Word: militiaization
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...southern Iraq in the hands of its coalition partners. It has also turned over the policing of urban areas like Baghdad's seething Shi'ite slum Sadr City to overmatched Iraqi security forces, which is why nowhere near enough U.S. forces were available to respond when al-Sadr's militia made its move...
...Iraq from bugging out. Even if most stay, U.S. military officials complain that the other foreign troops in Iraq showed last week that they don't have permission from their governments to engage in heavy fighting and lack the firepower to combat even minor foes like al-Sadr's militia. Nor are the Iraqi security forces recruited and trained by the U.S. ready for prime time...
...minds about the man. Occupation officials knew that al-Sadr was trouble. He had stirred up threatening protests numerous times, his rhetoric spread a dangerous message, and his militia was steadily growing. An Iraqi court charged him with allowing the murder of Abdul-Majid al-Khoei, a U.S.-favored moderate cleric who was hacked to death in April 2003, and by September, the Pentagon had cooked up a plan to seize al-Sadr. But military officials in Baghdad eventually concluded he was a minor player who was gradually being marginalized, his army more phantom than real, his support flagging...
...better life. Suspicion is rife that America's murky plans for a political transition on June 30 will somehow thwart Shi'ite claims to a rightful share of power. On the streets in the Khadamiyah neighborhood of Baghdad, al-Sadr's outspoken defiance made quiescent Shi'ites feel good. Militia guarding a Shi'ite shrine were giddy with pride in standing up to the Americans. Even those who trusted Sistani's wisdom were frustrated by his silence. "The Americans are listening to us," said one, "and they are scared...
...Najaf, al-Sadr's men worked to consolidate their position in the town--and, more important, their control over the money donated by visitors to its holy sites. Al-Sadr now controls the lockbox at the Imam Ali mosque, worth millions of dollars a year. Last October his militia attempted to seize shrines in another holy city, Karbala, but were turned back by Sistani...