Georgia President Signs Cease-fire With Russia

I was just reading this story minutes ago, concerning the signing of a draft truce agreement by Georgian President Saakashvili in Georgia, and Russian President Medvedev in Russia, which may begin the real withdrawal of Russian troops from Georgian soil. If this was a test for the West, we failed it miserably, and may indicate very bad things for the future of Nato, and the former Russian "partners", who are now threatened by a renewed Russia. It didn't help any that we signed a deal with Poland to place interceptor missiles on their territory, and may be one of the reasons the Russians hit Georgia so hard~~to teach Poland and others, what can happen to them if they stand against Russia. We shall write more on the missile deal later.

The story by the Associated Press story as Yahoo News reads:
Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili said Friday he signed a cease-fire agreement with Russia that protects his country's interests despite concessions to Moscow. Visiting Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Russia's invasion has "profound implications" for the West.

Hosting a news conference with Rice, Saakashvili said he will "never, ever surrender" in showdown with Russia, and he accused the West of inviting Russian aggression. He appeared just hours after President Bush stood outside the Oval Office of the White House and accused Russia of "bullying and intimidation" against Georgia. Bush said the Georgian people had chosen freedom and "we will not cast them aside."

For his part, Saakashvili said: "This is not a done deal. We need to do our utmost to deter such behavior in the future."

link to full story

Al-Sadr Extends Ceasefire

Anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr announced Friday that he has extended a cease-fire order to his Shiite Mahdi Army by another six months, giving Iraq a chance to continue its fragile recovery from brutal sectarian violence. That is the good news, the bad news is that he is still a powerful force in Iraq.

This story takes a look at Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and his Mahdi Army militia:
MUQTADA AL-SADR: The radical Shiite cleric commands influence as both a political force and leader of the Mahdi Army, a network of militiamen and other factions involved in community services. Based in the Shiite holy city of Najaf, al-Sadr is the son of the late Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Sadiq al-Sadr, one of the most powerful Shiite clerics in Iraq in the late 1990s. He was killed in a 1999 ambush that his followers blame on the regime of Saddam Hussein.

We shall keep updating this story as more information becomes available, but as least for today our troops can breath a little easier, knowing that they will not be fighting the Mahdi Army for awhile!


6 months

Al-Sadr Threatens To END Ceasefire

There is a troubling story coming out of Iraq this morning, which states that Anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr may let a six-month cease-fire expire as soon as Saturday, a move that could send his Shiite militia fighters back to the streets and jeopardize security gains that have led to a sharp decline in violence.

Al-Sadr's Shiite Mahdi Army is among the most powerful militias in Iraq, and the cease-fire he ordered last August has been credited with helping reduce violence around Iraq by 60 percent or more in the past six months. Sheik Salah al-Obeidi, a spokesman for al-Sadr in the Shiite holy city of Najaf, said that if the cleric failed to issue a statement by Saturday saying the cease-fire was extended, "then that means the freeze is over." Al-Sadr's followers would be free to resume attacks.

Influential members of al-Sadr's movement said earlier this month they had urged the radical cleric to call off the cease-fire, which initially was set to expire at the end of the month. Al-Sadr's followers have claimed the U.S.-Iraqi raids, particularly in the southern Shiite cities of Diwaniyah, Basra and Karbala, are a pretext to crack down on the wider movement, which has pulled its support for the Washington-backed government.

Everyone admits that this cease fire has been good for Iraq, so even though we "want" to go after the "breakaway" factions, isn't it more important to solidify the gains that have been made, before stirring up this hornet's nest! In addition, while the military gains due to the Surge have been impressive, we must remember that the military aspect of the Surge, was merely to give the Iraqi government time to reconcile. There has been some gains in that arena, but really, there hasn't been enough to show for the "blood" sacrifices of our troops!! Let's hope that they can keep the Mahdi Army on the sidelines for a lot longer, or our troops will be under attack by a "rested", 75,000 member army; which we really have neither the time, nor manpower to deal spare!!


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