Iraqi Spokesman Calls Al-Sadr a Man of Restraint

Mark Finkelstein, CNSNews.com Correspondent

A quick withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq "would be a great gift to terrorist groups," a spokesman for Iraq's Shi'ite-led government said here. Dr. Ali Aldabbagh said it was the "responsibility" of the entire international community, including countries in the Middle East, to help Iraq quell the insurgency. In a one-on-one interview with Cybercast News Service Monday, Aldabbagh also described leading anti-American militia leader Moqtada al-Sadr as a man of restraint - on the same day that U.S. forces reportedly launched an assault on followers of the controversial Shi'ite cleric. Aldabbagh, chief spokesman for the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, said Iraqis were trying to assume control of their own security, but that Iraqi security forces were currently unable to do the job alone. That was evident again on Tuesday, when gunmen - presumably Shi'ites - kidnapped more than 100 men from a Baghdad research institute run by Iraq's higher education ministry. Those abducted, reportedly all or mostly Sunnis, included employees, guards, and even visitors to the building. According to press reports, the gunmen were seen checking the men's identity cards: "They picked only the Sunni employees. They even took the man who was just delivering tea," an eyewitness told Reuters...

continua / continued