What planet does Gordon Johndroe live on?
“Fiery anti-U.S. cleric reappears in Iraq,” by Ravi Nessman for Associated Press, with thanks to Looney Tunes:
BAGHDAD – Radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr appeared in public for the first time in months on Friday, delivering a fiery anti-American sermon to thousands of followers and demanding U.S. troops leave Iraq….
Al-Sadr traveled in a long motorcade from Najaf to the adjacent holy city of Kufa on Friday morning to deliver his sermon before 6,000 worshippers.
“No, no for Satan. No, no for America. No, no for the occupation. No, no for Israel,” he chanted in a call and response with the audience at the start of his speech.
He repeated his long-standing call for U.S. forces to leave Iraq.
“We demand the withdrawal of the occupation forces, or the creation of a timetable for such a withdrawal,” he said. “I call upon the Iraqi government not to extend the occupation even for a single day.”
He also condemned fighting between his Mahdi Army militia and Iraqi security forces, saying it “served the interests of the occupiers.” Instead, he said the militia should turn to peaceful protests, such as demonstrations and sit-ins, he said.
In Washington, National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe expressed hope that al-Sadr’s reappearance signaled that he wanted “to play a positive role inside Iraq.”
“He has an opportunity to be a part of the political reconciliation process. We’ll see if he and his followers participate,” he said.
Indeed we will.