Taking Stock of al-Sadr

After al-Sadr's withdrawal from Najaf, the Coalition forces and Iraqi forces have been taking stock of what the young criminal got up to while he organised a sadistic three week party in what he no doubt considers his father's house- the Imam Ali Mosque.

The American Thinker reports from sources describing the corpses that resulted from a killing spree Sadr and chums embarked on amongst local people while holed-up there. There are mixed reports of up to 200 deaths and foul methods of torture used before or during execution.


IraqtheModel reported some of these things at the time of the uprising (I wish you luck in finding them, but I distinctly recall being shocked while reading about them there), when there was virtual silence about them in the media here.

What this highlights is the kind of man Sadr is- a spoilt brat who takes pleasure in bestial killing in enforcing his will. Although the numbers of his victims may be unclear, his thuggishness is not. He reminds me of a religious version of Uday Hussein- and when you think about it both had powerful fathers on different sides of a traumatised society.

These are not the kind of people the US or the West can allow to dominate in Iraq. Like Uday Hussein, there's little indication that al-Sadr has popular support, and who could blame the people for that? What I hope these reports will help do is continue to discredit al-Sadr in Iraq and in the media. I'd be very sanguine should he meet with an accident, happier still to see him appear in a dock, but it's enough if people like al-Sadr are excluded from significant positions in Iraq's future.