When was the last time in history that a “real” occupying force allowed a country to petition for them to leave?
Muqtada al Sadr needs to be petitioning for some new teeth!
“Tomorrow, we shall begin to collect a million signatures in every Iraqi town demanding the withdrawal of multinational forces from Iraq,” Saheb al-Ameri said Sunday.
The petition, which will provide both the names and addresses of those signing, reads: “I hereby declare my rejection of the forces of occupation and demand their withdrawal”, said Ameri, who runs a religious charity organization.
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In April, Sadr organized nationwide rallies attended by tens of thousands to demand the withdrawal of US forces.
“Oh God, cut off their necks, the way they are cutting off our necks and terrorizing us. Know that in our unity today, you have proven to the entire world that you are against the occupation and all dictatorships one after the other,” Sadr said at the time in a speech delivered by one of his aides.
Previous Muqtada Posts:
Muqtada, Man of Peace
Russia Holds Talks with Al Sadr
AFP is also reporting on the petition:
Iraq Shiites in campaign for foreign troop pullout
I’d say that headline is a bit misleading since it is Al Sadr’s fringe group that is behind the petition!
The article notes that Iraqis living abroad are able to sign the petition, as well. It wouldn’t take much guts to sign this as a foreigner I would think. The locals have a bit more in the game!
