Reply #2: Cleric Said to Lose Reins of Parts of Iraqi Militia [View All]

[alcibiades_mystery]

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/28/world/middleeast/28sadr.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

BAGHDAD, Sept. 27 — The radical Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr has lost control of portions of his Mahdi Army militia that are splintering off into freelance death squads and criminal gangs, a senior coalition intelligence official said Wednesday.

The question of how tightly Mr. Sadr holds the militia, one of the largest armed groups in Iraq, is of critical importance to American and Iraqi officials. Seeking to ease the sectarian violence raging across the country, they have pressed him to join the political process and curb his fighters, who see themselves as defenders of Shiism — and often as agents of vengeance against Sunnis.

---snip---

I'm not sure how much stock to put in this story. Lara Logan had a story on the CBS Evening News the other day in which residents of Sadr City were praising al-Sadr to the skies. Basically, the story demonstrated that Sadr was - effectively - the government in Sadr City, providing not only protection, but alsso social services. It was a very embarrassing story for the US version of things, so I wouldn't be surprised if "coalition" intelligence has been assigned the task of taking him down a peg, at least in the media.

People forget that a large number of US troops - including casey Sheehan - were killed not by Sunni or "al Qaeda" insurgents, but in fights with the Jaes al-Mahdi. The fighting in Sadr City was fierce, as was the fighting in the southern towns, including the now infamous Battle of Najaf, which involved vicious streetfighting in the vicinity of the Iman Ali shrine and now famous battles in the largest Arab cemetery in the world. Now Sadr controls 30+ seats of parliament and operates as a king-maker in Iraqi politcs, and runs a subsection of Baghdad with a population of 1,000,000, not to mention effective control of dozens of Southern towns and cities, including najaf. So tell me again, who won that fight?