More Evidence
Even more evidence of Iranian involvement in the situation in Iraq comes from the Australian. They report that many of the Shia "death squad" leaders have rabbited for sanctuary in Iran ahead of the surge. This may not be all good news though, given that there are also reports that Maliki may have colluded with Sadr to let these guys escape. But the US should be able to turn this into a disaster for the insurgents if they exploit the fact that the leaders saved their own butts and left the troops to fend for themselves.
DEATH squad leaders have fled Baghdad for Iran to evade capture or killing by US and Iraqi forces before the start of the troop surge and security crackdown in the strife-torn capital. A former Iraqi minister said most of the leaders loyal to radical anti-US cleric Moqtada al-Sadr had gone into hiding in Iran.
Among those said to have fled is Abu Deraa, the Shia militia leader whose appetite for sectarian savagery has been compared to that of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, leader of al-Qa'ida in Iraq, who was killed last year.
The former minister, who did not want to be named for security reasons, backed claims by Sunni MPs that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki had colluded with Sadr over their flight. He alleged that weapons belonging to Sadr's Mahdi Army had been hidden in the Iraqi Interior Ministry to prevent confiscation.
Mr Maliki said last week: "I know senior criminals have left Baghdad, others have left the country. This is good — this shows that our message is being taken seriously."
Sadr has been unexpectedly subdued about the coming purge, prompting allegations of a deal between the radical cleric and the Iraqi Prime Minister.
"Sadr has agreed not to make a noise because Maliki gave him enough warning to make the necessary arrangements for his people to escape," the former minister said.
One wonders if Sadr is still in Iraq at this point or if he has followed the other "brave" jihadis in running as fast as they can to escape. This is where the media can stop helping the terrorists by reporting – loudly – how craven the leaders actually are. That's a hint, media folks. This is much the same pattern that recently showed in Somalia. The media pumps these groups up and reports propaganda as straight news. But push against the "invincible" jihadis and they collapse like a house of cards. The media could try reporting this straight for a change. It would take away the jihadi's recruiting tools.
UPDATE: I guess this appeared first in the Times of London, but I missed it when looking there earlier.
UPDATE: Others: Wake up America, Hot Air, Little Green Footballs, Bill Hobbs, Ed Driscoll, Tigerhawk,
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Blue Crab Boulevard » Told Ya — February 13, 2007 @ 8:19 pm
By TC@LeatherPenguin, January 28, 2007 @ 4:47 pm
Deploy a healthy percentage of the “surge” troops at chokes points along the borders between Iran and Syria. Then root the poor slobs those “leaders” left behind out.