A Muslim cleric who once used a militia to resist the American invasion positioned himself as a big winner in Iraq's months long political deadlock Friday when his party threw its support behind the beleaguered prime minister.
The hard-line Shiite group led by Muqtada al-Sadr called it the start of its ascent to nationwide power — a specter sure to spook the United States.
Washington considers the cleric a threat to Iraq's shaky security and has long refused to consider his movement a legitimate political entity. But Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki may be unable to govern without him.
March elections failed to produce a clear winner and left the nation in turmoil — a power vacuum that U.S. military officials say has encouraged a spike in attacks by Sunni insurgents.
Having to rely on that breathing piece of garbage, al Sadr, to form a government in Iraq is indeed bad news. It is bad news only redeemed by the prospect of getting a new government, finally.
But don't panic. Iraqis, by and large, don't want to be an Iranian puppet regime. So despite the grand ambitions of the Sadrists, remember they are a small portion of the population:
Sadrists were the only party to gain seats in parliament in the March 7 vote, winning 39 of the 325 in a signal of their rise.Thirty-nine seats out of 325 is hardly a dominant position.
And the Sadrists count on one major development to carry out their grandiose plan of conquest:
"In the future, the premiership will be for us," the Sadrist official said. "We will have nominees who will compete when the next elections are held after the departure of the (U.S.) occupation."
My guess is that the Sadrists will be waiting a long time for us to leave.
Mind you, we have to watch that scumbag. He's dangerous. I've always thought that, and I remain convinced that Iraq would be better off if that man was dead. If Sadr steps over the line, nail him.
This could still allow us to take two steps forward to a stable and democratic Iraq if we and our Iraqi friends proceed carefully.
