Mahdi army militiamen are currently engaging Iraqi army and Iraqi government forces with greater frequency and intensity as of this week, as the government sent their troops in to wrest control of the city of Basra from the Shiite militia founded by Moktada al-Sadr.

Moktada al-Sadr is the Shiite cleric who called for the ceasefire last year that has helped in conjuncture with “the surge” to hold violence in Iraq to a lower level in recent memory.

Senior members of several political parties said Saturday that the operation, ordered by Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, had been poorly planned. The growing discontent adds a new level of complication to the American-led effort to demonstrate that the Iraqi government had made strides toward being able to operate a functioning country and keep the peace without thousands of American troops.

Since the Basra assault began Tuesday, violence has spread to Shiite districts of Baghdad and other places in Iraq where Shiite militiamen hold sway, raising fears that security gains often attributed to a yearlong American troop buildup could be at risk. Any widespread breakdown of a cease-fire called by Moktada al-Sadr, the Shiite cleric who founded the Mahdi Army, could bring the country right back to the sectarian violence that racked it in 2006 and 2007.

There are many things that must be considered in regards to this series of events:

-How this affects the locals, many of whom already distrust the leadership of the current Prime Minister
-How this affects our military, troop actions, and withdrawls or increased numbers of troops
-And how this could influence the Presidential elections in regards to what candidates say they might or might not do to handle these kinds of situations in Iraq should they continue.

We’ll be sure to stay abreast of the situation, and report more as it plays out.

Popularity: 2% [?]