Originally Posted by
ORAC
Meanwhile, whilst everyone is distracted, things kick off in Iraq - doubtless Iran instigated…
A total curfew has been announced in Baghdad at 3:30PM. This comes after Sadr has announced his ‘resignation’ from politics & his followers have stormed the Iraqi presidential palace
This tiff has been building up for a couple of months, as the more Iranian-friendly Shiite faction has been maneuvering to elbow out the less Iranian-friendly Shiite faction (Sadr's) and Sadr's success in last October's election has come to naught. The recent coverage I've seen on this has been heavy in pointing to the influence of Iran - Sadr is (if nothing else) a kind Iraqi nationalist albeit his major power base is anchored in the Shia community.
Own Goal
That own goal - if you take down Saddam you do Iran a big, big favor - was predicted
in 2002 by a former US CENTCOM commander. He was ignored. What was kind of interesting - after 9-11 but before Katami left and Mahmoud the Mouth became president in Iran - is that we had some (let's say interesting) working relationships with Iranians in Afghanistan. Sadly, that didn't help grow into something more sustainable and the Axis of Evil line was not helpful.
Iraq: a civil war in the making? Probably. Or maybe I should say "another civil war in the making."
