United States and Iraqi forces have encircled the Iman Ali Shrine in Najaf where radial cleric Muqtada Al Sadr and the Mehdi Army are held up.

The city, which had been quiet early Monday, was hit by series of explosions in the late morning that shook the vast cemetery, the scene of many battles between U.S. forces and militants. Witnesses also reported U.S. tanks had moved to within 500 yards of the revered Imam Ali Shrine.
– FoxNews

Could this finally be the end of the battle with the push of Iraqi troops? Not so fast as reports indicate that Al Sadr reportedly has lined up explosive boobytraps to any who enter the shrine. If this shrine is such a religious location, Al Sadr should be condemned by all Shiite Muslims for using such sacred land as a military base of operations. Indeed Iraqi delegates are asking Al Sadr to leave the mosque.

Some of the delegates threatened to walk out (of the Iraqi National Conference in Baghdad) unless the crisis was resolved. On Monday, the conference voted to send a delegation to Najaf to ask radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to tell his followers to drop their weapons and join the country’s political process.

“The door is very open to all Iraqis, regardless of their religion, ethnic background, to join the free political process,” Shiite cleric Hussein al-Sadr, a distant relative of Muqtada al-Sadr, told the conference.

Muqtada al-Sadr’s aides said they supported efforts to end the violence.

“We are ready to accept any mediation for a peaceful solution,” al-Sadr aide Ahmed al-Shaibany said.

- Associated Press

The request from delegates for Al Sadr to lay down his arms and join the political process is appalling. The intentions are good, however Al Sadr is a wanted murderer or a fellow Shiite cleric. The new Iraqi government should not include someone wanted on murder charges.

The volunteers cheered al-Sadr in the marble-floored courtyard of the Imam Ali mosque on Monday in an impressive show of force.

Al-Sadr is holed up inside one of Shia Islam’s most sacred shrines before an expected American-led offensive.

Travelling to Najaf from across Iraq, the al-Sadr volunteers are swelling the ranks of his supporters and could provide another reason for US troops to think twice before storming the shrine.

“These people are a deterrent to the Americans because they are civilians. They are here so that the Americans won’t attack the Imam Ali shrine,” said Shaikh Ahmad al-Shaibani, a senior al-Sadr aide.

- Aljazeera

Now we see “innocent human shields” (via Blogs of War) flocking to the shrine to defend the grounds against U.S. and Iraqi forces. These people aren’t innocent, they are more militants joining the cause. They plan on picking up arms to fight against U.S. forces, not to deter an assault by protests or deliberation. If they go into the shrine or fight outside of the shrine, they will perish like hundreds of their fellow “innocent” followers have.

This conflict needs to end as soon as possible. The longer it goes on, the less credibility the Iraqi government has and the more backlash this will cause the American troops on the ground. Perhaps we need to bring back Janet Reno and ask her how to storm the shrine like she did in Waco, TX. At least then the conflict would finally be over.

Hat tip: Blogs of War