Warmongering in an Age of Waiting. posted by Richard Seymour

The kind folks at SIAW are bitching that this story about al-Sadr possibly disbanding his Mahdi Army didn't get enough press. Harry's Place has taken up the chase. Why, they demand to know, are the media not giving this its due weight. After all:

The fact that this - um - fairly important piece of news has been so resolutely downplayed in the paper and, so far as we can tell, has received no coverage at all on any British television channel’s news bulletins, speaks volumes about the real priorities of the mainstream media. If they cared as much about Iraq as they all piously pretend to, the news that the much-hyped “Shia uprising” is rapidly running out of what little steam it ever had would receive a lot more prominence than the latest twist in the saga about the Mirror’s photos of (alleged) abuse of (alleged) Iraqis by (alleged) British soldiers.

Actually, now I read SIAW's entire article, I see I have made their "enemies list":

But spare a thought - and a laugh or two - for Ken MacLeod, “Lenin” and the other pseudo-left fantasy bloggers. Now that Sadr has decided that he’d really rather not become a martyr just yet, thankyou very much, who will they turn to next in their ceaseless and risible search for the Vo Nguyen Giap of Iraq?

A link would have been nice. Anyway, as I suggested to Harry's Place:

This isn't as new as you think, and perhaps that explains why it is not ubiquitous in the headline news. Example:

"The dissolution of the Mahdi army depends on the religious authorities. If they issue an edict to disband the Mahdi army, we will disband," Mr Sadr said at the Imam Ali shrine in Najaf yesterday.

al-Sadr has said this before. Juan Cole quoted a Shi'ite cleric allied Sistani as saying "you didn't ask permission to raise this army, why do you need permission to disband it?"

And what is more :

Fierce clashes have erupted between US forces and Iraqi militants loyal to Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr in the holy city of Najaf.
Tanks and troops moved into a cemetery near a holy shrine and traded fire with fighters sheltering among the tombs.

Mr Sadr appeared in nearby Kufa, where he delivered a fiery sermon condemning the US and UK.

"But spare a thought - and a laugh or two..."? Guys, don't make me giggle and fall off my fucking stool! Run off home, you little tikes, before I whip your saggy hides to shreds.