Article: IRAQ: UNABLE TO DEFEAT MAHDI ARMY, U.S. AIMS TO DIVIDE IT

Analysis by Gareth Porter*
Inter Press Service English News Wire
10-09-2007
WASHINGTON, Oct. 8, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The U.S. military command
frequently asserts that the primary threat to U.S. forces in Iraq
comes from Iranian meddling, but the real threat is the army of
Shiite cleric Moqtada al Sadr.
Sadr's Mahdi army is determined to end the occupation, and it
is simply too big and too well-entrenched to be weakened by
military force.
The U.S. command began trying to enter into a political dialogue
with Sadr's followers in early 2006 and now claims that such a
dialogue has begun, according to a Sept. 12 article by Ned Parker
of the Los Angeles Times.
Gen. David Petraeus hinted in his ...

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