US To Arrest Sadr for Murder--In Other News, Speeding Tickets Handed Out at NASCAR Race

Here's The Washington Post's article.

To which I can only say unfuckingbelievable. What was the line in the movie Casablanca? Something about human life being cheap? Sadly, that goes for Iraq these days, too. Did Sadr have a hand in the killing of a "moderate" Sh'ia cleric Abdul-Majid Khoei in April of 2003 (almost a year ago)? Perhaps. But the public issuance of an arrest warrant only serves to fan the flames. Besides, it's not like our hands are particularly clean, which might be one reason why we had an Iraqi "judge" actually issue the warrant. I wouldn't want to be in his shoes.

In contrast, Robert Fisk writes about the circumstances that led to the deaths of two more journalists in the country. An expression of regret is all the families received, despite troubling evidence: they were at least 150 yards from the checkpoint that fired the shots AND they were hit from behind, i.e., they were traveling AWAY from the checkpoint. Additionally, they had previously identified themselves and received clearance from the same checkpoint to film their report. It is an understatement to say the conditions leading to their deaths are unusual.

Attempting to nab Sadr could be seen as a "bold" move by the CPA, but it could just as easily be seen as foolhardy. The US has been careful regarding the cleric to this point; calling for his arrest is a gamble at best, and possibly a true sign of desperation. By upping the ante, we are entering the dangerous territory that Israel got into regarding the killing of Sheikh Yassin. As Fisk noted:

For years, there has been an unwritten rule in the cruel war of government-versus-guerrilla. You can kill the men on the street, the bomb-makers and gunmen, but the leadership was allowed to survive.

Now all has changed utterly. Anyone who advocates violence - even if they are palpably incapable of committing it - are now on a death list. So who can be surprised if the rules are broken by the other side?

The top guys are now in the firing line. Let us not say we didn't know.