Frank Smyth goes further than simply pointing out "the nature of Sadr" and proposes that American leftists support "moderate Shiite groups and secular leftist ones": "Neither the resistance groups cheered on by many on the American left nor the governing parties championed by the American right seem to reflect the views and aspirations of most Iraqi people, who seem to be hoping for the rise of groups independent of both Saddam's reign and the increasingly dictatorial Allawi government. Possibilities include moderate Shiite groups and secular leftist ones, through whose leadership most Iraqis hope to find a way to empower themselves for the first time in their history" ("Who Are the Progressives in Iraq? The Left, the Right, and the Islamists," <http://www.fpif.org/papers/0409progiraq.html>).
Without waiting for Smyth's direction, a big influential sector of American leftists -- e.g., USLAW <http://www.uslaboragainstwar.org/>, the DSA <http://www.dsausa.org/convention2003/report/Resolutions.pdf>, the CPUSA <http://www.iraqcp.org/framse1/0040309icp.htm> & <http://www.pww.org/article/articleview/4313/1/142/>, etc. -- have been supporting secular Iraqi leftists, especially the ones in trade unions.
I don't see much evidence that many Iraqis are looking to secular leftist leadership at this point, though, and I doubt that American leftists' support for them will have a great impact on their political fortune vis-a-vis other Iraqi groups, for the simple reason that American leftists are not in power -- or more precisely nowhere near being able to exercise state power -- in the United States itself.
By "moderate Shiite groups" does Smyth mean Sistani and his followers? If so, he might consider, for example, the following revealing incident: "Sistani has conveniently been flown to London. His 'illness' couldn't come at a better moment if Powell et al. had personally selected it. While everyone has been waiting for him to denounce the bombing and killing of fellow-Shi'a in Najaf and elsewhere, he has come down with some bug or other and had to be shipped off to London for check-ups. That way, he can remain silent about the situation. Shi'a everywhere are disappointed at this silence. They are waiting for some sort of a fatwa or denouncement- it will not come while Sistani is being coddled by English nurses" ("Clashes and Churches. . . ," August 7, 2004, <http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com/2004_08_01_riverbendblog_archive.html#109190689868184868>). The incident shows that Sistani lacks power or courage or both.
In conclusion, no political force on the ground in Iraq -- from small to large, secular to religious, unarmed to armed -- has reached the point of becoming capable of exercising political leadership legitimately in the eyes of the majority of Iraqis yet. And that's not surprising. The history of anti-colonial resistance shows that it takes longer than a year and half for a colonized nation to develop a popular national liberation movement. -- Yoshie
* Critical Montages: <http://montages.blogspot.com/> * Greens for Nader: <http://greensfornader.net/> * Bring Them Home Now! <http://www.bringthemhomenow.org/> * Calendars of Events in Columbus: <http://sif.org.ohio-state.edu/calendar.html>, <http://www.freepress.org/calendar.php>, & <http://www.cpanews.org/> * Student International Forum: <http://sif.org.ohio-state.edu/> * Committee for Justice in Palestine: <http://www.osudivest.org/> * Al-Awda-Ohio: <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Al-Awda-Ohio> * Solidarity: <http://www.solidarity-us.org/>