American officials had been hoping to contain and diminish al-Sadr’s influence, while cultivating the Shia leaders who participate on the US-appointed Governing Council, which will nominally be handed political “sovereignty” in several months.
But the Post reports Paul Bremer and his aides have become alarmed by the rapid growth in size and influence of the Mahdi Army, the Sadrist militia, and “fear it will compete for power after the U.S. administration of Iraq ends...”
According to the Post, the US decided to test the group’s “resolve” by closing down its newspaper and arresting one of its top leaders, Mustafa Yaqoubi, suspected in the murder of a rival cleric last year.
The US gamble has triggered a widespread and violent response, and the occupation forces are now confronted by what the Post calls their “greatest fear”: an untenable two-front Sunni and Shia insurgency.
Article available on www.supportingfacts.com
Sorry for any cross posting.