Mookie Cries Uncle

Moqtada al-Sadr is ordering his militia off the street after five days of suffering a good old fashioned butt kicking at the hands of Iraqi security forces.

The BBC has the straight news story, NPR provides the typical MSM "every situation in Iraq sucks" angle, while AJ Strata provides the numbers of deaths and casualties the Mehdi Army has suffered.

Al-Sadr's official statement via the BBC story:

Moqtada Sadr's statement said: "Because of the religious responsibility, and to stop Iraqi blood being shed, and to maintain the unity of Iraq and to put an end to this sedition that the occupiers and their followers want to spread among the Iraqi people, we call for an end to armed appearances in Basra and all other provinces.

"Anyone carrying a weapon and targeting government institutions will not be one of us."

Mookie's usefulness to Iraq is long gone (if he ever had one.) It is time for him to shut up of his own accord or for Maliki to shut him up for good.