Iraqi Shi'ites protest occupation

Several hundred thousand Iraqi Shi'ites (a large number in a country of 27 million) have marched in the Shi'ite holy city of Najaf to protest against the continued occupation of Iraq by US-led forces. The protest was called by the cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to mark the fourth anniversary of the capture of Baghdad by the Americans. In a message to Iraqis, Sadr (who is believed to be hiding in Iran) described American forces as "your arch enemy".

Meanwhile, in a visit to Japan, the Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, "Iraq has escaped the constraints of the past.... The country is one and the people are one" (BBC).

Now if only that were true.

As for Sadr, one wonders whether he would quickly try to seize power for himself if the Americans were to withdraw in the near future.

Talabani: Mahdi Army stops reprisals

The Iraqi President, Jalal Talabani, has announced that the Mahdi Army, a Shi'ite militia loyal to the cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, has stopped attacking Sunnis. The group is suspected of carrying out punitive raids on Sunnis, including the summary execution of Sunni men, following suicide bombings in Shi'ite areas, allegedly carried out by Sunnis. According to Talabani, the new security plan championed by the US (involving an increased American presence in Baghdad and confrontations with both Sunni and Shi'ite militias) has forced "brother Moqtada Sadr" to ask his followers to stop attacking "brother Sunni Arabs" (BBC).

If this is true, the news certainly represents a major success for the new US policy. However, if previous experience is a guide, we are likely to see more of Sadr and his militants. In 2003 or 2004, I watched Danielle Pletka, the American Enterprise Institute's supposed expert on Iraq, say that Sadr should be treated "as the irrelevancy he is". For better or worse, though, the man has proven himself nothing if not relevant since then.