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Iraqi crackdown backfires, strengthens Sadrists
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| Contributor | ArmyDem |
| Last Edited | ArmyDem Apr 01, 2008 08:33am |
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| Category | Analysis |
| Media | News Service - Reuters |
| News Date | Monday, March 31, 2008 02:00:00 PM UTC0:0 |
| Description | Mon Mar 31, 2008 10:49am EDT
By Ross Colvin
BAGHDAD, March 31 (Reuters) - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's crackdown on militias in the southern oil port of Basra appears to have backfired, exposing the weakness of his army and strengthening his political foes ahead of elections.
U.S. President George W. Bush has praised the crackdown, calling it a "defining moment" for Iraq, but it has unleashed a wave of destabilising violence in southern Iraq and in Baghdad that risks undoing the security improvements of the past year.
It has also exposed a deep rift within Iraq's Shi'ite majority -- between the political parties in Maliki's government and followers of populist cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.
Analysts say Iraqis may be about to witness a new phase in the cycle of violence that has gripped the country since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 -- intra-Shi'ite bloodletting that could tear Iraq apart and more deeply embroil U.S. forces.
Sadr on Sunday pulled back from all-out confrontation against Iraqi security forces and their U.S. backers, ordering his Mehdi Army militia to stop fighting. While Basra was reported to be calm on Monday, mortar attacks shook Baghdad. |
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