5 Muqtada al-Sadr and the Battle of Najaf -or- Shell casings were falling on my roof

This is one conversation in a series. See the bottom of the post for links.

Jassim: one of the most confusing cases for me is Muqtada case
Jassim: you know him right ?
Karen: Al Sadr?
Jassim: yes
Karen: yes, his name is often in the media here
Jassim: do you know that he was my friend in secondary school ??
Karen: really?
Jassim: yes
Karen: tell me. What does the man want?
Jassim: I hate him so much
Jassim: not more than an a freeking dumb
Jassim: no one knows
Karen: never underestimate the power of stupid people with guns
Jassim: I think he just wants to role
Jassim: he use relegion effectivly to trap poor people here
Jassim: he use the power of his killed father
Jassim: he was one of the Sgia referances in Najaf
Jassim: killed by Saddam
Karen: Sgia referance?
Jassim: people loved him so they like been loyal to his father by following Muqtada
Jassim: Shia
Karen: His father was a Shia cleric
Jassim: not a cliric
Jassim: a big relegious man
Karen: cleric=religious man
Jassim: he risisted Saddam and this why he killed him
Karen: clerk=office worker
Karen: I see
Jassim: ok
Jassim: so Muqtada as I said is not more then a freeking murder
Jassim: using poor people who it is so easy to trap them by relegion
Karen: what do you think would convince the poor people to stop following him?
Jassim: when Muqtada started his activity after war and composed his militia named Al Mahdy Army
Jassim: giving them what they want
Jassim: ooohh sorry
Jassim: I understanded the question wrongly
Jassim: as I said Karen, they think they be loyal to his father by following him
Jassim: traping them in speachs
Jassim: giving money and power some times
Jassim: jobs
Karen: so, it's mostly the poverty that is driving people to Muqtada. If the people had money and jobs they would not follow him?
Jassim: some of them yes
Jassim: may be the majority
Jassim: not sure
Jassim: so
Jassim: he is a serious peoblem maker
Jassim: since he started his activity
Karen: Do you trust the current Iraqi government?
Jassim: no
Jassim: I trust no one in Iraq dear
Jassim: no one
Jassim: any way
Jassim: directly after war finished he composed his own militia
Jassim: most of them were from previos murders and convected
Jassim: he was completely unknown even by people in Najaf here
Jassim: there was a man
Jassim: named Said Majeed Al Khoiy
Jassim: he was a son for one of greatest shia relegios men
Jassim: killed by Sadam too after 1991 war
Jassim: he was living in London after he fled after 1991
Jassim: he have there a very big foundation in London named Al Khoiy cultural foundation
Jassim: a foundation with about 500 millions dolars doing activity in charity, education and culture
Jassim: he was with the american forces when they entered Iraq
Jassim: we were seeing him in american militry broadcasting while war
Jassim: on tv
Jassim: at once he got to Najaf his city he started to help in return services to city
Jassim: paid money and salaries to employees saying work work we have to build Iraq now
Jassim: he started to be so public
Jassim: but he couldn't go far
Jassim: this when Muqtada started his army
Jassim: he killed him in most holly location in Shia culture which it is the holly shraine of Imam Ali here in Najaf
Jassim: I saw part of the kiling
Jassim: was there when it happened
Jassim: Muqtada didn't want a compitition
Karen: he sounds horrible
Jassim: for me he is so horrible
Jassim: any way
Jassim: step by step he was growing
Jassim: increasing his power and militia members
Jassim: recieving finance support from terrorist Sunnies groups
Jassim: untill he started to face american militry
Jassim: he used some excuse of that american closed one of his newspapers in Baghdad
Jassim: that day I was working with ------------ and it supposed to leave to Baghdad
Jassim: so suddenly conflict started
Jassim: his followers came in a emonstration to the Spanish base in Najaf
Jassim: they said that they were unarmed and came peacefully just to protest
Jassim: this what media said also
Jassim: but I saw them in my eyes holding wepons
Jassim: some of wepones were RBG and morters
Jassim: !!!!!!!!!!!
