[against us. Way to bridge those sectarian divides! One thing that always distinguished Sadr from other Shia clerics/militia leaders has been his emphasis on the Arab character of Iraq.]
[Note: Khadamiya is a middle class neighborhood that was not previously known for its radicalism. This means Sadr's influence is extending well beyond the slums.]
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/07/international/middleeast/07SADR.html
The New York Times April 7, 2004
At Word of U.S. Foray, a Baghdad Militia Erupts
By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN
B AGHDAD, Iraq, April 6 The word went out on Tuesday at noon, with the
blast of the call to prayer: American soldiers had raided an office of
Moktada al-Sadr, the radical Shiite cleric, and torn up a poster of
his father, one of Iraq's most revered martyrs.
The Khadamiya bazaar exploded in a frenzy. Shopkeepers reached beneath
stacks of sandals for Kalashnikov rifles. Boys wrapped their faces in
black cloth. Men raced through the streets, kicking over crates and
setting up barriers. Some handed out grenades. Within minutes this
entire Shiite neighborhood in central Baghdad had mobilized for war.
"We're going to attack a tank!" yelled Majid Hamid, 32, waving an
assault rifle.
The incident was another example of the power vacuum spreading across
Iraq during the disturbance in Khadamiya, there were no American
soldiers, no Iraqi police and no order. It also cut to the heart of
the militia issue, which remains a problem despite the occupation
authorities' insistence that private armies disband. And it showed the
depth of support for Mr. Sadr, the firebrand cleric who is blamed for
the most serious insurrection yet and is now wanted by the Americans.
American officials estimate the number of people in his private army
at 3,000. But as the display of force o Tuesday showed, there were
thousands of men and boys in just one Baghdad neighborhood ready to
fight for Mr. Sadr. And as battles raged throughout the country, in
Sunni bastions like Falluja and Ramadi and in Shiite areas like Sadr
City, it was growing increasingly clear that the militias could
materialize almost instantaneously. While many people bakers,
teachers, sandwich makers hold normal jobs, when the call comes, they
line up with Mr. Sadr's force, the Mahdi Army.
"This man is not a firefighter," said Lt. Mohammed Abu Kadar, tapping
one of his men on the shoulder outside a fire station in Khadamiya.
"He is Mahdi Army."
"This man, too," the lieutenant, a two-star officer of the Iraqi Civil
Defense Corps, said, grabbing another firefighter. "He may wear this
uniform, but he is Mahdi Army."
Then the lieutenant tapped his own chest. "We may work for the
government now," Lieutenant Kadar said. "But if anything happens, we
all work for Sadr."
The situation in Khadamiya is similar to the one in Kufa, a small town
south of the capital, which is entirely controlled by Mr. Sadr's
militia, and Sadr City, a predominantly Shiite neighborhood of two
million in Baghdad, where Mr. Sadr's men have driven out the Iraqi
police in clashes that have killed eight American soldiers.
There may also be an ominous synergy developing between Sunni and
Shiite insurgents. On Monday, insurgents fought a gun battle against
United States troops in a Sunni neighborhood near Khadamiya in which
three soldiers were killed. Witnesses said the attackers included a
mix of Shiites and Sunnis. "There were Shiites from Sadr City and
mujahedeen from Falluja," a hotbed of Sunni resistance, said Ayad
Karim, a shopkeeper. "Now the resistance is united."
On a white sheet hung from the bullet-ridden walls of a Sunni mosque
were the words: "Our banner in Adamiya is the same banner as in
Khadamiya. If they have a problem, we are their backup and their right
hand."
Adamiya is a mostly Sunni area. Khadamiya is mostly Shiite. The two
neighborhoods are linked by a bridge over the Tigris River. Rival
Sunni and Shiite gangs used to cross the bridge to rumble. Now, people
say, militants cross the bridge to coordinate attacks.
According to witnesses, the disturbance on Tuesday started when
American soldiers raided a Khadamiya office of Mr. Sadr's, looking for
weapons. Jaffar Qasim, a 29-year-old guard, said the soldiers kicked
away the lunch he was eating and then ripped off the wall a poster of
Mr. Sadr's father, who was assassinated in 1999. Hours later, Mr.
Qasim was still crying. His hands vibrated with frustration. The
American soldiers, he said, also stomped into a prayer room where
shoes are forbidden.
"If I could kill them I would," he said, looking at the dusty
footprints of combat boots on a worn red carpet. "But I had my orders.
And I didn't have a gun."
American military officials would not comment on the raid or the
activity in Khadamiya except to confirm that three soldiers were
killed there during attacks.
Many of Mr. Sadr's followers said they had made an agreement with
American commanders that they would avoid the bloodshed that erupted
in Sadr City on Sunday if the American forces agreed to stay out of
the neighborhood, home to a famous Shiite shrine. But the raid broke
that agreement, Mr. Sadr's followers said. And destroying the poster
of one of their martyrs seemed the ultimate disrespect.
So the revolt began. Men in Khadamiya's bazaar suddenly produced guns.
Shopkeepers dashed into the streets with rifles. "Moktada! Moktada!
Moktada!" many yelled.
Almost overnight, seemingly, Mr. Sadr, 31, has emerged as the most
dangerous man to the American-led occupation. But if the increasing
attendance at his demonstrations is an indication, his support has
been building for months. Part of his appeal is his militancy. While
other Shiite clerics have pressed for moderation, Mr. Sadr has openly
called for an end to the occupation. His newspaper, Hawza, was closed
last week after American authorities accused it of printing lies that
incited violence. That began a cycle of protests that culminated in
widespread bloodshed on Sunday.
Months ago, some of Mr. Sadr's rivals said he had only a few hundred
armed men behind him. Hazim al-Aarji, Mr. Sadr's chief commander in
Khadamiya, maintains there are 50,000 members of the Mahdi Army just
in Baghdad. Mohammed Kadem, a 23-year-old Mahdi Army fighter from
Khadamiya, said the force had been lying quietly for months, with arms
they looted nearly a year ago. "We just kept them in our homes," Mr.
Kadem said. "We knew this time might come."
Mr. Kadem detailed a training program in which he and other Shiite
youths took buses to Sadr City to practice marksmanship in an open
field. Marching orders are disseminating through mosques, Mr. Kadem
explained, and ammunition is supplied by central offices.
On Tuesday, Mr. Kadem was part of a crowd massing in the streets of
Khadamiya, screaming and staring down American tanks. A few gunshots
were exchanged and there were different reports of casualties, but
nothing could be confirmed on Tuesday night. Next to him was Mr.
Qasim, the guard who saw the poster ripped down.
This time Mr. Qasim was no longer crying. And this time, Mr. Qasim had
a Kalashnikov in his hands.
Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company