Posted on 03/28/2007 6:42:50 PM PDT by jmc1969
Iraq's most powerful Shiite militia is increasingly splintering as radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr -- now believed to be in Iran -- faces fresh challenges to his leadership, according to senior Pentagon and administration officials.
In the near term, the deepening divides in Sadr's movement have contributed to a lull in fighting that is benefiting U.S. and Iraqi operations to secure Baghdad, where Shiite militia and death squads fomenting sectarian violence are considered the greatest threat to Iraq's stability, the officials said.
Yet the group's fracturing in the long run could make it harder to defeat militarily and could also complicate political reconciliation, they said.
"It's much more difficult to go after small, violent splinter groups than if you can get one organization to come in from the cold and reconcile," said a senior Pentagon official. "You have to fight with more people and kill more people, and it's much harder to bring them over to our side. The bright side is that, at least for the near term, they are keeping kind of quiet."
At least two Shiite rivals, with some internal support, have been jockeying to take over parts of Sadr's powerful Mahdi Army since he left for Iran earlier this year, officials say. Sadr has had trouble both leading and controlling his movement from afar, they said, as his absence has encouraged subordinates and earlier rivals to move in on his turf.
"It's clear that he does not control all the organization. There are splinter groups that don't answer and won't answer to him, particularly since he is in Tehran now," the senior Pentagon official said.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Good and bad, but this is the first step in dismantling the Shiite terror machine.
Hey if the Brits take out Iran's only refinery maybe they can take out mookie while they are at it.
This is fantastic news. I'm stunned that it was in the WaPo.
Those long-distance romances rarely work out.
The editors at WAPO must have been asleep today. How else do you explain this article getting published?
You see, this is part of the WaPo's ongoing narrative on how the war is never-ending, and that we can never win against the enemy, so we should withdraw immediately.
WaPo is openly calling for Mookie's return to Iraq because he is a stabilizing force in the country. WaPo editors are carrying the water for Mookie.
Know-nothing American journalists have a long history of siding with tyrants in their pages.
There are splinter groups that don't answer and won't answer to him, particularly since he is in Tehran now...
Those long-distance romances rarely work out
In Spanish they have a saying "UN Amor de lejos is un Amor de pendejos"
"fresh challenges" = SURGE!
don't be stunned. If you read the article again, you'll notice that they consider this a bad thing.
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