Pat Dollard

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Ooooh, scary…this guy and his movement is toast. He’s going to be chewed up by the same force that chewed up Al Qaeda. The average Iraqi is “over it”. They’re done with all this gang rule and it’s attendant bloodshed and oppression. Was Spike Lee going to be at the march?

BAGHDAD – Gangster cleric Muqtada al-Sadr is demanding the Iraqi government protect the public from “the booby traps and American militias” or he may formally end the freeze he imposed seven months ago on his Mahdi Army fighters.

The statement was being circulated to the press and public Tuesday as U.S. and Iraqi troops stepped up their pressure on Shiite militiamen in their Baghdad stronghold of Sadr City.

Al-Sadr also wants a timetable for the U.S. to leave Iraq.

Al-Sadr’s cease-fire helped bring down violence but has been under severe strain since fighting broke out last month in Basra and Baghdad.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

NAJAF, Iraq (AP) — Aides to Muqtada al-Sadr say the anti-American Shiite cleric is calling off a mass rally in Baghdad Wednesday.

Iraqi security forces are blocking al-Sadr’s followers from traveling to the capital from the southern Shiite heartland where he enjoys wide support.

Two aides in al-Sadr’s office in the holy city of Najaf told The Associated Press that the rally had been canceled. They spoke on condition of anonymity pending an official announcement.

Al-Sadr had called for a “million-strong” protest to mark the fifth anniversary of the capture of Baghdad by U.S. troops. It was seen by many observers as a show of force in his confrontation with the government over calls to disband his Mahdi Army militia.

(AP), except for the word “gangster”, which I added. I also took out the words “Anti-American” before the word cleric. The AP describes him thusly as if being Anti-American was the most notable and important thing about him. The most important thing about him is that he is a gangster who is just as anti-Iraq democratically elected government AND law and order.