Hmmmmm. Is there a teeny little rift between the Iraqi PM and the Americans?
Is this dumb policy on the American's part....to be banking on an Iranian-backed Shiite as Prime Minister?
You might be worried that the whole thing is going to "go Iranian" at some point....so when did they say is Sadr taking over? Be careful, George. You don't want to lose access to all that oil now, do you?
LAT "...I'm a friend to the United States, but not America's man in Iraq," Maliki told Khalilzad, according to Hassan Senaid, one of the prime minister's closest advisors....The U.S. government, undertaking a massive nation-building project while fighting off a ferocious insurgency, has little choice but to back Maliki's Iranian-influenced Shiite government. Any U.S. move against Maliki could spark greater violence and anti-American animosity.
Maliki has demanded that Americans let him try to politically co-opt Sadr, who has gone from a rabble-rousing street firebrand in the early days after the U.S.-led invasion to one of the most powerful figures in the country who controls 30 seats in parliament and several key ministries.There have been numerous signs that Sadr has tired of the most troublesome of his loyalists. During prayers Friday in the southern city of Kufa, Sadr's principal pulpit, his deputy denounced recent violence in Iraq caused by "people who violated and stood against the wise and honorable leadership" of the cleric.
