Home pagePress CenterIn the Media Sam Brannen, a fellow with the CSIS International Security Program, had a commentary published in World Politics Review, “In Basra, Another Victory for Moqtada al-Sadr."
In the Media | Detail
Sam Brannen, a fellow with the CSIS International Security Program, had a commentary published in World Politics Review, “In Basra, Another Victory for Moqtada al-Sadr."
The unnerving footage of the black-turbaned, hirsute, pudgy-faced, snarling, 30-something Moqtada al-Sadr has reappeared on television screens across the world. Wrapped in his black cloak and eyes pointed down at a script, he rattles off his statement to a bouquet of microphones, flanked by a posse of grinning henchmen, occasionally raising a finger for emphasis. His gravitas is his very presence: an outlaw who dares show his face. With his new nine-point plan, he is Iraq's most important politician currently outside the government, exercising a seeming ability to turn a full-scale insurgency on or off at will.
Gen. David Petraeus appears powerless to contest him without again rupturing the more manageable levels of violence in Iraq, and the country's government is frozen in its tracks. In the aftermath of the ceasefire in Basra, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki told the al-Iraqiya television service, "We came here to pursue criminal gangs and murderers . . . our forces were not ready for this battle and we were surprised." The moment of decisiveness for Iraq's government touted by President Bush on Friday became by Sunday yet another detour in the political course of the country. Maliki's might turned a muddle and quickly a mess-up. Read the commentary
The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is a private, tax-exempt institution focusing on international public policy issues. Its research is nonpartisan and nonproprietary. CSIS does not take specific policy positions; accordingly, all views, positions, and conclusions expressed in these publications should be understood to be solely those of the authors.
