Sadr Is Winning IV

Apparently, Lenin's Tomb had the same thoughts as I did - but wrote them down in a more eloquent and scholarly fashion.

Meanwhile, ex-refugee-from-Saddam's-Iraq Sami Ramadani has a very optimistic view of Sadr. While I don't share it as of now, I certainly agree Sadr seems to have been learning in the last two years. Here is one paragraph, that contains the essence of Ramadani's optimism:

There are now signs that, like Nasrallah in Lebanon, Sadr is learning that he needs to build bridges and links with Iraq's varied sects, religions, nationalities and secular political trends. After Iraq's proconsul Paul Bremer appointed the now defunct Iraqi Governing Council last year, Sadr uni laterally declared the appointment of an alternative government composed solely of his supporters. It went down like a lead balloon. However, when asked last week about the political and social programme of al-Tayyar al-Sadri's (the Sadri current), one of Sadr's main spokesmen said that Sadr opposed the publication of such a detailed programme because it had to evolve from and be agreed at a conference of all Iraq's political forces. Indeed, if the Sadri current is to last the distance, he has to also take on board that the Kurds in Iraqi Kurdistan and Iraqi women, particularly in the cities, will want a major input.