Reply #3: Plausible deniability is not the sole province of America. [View All]

[Kagemusha]

Whatever the truth of the matter, Sadr isn't interested for sucking up the blame for violence he can pin on rogue elements, whether he really controls them or not; or more importantly, whether he's fully using what credibility he has with them or not. He probably isn't; the nature of a militia is not to obey in every small thing if Sadr gives out orders contrary to the desires of the local commanders. Therefore, if he doesn't allow some leeway, he won't be as able to have an order obeyed when it counts, for the big stuff. OTOH, he has no obligation to help a hothead who gets himself in way too much trouble. Er, militarily that is. After all, that becomes another opportunity to use his good services to mediate between what you and I might see as, between the government, and himself.

That's how Sadr gets deals easily, and that's why various government elements get flustered and become determined to break these deals to show that no militia can get its way, even though reality says otherwise.

At any rate, it's not Sheehan's fault he got ordered to fight the Mahdi Army and drew the short straw. The US badly wants Sadr's forces taken off the table and can't understand why the Maliki government won't just do it. Well, that's mainly because Maliki has some awareness of how much it'll suck to try, plus it'll detonate his political coalition...