If Iraq is a rose waiting to bloom, then it sure does have a lot of thorns:
“The Iraqi government should say that Mr. Sadr represents himself,” said Mithal Alusi, a secular politician recently elected to the new parliament. “Some of the things Sadr says are not right, like when he goes to Syria and says they are free of terrorists. Or when he tells Iran that he will fight for them. But nobody says anything because they are afraid of his militia, which has power in the Iraqi streets. This is very dangerous.”
No doubt about it, Moqtada al-Sadr is a powerful man inside Iraq. His opinions are heard in the Middle East. I wish he would take the approach that Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has adopted. A little more than a year ago, he was inciting armed revolt against Americans so there is progress. Perhaps involvement in the political dialogue will actually moderate his viewpoints over time. That is what I would hope.
We are all playing a dangerous game over here. Lives are on the line. Whatever al-Sadr is planning, he is a key figure in the political landscape here in Iraq and one of the power brokers that decided the outcome of last year’s December elections. He is a figure to watch carefully. His transformation from thug to politician must be more than just a surface makeover if he hopes to survive long as a figure of note.
U.S. Embassy officials declined to comment on the diplomatic debut by Sadr, who is believed to be in his thirties. Some Iraqi leaders said they support his foray abroad, which also included stops in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Syria, arguing that it will further encourage him to abandon violence.
“I think it’s useful,” said Kurdish politician Mahmoud Othman. “You know, Moqtada, a year ago, was using violence and arms against the government. Now he’s in the political process, and the more he is around heads of state, probably he becomes more moderate. It is strange, but he gets more attention in these countries than a real politician might.”
I love the Kurds. They are Iraq’s glass half full people. Let’s hope Mr. Mahmoud is right.