Target: Moqtada al-Sadr

What did President Bush mean last night when he said this? In earlier operations, political and sectarian interference prevented Iraqi and American forces from going into neighborhoods that are home to those fueling the sectarian violence. This time, Iraqi and American forces will have a green light to enter these neighborhoods ­ and Prime Minister ...

By , a former managing editor of Foreign Policy.
604916_mahdi_militiaman_05.jpg
604916_mahdi_militiaman_05.jpg

What did President Bush mean last night when he said this?

What did President Bush mean last night when he said this?

In earlier operations, political and sectarian interference prevented Iraqi and American forces from going into neighborhoods that are home to those fueling the sectarian violence. This time, Iraqi and American forces will have a green light to enter these neighborhoods ­ and Prime Minister Maliki has pledged that political or sectarian interference will not be tolerated.



QASSEM ZAIM/Getty Images

Bush didn’t say so explicitly, but it’s actually pretty clear who he’s talking about: Muqtada al-Sadr and his Mahdi Army militia.

In an announcement that must have been timed to coincide with Bush’s speech, Iraqi PM Nuri al-Maliki pointedly warned the Mahdi Army to disarm or face a U.S. attack. Juan Cole sees this message as “code,” in effect. “He is telling the Sadrists to lie low while the US mops up the Sunni Arab guerrillas,” writes Cole. Since Sadr’s militia is just the armed wing of a much broader movement, it’ll be easy to rearm once the Americans leave or back off. We’ll have to see how the mercurial Sadr reacts, but keep this in mind: The Sadrists have become powerful enough to basically run Saddam’s execution. How is Maliki supposed to stop them now?

One more thing. Will Maliki really send the three Kurdish brigades (“not peshmerga“) that are coming to Baghdad as part of the new plan into Sadr City to fight the Mahdi Army? Tell me how that move doesn’t end in generalized ethnic war.

Blake Hounshell is a former managing editor of Foreign Policy.

More from Foreign Policy

The USS Nimitz and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and South Korean Navy warships sail in formation during a joint naval exercise off the South Korean coast.
The USS Nimitz and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and South Korean Navy warships sail in formation during a joint naval exercise off the South Korean coast.

America Is a Heartbeat Away From a War It Could Lose

Global war is neither a theoretical contingency nor the fever dream of hawks and militarists.

A protester waves a Palestinian flag in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, during a demonstration calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. People sit and walk on the grass lawn in front of the protester and barricades.
A protester waves a Palestinian flag in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, during a demonstration calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. People sit and walk on the grass lawn in front of the protester and barricades.

The West’s Incoherent Critique of Israel’s Gaza Strategy

The reality of fighting Hamas in Gaza makes this war terrible one way or another.

Biden dressed in a dark blue suit walks with his head down past a row of alternating U.S. and Israeli flags.
Biden dressed in a dark blue suit walks with his head down past a row of alternating U.S. and Israeli flags.

Biden Owns the Israel-Palestine Conflict Now

In tying Washington to Israel’s war in Gaza, the U.S. president now shares responsibility for the broader conflict’s fate.

U.S. President Joe Biden is seen in profile as he greets Chinese President Xi Jinping with a handshake. Xi, a 70-year-old man in a dark blue suit, smiles as he takes the hand of Biden, an 80-year-old man who also wears a dark blue suit.
U.S. President Joe Biden is seen in profile as he greets Chinese President Xi Jinping with a handshake. Xi, a 70-year-old man in a dark blue suit, smiles as he takes the hand of Biden, an 80-year-old man who also wears a dark blue suit.

Taiwan’s Room to Maneuver Shrinks as Biden and Xi Meet

As the latest crisis in the straits wraps up, Taipei is on the back foot.