Iraqi Election Update
Dr. Cole has his daily update on the situation, Mahdi Army Unsubdued; Iran asks for End to Fighting, that includes a Los Angeles Times piece in which the ISCI admits the government actions are about the elections.
The BBC reports that al Sadr seems to be calling for a truce in their piece, Iraqi cleric calls off militias, but there are conditions in this call. The Iraqi government has to release Sadrists who have been picked up by security forces lately and accept al Sadr’s “framing” on the situation in Iraq.
Moqtada al Sadr may be a thug, but he’s not stupid. His forces have been targeted for weeks and he has been trying to keep a lid on things. That was interpreted as weakness and the ISCI attacked him. The ISCI/Badr/Iraqi government forces were unable to win against the Mahdi Army, even with air and artillery support. The Mahdi Army has already won the important “hearts and minds” battle, so there’s no need to lose more fighters. The ISCI/government can’t sustain this operation and he has given them an opportunity to end the pain.
The remaining question is whether the ISCI is ready to admit defeat while starting the political spin for US consumption.
