadr.
This man, the fourth son of Ayatollah Muhammad Sadig Al Sadr, is a member of one of the most prominent families in Iraqi religious and scholarly circles. His father was instrumental in the Iraqi attempt to overthrow Saddam Hussein in 1991. The Kurds and Shiites managed to overthrow the Saddam leadership in 14 of 18 Iraqi provinces, but the alleged promised support for this up rise was never forthcoming from President Bush's' father. The result was Saddam put down the up rise and murdered tens of thousands of the Kurds and Shiites and their families.
Mugtada was left with his three brothers and a father who were hated by Saddam. The result was that his father was murdered while at prayer in 1999 and two of his brothers were killed that same year. The third brother went into hiding leaving an angered religious cleric to twist in the winds of hatred. Mugtada took up his fathers cause of proclaiming every Friday evening before prayers the phrase,"No.No to America; No, No to Israel." He took up residence and located his quest for power in the Shiite slums outside Baghdad called " Sadr City". It is from here that he started the Shiite army known as "The Army of Mahdi". The name is taken from a Messianic figure in Islam!
From a small band of angry Shiites who survived the Sunni oppression of Saddam he has built a sizable force that is apparently trained across the Iraq border in Iran. Iran also supplies this army 80 million dollars per month to buy weapons, supplies and night vision equipment. They are well supplied by Iran!
Mugtada relishes the fact that he is considered an "outlaw". and has apparently mobilized the Shiites who follow him in his hatred for The United Sates and Israel. His supporters are called "Sadists", and they grow in numbers daily.
If he is allowed to continue as a threat to the Forces in Iraq the chances are very good our mission will fail. The obvious conclusion is that he must be taken out one way or another. If we hope to have some kind of lasting peace in Iraq, and finally bring our boys and girls home, instead of leaving them to be picked off one by one by the "Army of Mahdi.