Radical Shiite cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr has returned to Iraq after spending nearly four moths in hiding, presumably in Iran. Al-Sadr went into hiding at the start of the security crackdown that has worked to reduce the sectarian violence in Iraq. Al-Sadr’s first order of business upon his return was to demand that the United States withdraw from Iraq. The militant cleric’s return may be an effort to regain control of his militia. His absence combined with the US led security crackdown has weakened the militia and led to fragmentation and dissention. It is being reported that one faction has already split from Muqtada’s Mahdi Army. Muqtada’s escape to Iran may in fact have cost him political support and he has now returned in an attempt to regain both military and political power.

Unfortunately, Muqtada’s return may spell trouble for the United States in what has already been a bloody summer for our troops. His return to Iraq may indeed inspire a resurgence in violence and further endanger the lives of our service members. The 33 year old cleric has been a lightening rod for the insurgency, calling on Shiites to oppose the United States and to take up arms against our troops. During his absence, he told his followers not to engage coalition forces. Now that he has returned to the holy city of Najaf, it is reasonable to assume that this truce will come to a violent end. His followers took to the streets chanting anti-US and anti-Israel slogans. Al-Sadr himself seems to have renewed his earlier strident stance against the United States by calling for his supporters to fight what he has labeled the US occupation of Iraq. His charisma and large following and his apparent steps to take advantage of an ailing Shiite rival, make Al-Sadr a force to be taken seriously in Iraq.

Our troops will now have to face the very real possibility of heightened violence and a greater threat of terrorist attacks. Al-Sadr is the most visible example of a man attempting to step into the power vacuum of a chaotic Iraq to assume authority. He is the prime example of why we must finish the mission in Iraq and leave the Iraqi people a government that can defend them against the fanatical and frightening forces that are waiting for the first opportunity to seize power and turn Iraq into a haven for terrorists at the expense of our security and the welfare of the Iraqi people.

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 31st, 2007 at 2:18 am and is filed under General Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.