Sep 08 2007
The Shiite Power Struggle: Hardly Good News for the US in Iraq
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By Ramzy Baroud
9/8/07
The decision made by Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to halt his Mahdi Army’s attacks on occupation forces and Iraqi security is likely to be considered the single most promising breakthrough for the US military in Iraq. Although the move comes ahead of several reports to be presented to the US Congress later this month, the decision was ultimately an outcome of a long-brewing intersectarian conflict between Shiite Iraqis, which will further complicate the devastating American failure in Iraq,
Al-Sadr’s decision followed the widespread clashes at Karbala on August 26, during one of the holiest Shiite festivals. Despite various accusations of outside involvement, the clashes were apparently Shiite through and through, involving militant members of the Badr Brigade of the Islamic Supreme Council (led by Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, a duel ally of the US and Iran) and al-Sadr’s Mahdi Army.