Iraq: Is Moqtada Losing His Grip?

[ECH1969]

American and Iraqi forces face a major problem in Baghdad: how to deal with the Mahdi Army, which has been linked to death squads responsible for a string of assassinations and kidnappings. Worse, the Mahdi Army's leader, Moqtada al-Sadr, seems to be losing his grip on the thousands of armed men who once followed his every word.

"There are forces that are controlled by Moqtada, but there are commanders that are not controlled by him; there are death squads that are not controlled by him," U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad told NEWSWEEK.

In interviews with NEWSWEEK, Mahdi Army members, Iraqi politicians and Western officials describe an organization in which local commanders are increasingly independent from Sadr, splintering into cells of fighters committed to civil war. There are at least four offshoot Mahdi leaders in Sadr City alone; some groups are taking orders from Iran.

The situation is so volatile that, according to the U.S. officials, Sadr now fears for his own safety and position. The United States is targeting militia-run death squads in the new Baghdad security operation.

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/14324465/

[xchrom]

1. i don't think moqtada is worried about what anybody else thinks.

especially after this major fuck-up trying to ''liberate'' his country.

moqtada thinks moqtada is doing just fune, i would guess.