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| Iraq |
| Reality Check in Shia Politics |
| 2007-01-23 |
| January 23, 2007: Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki has been recognized as a capable politician. But there was always doubts about his ability to stand up to the more aggressive Shia factions. Last Fall, for example, he "exercised Iraqi sovereignty" by ordering U.S. troops to halt operations against al Sadr militias in Baghdad. Maliki needed Sadrs support because Sadrs political party controlled about 30 percent of the Shia members in parliament. Noting that the Americans actually obeyed Malikis orders, the Sadr militiamen stepped up their attacks on Sunnis. In the last two months, this has led to Sadrs men moving into Sunni neighborhoods of Baghdad, and going door-to-door, ordering Sunni families to flee the city, or die. This was too much even for some of the Shia political parties, and was anathema to Sunnis inside, and outside Iraq. Saudi Arabia made noises about sending troops to Iraq. Baghdad has been a Sunni Arab city for over a thousand years. It was the capital of the first Islamic empire ("caliphate.") |
| Posted by:GolfBravoUSMC |