Jassim: they attacked Spanish forces who were few and not that organized
Jassim: american forces was not in Najaf that time
Jassim: thousends of balts were in air arround us
Karen: bullets
Jassim: we were holded in our office
Jassim: ooohh sorry
Jassim: I'm entering in deep details sorry
Karen: no, please continue. I am interested
Jassim: thanks
Jassim: so things were crazy
Jassim: I went to roof and could shot some vedio clips
Jassim: were for security reports
Jassim: we have female employees and we were afraid and asking how can we reach our homes
Jassim: later untill afternoon we could flee after we closed office and take important files and computes to home
Jassim: I had to take all my files and my cmputer to home
Jassim: the international staff left to capita Baghdad one week before
Jassim: they were like know this would happen
Jassim: one of them was in Najaf when all this started
Jassim: his name was ----------. an Kanadian citizin and basicly from Seyria
Jassim: I begged him to come to my home to hide and promissed him that no body will touch him in my house
Jassim: he refused but we all noticed him was so scare and shaking
Jassim: imagine you find your self a lone sudenly in the middle of enemy
Jassim: the manager promised us that he will take him to his house and provide all necessary guarding
Jassim: two days later we saw him on TV after Muqtada militia kiddnaped him !!!!
Jassim: they said that he was a spy for Israiel
Karen: that's horrible!
Jassim:
Jassim: I was from people who tried to save him
Jassim: by contacting some powerful people
Jassim: later american forces started to go back to Najaf, taking locations and preparing to attack
Jassim: but for our surprise they were too slow
Jassim: some times I was seeing groups from militia attacking american patrols with no respond shot from american
Jassim: like they wanted militia to gather in city from all Iraq and then attack
Jassim: THEY COULD ELEIMINATE HIM SOOOOOOOOO EASLY THAT TIMEEE
Jassim: so they could finish him so easly that time but they couldn't
Jassim: they just waited till all fighters gather in Najaf
Jassim: later and after many days (I don't remember it may was months) they attacked
Jassim: again I was a witness to an operation when speciall forces attacked sudenly his house trying to capture him but they failed, they didn't find him at house
Jassim: he was heddin
Jassim: I was driving my car beside the Hamvies driving leaving his house !!!!!!!! looool
Karen: unbelievable
Jassim: I pointed to american too hhhhhhhhhhh
Jassim: dear I know it looks like a movie but this is life here loll
Karen: what happened to ----------------? Did they ever let him go?
Jassim: any way Muqtada invaded all Najaf while americans were waiting
Jassim: later and after some time we paid to release him
Jassim: may be the ammount was 2500 thousand dollars personely to Muqtada !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jassim: after a long negotioations with his assistants
Jassim: sorry 250000 dollars
Jassim: 1/4 of a million
Jassim: Muqtada occupaid Najaf and started to kill many people in some court he composed
Jassim: any one was working with an international organization or company or have any relation with a forighn was a target
Jassim: my name was […] on his black list !!!!!!
Jassim: we were seeing them in streets, every where controlling the city
Jassim: seveal limited armed conflicts happened but effect nothing of Muqtada
Jassim: he was getting more and more power
Karen: I went on the air. I told them that the Americans aren't going after the terrorists and that they didn't go after Al Sadr
Jassim: Arabic media was supporting him and telling people that he is a leader for Shia and resistance while he was definetely not
Jassim: Karen this is my openin
Jassim: what I'm convinced here
Jassim: any way after some time we got back to work and life started to go little normal
Karen: I think that opinions are important. Lived experience is important
Jassim: I remember american snipers on main building, we had to move so slowly so they would not suspect us
Jassim: some civilian people killed by those snipers
Jassim: about 7 months later and I'm not sure of the period definetely the big battle happened
Jassim: I could feel it and reported my managers in Baghdad a week earlier
Jassim: I told them that in one week a fight would happen and this time it is not limited !!!
Jassim: they asked me to gain any information about food, water and hyginic situation in the city
Jassim: in that week I could collect some good information about what city have to face the next battle
Jassim: and after one week it started!!!!
Jassim: this time it was not a game, tanks and eiroplans were striking Najaf 24 hours a day
Jassim: this battle continued for exactly three weeks
Jassim: fight was in streets, this time some of Iraqi army involved in fighting
Jassim: from roof on my home I was watching every single day the fight in great cemetry which so close to my house
Jassim: also our home is located on the main road on the next governorate (Kerbala) where american forces came from
Jassim: I was watching tanks, Hummers and all troops heading to fight in city center every day just from my house front door
Jassim: black birds and abatchies were flying all the day above our homes shooting fire
Jassim: some of bullets covers falled on our roof
Karen: wow.
Jassim: brifely was eeing most of the fight from my roof !!
Jassim: it was a horible fight seriously
Jassim: the sound of bombing was horebile
Jassim: Vantoms were shooting too
Jassim: instead, militia was bombing too, but not on american, actually they were bombing us !!
