Word: mahdy
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...partisan, and he has pursued a blatantly sectarian course in the eight months since he was sworn in, antagonizing Sunnis and allowing Shi'ite militias to run amok. His main political backing comes from Moqtada al-Sadr, the firebrand leader of the most dangerous militia, the Mahdi Army. In his speeches, al-Maliki routinely promises to deal firmly with the militias, but in practice, he has always shielded them from American arms. When U.S. forces have tried to crack down on the Mahdi Army, they have been held back by al-Maliki. Worse, the Prime Minister has played...
...card Maliki always held was his alliance with the political bloc led by Moqtada al-Sadr, the head of the Shi'a Mahdi militia. This includes 30 parliamentarians and six cabinet members. Maliki was seen as one person who might be able to exercise some sway over Sadr and his lawless sectarian army. But it became clear that influence flowed only one way between Sadr and Maliki in October, when U.S. forces seized Sadr aide Sheik Mazin al-Saedi, a suspected organizer of kidnapping rings and death squads. Maliki immediately called for Saedi's release, and the U.S. military complied...
...Meanwhile, some civilian Iraqi government agencies such as the Ministry of Interior have become franchises of the Mahdi Army militia. And Iraq's parliament was essentially dissolved in November, when Sadr's loyalists began a boycott at his behest in protest of Maliki's meeting with President Bush. As the White House crafts its new approach to Iraq, little of the government appears salvageable even in the eyes of leaders like Muttlag who are staking their careers, and sometimes their lives, on the eventual success of a civilian government. With so little material left to work with in Baghdad, many...
...both the Iraqi and Vietnam wars. "I see more arrogance than ever, assuming once again that Western genius counts for more than Eastern resolve." Already the sectarian militias so eager to kill civilians across Baghdad have been careful not to confront U.S. forces. When U.S. troops appear, the Mahdi Army simply melts away and waits for another moment. Unless they are killed off, jailed or somehow turned into allies--unlikely outcomes all--Sunni insurgents and Shi'ite militia fighters will still be around because they have more patience than the U.S. has staying power...
...Saddam didn't hide what he thought about them either. At one point, he called them "Persians" - in other words, traitors - and his choice of insult was very revealing. Like Saddam, most Iraqi Sunnis view Sadr as all but a paid-up Iranian agent, and his militia, the Mahdi Army, as an Iranian creation.The Sunnis are convinced that one day, given the opportunity, Sadr will hand Iraq over to Iran. For all the shock Iraq's Sunnis felt on hearing Sadr's name shouted at Saddam's execution, Iranian diplomats might as well have been in attendance...