Word: sadr
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...Marine Corporal Ryan Vistek considered himself a war-hardened veteran. In 2004, he fought against Moqtada al-Sadr's militia when it staged an uprising in several parts of Iraq. But sometimes experience no longer counts as lessons learned. Before he deployed to Iraq for the second time earlier this year, he and other Iraq combat veterans were pulled aside and told - essentially - to forget everything they'd learned...
...hasn't withdrawn support for Maliki, keeping the Prime Minister beholden to him. Yesterday, when Maliki presented six new candidates for the ministries vacated by Sadr's people, he was careful to express his gratitude toward the cleric, thanking him for giving him "the authority to choose the ministers...
...Sadr's reemergence will likely make Maliki's job harder. At the very least, it will lend fresh impetus to calls for a withdrawal timetable. In recent weeks, more and more members of parliament have come around to Sadr's view on this, and indications are that most Iraqis - especially Shi'ites - agree. Neither Maliki nor President George Bush want to commit to a timetable, but if Sadr can orchestrate a groundswell of support - and he is adept at rousing his followers into a fury - the Prime Minister and President could find themselves pushed into a corner...
...Sadr's comeback will also likely re-energize the Mahdi Army, which has kept a low profile in Baghdad since the start of the "surge" in U.S. troops. Sadr had initially ordered his militia not to engage the Americans; this lead to an immediate drop-off in the activities of Shi'ite death squads, lending credence to U.S. suspicions that many of these squads are from the Mahdi Army. But there have been indications recently that the death squads are being reactivated: the bodies of Sunnis have begun to turn up in Baghdad, bearing signs of gruesome torture and execution...
...finally, Sadr's return comes at a critical moment for the Shi'ite coalition that dominates the Iraqi parliament. His only real rival in Shi'ite politics, Abdel-Aziz Hakim of the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council, was earlier this week diagnosed with lung cancer and is undergoing chemotherapy in Tehran. If the illness forces Hakim to stay away from the limelight for extended periods, it will leave Sadr as the main voice of Iraq's majority sect...