Subscribe to our BlogArrest Warrant Reissued for Muqtada al-Sadr
by William Tucker
The Iraqi government has reissued a 2004 warrant for the arrest of Muqtada al-Sadr for the 2003 murder of Majid al-Khoie, another Shiite cleric who had just returned to the holy city of Najaf. The original warrant was shelved as part of a cease-fire deal between U.S. forces and several Shiite militias including al-Sadr's Mahdi Army. With national elections slated to take place March 7 the timing of this really calls into the question the purpose behind reissuing the warrant. In the past when threats against al-Sadr were made his followers would often react with mass protests which often turned violent. It is likely that the ruling party did issue this warrant for political gain in the run-up to next weeks election, but in doing so they risk increasing the possibility of violence between different sects and political movements.
Comments
Hi - nice write-up. Last night there was a 4.4 magnitude earthquake in Los Angeles. That's not too powerful but it does get you thinking about things. Anyhow, cool blog... I'm subscribed to your RSS feed now so I'll be checking in regularly!
Posted by: White Flood | March 17, 2010 11:31 AM