al-Sadr has disappeared from public view

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.sundayherald.com/oped/opinion/display.var.2068651.0.iraqs_fiery_cleric_takes_time_out.php

Iraq’s fiery cleric takes time out
By Trevor Royle, Diplomatic Editor

GOOD NEWS and Iraq are hardly the oil and vinegar of everyday life in that distressful country, but after Friday prayers last week there was a smidgen of comfort. It had nothing to do with a sharp decline of casualties, which really would have been an excellent outcome, but it had everything to do with taking a few steps forward.

After a six-month abstinence from operations, the Mahdi Army announced it would not be going on the warpath again and that it will be holding the ceasefire that was announced last summer by its boss, the fiery cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.

During the cessation of hostilities southern Iraq became a much quieter place, allowing the British garrison to be drawn down and a semblance of normality to return to Basra. Let's not forget that before al-Sadr made his surprise announcement the province was in turmoil, British troops were being slaughtered in droves by roadside bombs and the streets were like a bloodier version of the gunfight at the OK corral. More to the point, it looked as if the Mahdi army, (Jaish al-Mahdi or Jam to the Brits), was on the cusp of waging a vile internecine war against its great rivals, the Badr Brigades.

Instead, somewhat surprisingly given its previous antics, the Mahdi Army agreed to the truce and the guns fell silent. Equally improbably, al-Sadr disappeared from public view and entered a seminary in Qom in Iran, announcing that he was studying to become an ayatollah, a high-ranking spiritual position in the Shia faith. Good for him, you might say. Time spent in meditation is rarely wasted, and for a headstrong young man like al-Sadr, who clearly yearns to be a key player in Iraqi politics, it might even do him some good.

[Hugabear]

1. He's preparing to become the Ayatollah of Iraq

Don't kid yourself. When this guy re-emerges, he'll do so as an ayatollah, ready to "unify" Iraq. And Iran will be right there at his side.

What a clusterfuck * has created.

[bemildred]

2. Probably the safest thing for him to do.

Annoying for people that would like to kill him, of course.

[acmavm]

3. Which would include certain factions in the US and Iraqis who

don't agree with the cease fire.

When he comes out I wonder how much power he'll have with the radicals who think he's betrayed them?

[NNN0LHI]

4. I suspect that if the US wanted him dead he would have had a smart bomb dropped on his head long ago

I think the old boy is in custody somewhere.

Don

[bemildred]

5. You never know.

I would not find the idea that the US has a handle on him strange at this point. However, he is a politician, so he could just be doing business.