The ability of Muqtada al-Sadr to bring tens of thousands of people into the streets and his apparent control of the Baghdad police force in Shi’ite neighborhoods leads to an obvious question: Is this guy the de facto leader of Arab Iraq (that is, the non-Kurdish region)? And if so, can we live with him?
Muqtada is clearly a demagogue, and may not have complete control of the Mahdi army, but his family has had a rocky relationship with the Iranians, which offers some grounds for hope for an independent Iraq…if not a free one.