Jassim: with morters
Karen: why would they bomb civilians?
Jassim: in some day a bomb falled about 15 meters from me
Jassim: ask them
Jassim: may be because Najaf people didn't support him and he had to bring fighters from suthern cities
Jassim: before fight many people in Najaf fighted Muqtada, but with authority abcens and with no support they couldn't finish him
Jassim: he was growing every day
Jassim: he tried to kill the most relegious man in Shia now: Imam Sistany
Jassim: you know him I suppose
Karen: I've heard of him
Jassim: yes
Jassim: without him all Iraq will be a history
Jassim: so wise man
Jassim: any way
Jassim: Muqtada tried to kill him as he did with Majeed Al Khoiy but he faild this time because people came from many cities to help people in Najaf to protect him
Jassim: it could be a civil war that time when americans were just waiting
Jassim: three weeks of fight
Jassim: hard fight
Jassim: we thought all that we finally will get Muqtada away
Jassim: forget him
Jassim: slowly while forces were heading to city center where Muqtada centering and occupaing holly shrain the distruction was so big
Jassim: people were surrounded in city center
Jassim: some of them died and we could not enter the city to help
Jassim: it was totally impossible
Jassim: who could flee before battle was lucky
Jassim: all the world was watching the battle and when american forces where about some meters from him they stopped
Jassim: they stopped !!!!!!!!!!!
Jassim: Sistany called for peace to save civilians in the center
Jassim: and he decided to start a demonstration heading to holly shraine
Jassim: he called Muqtada to drop his wepon and to not fight americans
Jassim: we all shocked
Jassim: our city destroyed for nothing
Jassim: people died for nothing
Jassim: we suffered for nothing
Jassim: Muqtada remain a life
Jassim: Al Khoiy family still demanding to sui Muqtada but no one lestin to them with all families who Muqtada murdered
Jassim: most of people Karen thought that at least Muqtada will not make any problems any more after he lost the majority of his power
Karen: I suppose the authorities are afraid to arrest Muqtada, because they are afraid of his followers fighting back
Jassim: some of the very few people didn't think that and I was one of them, I knew he will keep murdering and look to how powerfull he is now
Jassim: yes you right
Jassim: he gained more and more followers since that fight
Jassim: he have many people now in government
Jassim: ministries
Jassim: the thing I will never understand is why they left him alife ??
Jassim: they were too close
Jassim: too close
Jassim: but just stopped
Karen: maybe they left him alive because they are hoping that he will help to maintain order
Karen: I don't know
Jassim: it looks like a strategy with american to allow terrorist to gather in some location, keep people of that location suffering till they attack, and when attack they do nothing but fighting from air which not efecting that much on elimenating terror
Jassim: for sure he not
Jassim: every one here know and sure that muqtada will never stop
Jassim: it is a strategy for Bush too to allow terorists come to Iraq from all world and fight them in Iraq
Jassim: he stated this some time ago
Jassim: so he considered Iraq as just a field for fighting
Jassim: this is why I tell you that americans seems to be waiting for something and when they get the signal they will move effectivly this time and eleminate them all
Karen: the idea of wanting all the terrorists to gather in Iraq isn't very logical. I know that there are more terrorist there than before the war, but I think that of all the terrorists in the world, very few are going to fight in Iraq
Jassim: well as I said I don't understand this strategy
Jassim: I still believe in americans
Jassim: and never stopped blaming iraqies for not being serios and logeical to use this great chance to build iraq again with USA help
Jassim: for me it is like we destoyed our selves by our selves
Jassim: now Karen I think that more fight will come
Jassim: american said that they would start fighting Muqtada soon and they asked primminister to not protecting him
Jassim: this what he promised Bush in last visit for him to DC
Jassim: but imagine
Jassim: Muqtada now is much more powerfull then the fight with him in 2004
Jassim: well I knew some of its points
Jassim: I think fight will start soon
Jassim: not sure but just it is potential
Karen: well, Bush seems to be planning to do something soon
Jassim: yes exactly
Jassim: some people say here and many of them that it may the time for Bush now to push the button !!!
Karen: I don't think he'll use an atomic weapon
Jassim: sure not
Jassim: I'm afraid that who will come after him or Congress will force him to withdraw from Iraq
Jassim: this will be a disaster for Iraq

1 A conversation with an Iraqi
2 Further conversation with an Iraqi
3 Conversation with an Iraqi disclaimer
4 What are the Americans doing in Iraq? An Iraqi point of view