Siun @ 61

Bob – glad your comment got through! I didn’t know about your studies … I’m jealous.

Visser’s own work centers on Basra and the south – and he does say a great deal about the very diverse attitudes Iraqis have towards Iran – including amongst Shiites (again, much to our pundit class’ dismay). I haven’t read comments from him on Turkey (may have simply missed that) but I’d be interested in what you think of his perspective on Iran’s role.

It is significant that in his review of Galbraith’s book, Visser is critical of the simplistic equation of Shi’a with Iranian interests. Visser’s excellent analysis here coincides with his own strength, because the Shi’a are best represented in the south, which is his area of interest. The one thing I would fault him on is that he fails to mention that Iraqi Shi’a, far from feeling dependent on the Shi’a of Iran, feel that the ideological center of Shi’ism is in Iraq, not Iran, at Najaf. He fails to mention that before the current Iranian regime won control, Ayatollah Komeini spent many years in exile in Iraq, and more specifically in Najaf! So Iraqi Shi’a tend to think of Iranian Shi’a as second class. This might explain Visser’s reference to “strong anti-Iranian leanings” among Iraqi Shi’a. The second reason might be that Iranian Shi’a are ethnically Persian rather than Arab, but Visser does not mention that.

Visser’s review of Galbraith’s book does not touch on Iranian attitudes towards Kurds at all.

Bob in HI

There is actually closer ideological and political affinity between Iraqi Shiism and Hezbollah, than with Iran. In fact the founders of Hezbollah, Massoud and Nasrallah, were students of Sadr’s father, The Grand Ayatollah. Sadr doesn’t seem particularly attracted to being under the thumb of the Iranian clerics, or beholden to them. THAT is one of his main concerns with the clerics and military factions associated with SCIRI it seems, who fled into exile. Thus Moqtada’s appeal to the young, and those who remained behind.

*uck the equipment.

Indeed. Blow it to bits with the left over munitions.

As for the contractors…well…they should start exitting now unless the get agreements in the areas controlled by militias that THEY will protect them because those areas want/need water, electricity, etc.

RonD – the Sadrists have not been a Shia only movement and have tried to protect minorities in their area. I’m not sure what he would do in power but it’s not the simple demonized tale we get to hear.

I’d like to hear more about his “protection of minorities”. Protecting from whom? ASFAIK there’s been a general “ethnic cleansing” in areas of Baghdad that have come under Mahdi Army control.

Sadr’s tentative alliances with Sunni’s have principally been efforts to bring down Maliki’s government. That seems to be in line with his attempts to become the principal Shiite political figure, and sideline SCIRI.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/…..00700.html

The Sadrists then establish control of the vacated homes and apartments and get paid “rent” and businesses pay “protection money”. The Mahdi Army tightly controls the distribution of food staples, fuel, and other necessities in their areas of hegemony. They are the “law”. All under the nose of the US occupiers. They don’t need to confront the latter directly.

And as the British withdraw from the South the Sadrists are rapidly taking on SCIRI. Street battles are now raging, and the SCIRI Governors are being taken out by assassination…two in the last few days.

http://english.aljazeera.net/N…..E1A8EB.htm

Sadr’s men are being trained, and served in Lebanon with Hezbollah during the Israeli invasion. Thus they have acquired increasing tactical and technical skills that place them on a par with the Iranian-trained Badr Brigades of SCIRI.

If al-Sadr is canny enough a political leader to reach out to the Sunnis? If he is, he could indeed morph into the strong, unifying, nationalist leader, a “Ho Chi Minh” figure if you will, that could turn Iraq from the occupation of a nation in civil war, to a unified nation fighting to throw off an occupier. He would have the support of Iran, and the Mahdi Army could serve as the nucleus of an Iraqi Army, as all other efforts to build an Iraqi Army appear to have failed.

Sadr appears intent on participating in the partioning of Baghdad. The Mahdi militia (JAM) actually organizes the acts that “clear” previously integrated neighborhoods in Iraq, then take over and “rent out” the empty homes and apartments to refuges.

I’m not very hopeful that his leadership would lead to a “unified” Iraq.

Yeah. I like that.

tryggth @ 123

I’m with both of you… though I think we should fly the planes out.

Of course we should. Another point how much time and $$ will we actually lose if we leave a bunch of “equipment” at 12 billion a week occupation costs plus cost of shipping out of Irak and storage gawd knows where.

Mommy I cant leave the burning house (and yes I started the fire) because my equipment is here.

No, no… its an issue I heard about during the debate. Its like keeping the lids of those plastic olive containers.

the rape of iraq is a crime.
it should be discussed and dealt with as such.

peas!

It’s gonna be a long haul revolution, eh?

A woman featured on a recent Democracy Now program described Think tanker types as people paid to think by corporations that make the tanks.

Wasn’t that Naomi Klein? I’m very much looking forward to her book.

(My version of the joke: “AEI – putting the tank in think tank since 1979!”).