Muqtada al-Sadr: The British are retreating from Basra - Independent Online Edition > Middle East: "'The British have realised this is not a war they should be fighting or one they can win,' Mr Sadr said. 'The Mehdi army has played an important role in that.' He also warned that Britain's involvement in the invasion of Iraq had made the UK a less safe place to live. 'The British put their soldiers in a dangerous position by sending them here but they also put the people in their own country in danger,' he said. 'They have made enemies among all Muslims and they now face attacks at home because of their war. That was their mistake.' His comments came during two separate meetings with The Independent at the Sadr movement's headquarters in Kufa, a holy Shia city, 100 miles south of Baghdad, and site of the Grand Mosque where Mr Sadr often preaches fiery Friday sermons. The streets were eerily devoid of cars, which are, in effect, banned in an effort to prevent bombings. Senior Shia leaders are high on the list of targets for Sunni extremists."
Broken Spring? : Information Clearing House This is a sequel to my June 2011 article, ‘After the spring’, on the upheavals in the Arab world. It is an article that has been painful to write, because it brings bad tidings and offers a pessimistic analysis of the upheavals, at least in the short term, in a number of Arab countries. The outcomes and potential outcomes of these uprisings have also acquired new, very significant dimensions. These include a complex entanglement with the accelerated preparations for a possible attack on Iran, and a poisonous, sectarian aspect that could have the consequence of ripping Syria and the Middle East apart.
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