Iraq: What Now?

Following the Iraqi election and statements by the US administration that no timetable would be set for the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq, I wrote that as soon as the new Iraqi government is put in place, the Shiite militia of Moqtada Sadr will be mobilized to demand a full US withdrawal.

The new government has now been agreed upon after grueling debates among the various Iraqi factions represented in the elected national assembly. The Kurds get the presidency while the Shiite coalition of Ayatollah Sistani gets the premiership. The Arab Sunni factions are still severely fractured although the Assembly selected an Arab Sunni as speaker and another Arab Sunni as Vice president. There is also talk that some key ministerial posts (i.e., Defense) would be headed by Arab Sunnis. Recall that most influential Arab Sunni factions had boycotted the election and have long called for a U.S. withdrawal. Moqtada Sadr and his Mahdi Army in the Shiite south are about to add more gun to that call.

Read my previous post on Moqtada Sadr