Redstate

Posted at 12:47pm on May 12, 2008 The Sadrist/Iraqi Government "Truce" -- A play for peace, or a quick time out to rearm and catch their breath?

Time will tell, but for now the bullets are still flying

By Jeff Emanuel

Note: More background is provided in this Human Events column.

Over the weekend, spokesmen for the Iraqi government and the Sadrist political bloc confirmed what our own lovable fuzzball Moe Lane posted here Friday night: that a cease-fire agreement concerning Sadr City had been reached. A large Shi'a district northeast of Baghdad, Sadr City has been the site of intense fighting between Jaish al Mahdi (JAM, or "Mahdi Army") militants and Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) and coalition forces for the last six weeks or so. During that time, JAM has lost exponentially more of its fighters than the ISF and coalition forces have.

Sadrist leaders made a series of concessions in their rush to get a peace deal inked -- though whether or not that deal will actually be honored is another question. The deal and the likelihood of its being lived up to are explored below the fold.

Read on.

Posted in Iraq | Mahdi Army | Muqtada al-Sadr | Nouri al-Maliki | Sadr City | War — Comments (7)/ Email this page » / Read More »