Foreign Correspondence

[otraque]

Moqtada al Sadr father was a Khomeinist strongly allied to Iran.
I see in Muqtada a complex fellow, i think he would take all the help from Iran as he can get, be friendly with them, but would still be specific that the border between Iraq and Iran be maintained.
The old Arab Shi'ite/Persian Shi'ite dilineation remains in place it appears.
Also i see Muqtada as having 2 basic goals, get the U.S. the hell out of Iraq and to improve the lot of the 2million Shias of Sadr City.
He is first and foremost the representative of the poorest of the Shias and this is why Sistani has never been able to get him underfoot.
Sistani does not represent these people, it is hard to get, but the Shias of Najaf are significant snobs when it comes to the really beaten down poor, very poor Shi'ites( bigotry against the really poor is world wide, i would say).
I see Sadr City and similar pockets of Shi'ite poverty, to be the Gaza Strip(strips) of Iraq.
Sadr will do whatever he can to make sure they are not left behind.
I remain with the feeling that the U.S. can not remain in Iraq without moving to a blatant Genocide that even the blind deaf and dumb could not recognize.
That genocide would be directed against the Sadrist, The Mahdi.
More later--as Sadr is a fascination with me, he is a man that truly thinks first and foremost of his people--the poorest of Iraq.