Behind the Sadr curtain

Telegraph:

Tens of thousands of Shia demonstrators rallied to a call by Moqtada al-Sadr, the anti-American cleric, to protest against coalition forces in Iraq yesterday, the fourth anniversary of the fall of Baghdad.

The vast gathering of men burning US flags, carrying giant Iraqi ones and waving banners denouncing President Bush was a huge show of strength for the firebrand cleric. Policemen stayed in their bases and armed militiamen from Hojetoleslam al-Sadr’s al-Mahdi Army enforced security.

But behind such displays of unity, many point to fault lines developing in the militia, estimated to number 20,000 gun-men. With its leaders in exile — Hojatoleslam al-Sadr is believed to be in Iran — hiding or in US custody, many militiamen are increasingly frustrated. Iran is thought to be fishing for rogue elements to bring under its influence.

“Iran is afraid of the Americans now and wants to make sure the Mahdi Army can control Iraq and beat the Americans,” said Abu Bakr, an al-Mahdi commander in Baghdad. A Western diplomat in Iraq said that there were splits within the militia and the political movement allied to it. “Every week that goes by, and we’ve been seeing this since November, there’s another example of how fractured it is,” he said.

Al-Mahdi fighters were ordered to stand down at the start of the US security surge in Baghdad, to avoid being blamed should it fail. But some are champing at the bit to fight the “occupiers”. In Diwaniyah, a Shia town in central Iraq, al-Madhi forces clashed with US and Iraqi troops before their leader ordered them to allow Iraqi forces to take control.

Some see the cracks as a positive sign that parts of the Sadrist movement, a keystone of the Government, may be looking for a more constructive political role. Others worry that if it splits, the Government will face an unpredictable foe.

Developed from an armed militia to protect poor Shia areas after the US-led invasion, the al-Mahdi Army became an influential force. It may now have become a victim of its own success, a sprawling mob that often operates at the whim of local commanders. “There are at least three elements,” said the diplomat. “The criminals and opportunists, those close to Moqtada and those with an Iranian agenda.”

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As a military force they are not one. They are incompetently led and poorly trained. The real reason they stood down for the surge is because they did not want to be destroyed as they have been every time they have attempted to take on US forces. They are now clearly losing unit cohesion and command and control. Sadr's flag waving and burning in Najaf is just another act of impotence to cover his cower. He burns US flags because he knows he cannot win an engagement with the US.

This sorry excuse for a militia is successful when it goes up against unarmed non combatants which it bullies and murders in the same number, if in a different fashion, as the Sunni religious bigots. They are the flip side of each others bigotry in Iraq. As for the US leaving, that is easy. Stop killing each other.

Gateway Pundit says the march was a bust and has some pictures to back it up.