In a recent development Muqtada al-Sadr has changed course in his fight against the Iraqi government. Muqtada al-Sadr has recently been vilified by the Iraqi Prime Minister al-Maliki as worse than al-Queda.
Amid conflicting reports of whether or not the Mahdi Militia is willing to give up it's arms, Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has ordered from the city of Najaf his
militia off the streets of Basra and cities all across Iraq. This comes as a welcome boost to the Prime Minister, who has pinned a large piece of his political well being on the ability to manage this crisis.
The Mahdi fighters, who aren't fighting against the occupation quite so much as for better representation and the release of supporters who have been held without charges being filed against them.
The removal of the Mahdi Militia from the streets has cleared the way for the government forces to prosecute the fight against those who are still fomenting discord and firing on government forces.
Muqtada al-Sadr has, for now, stated all who carry weapons against government forces, target government offices or buildings are to be considered as outside the struggle of the Mahdi Militia and should be considered as outlaw elements.
The one item which is certain is that the situation is still unstable, and will change again. Until the flow of foreign Shiite infiltrators from Iran and their weapons are halted, little can be said to be a permanent fix for the issues of citizen safety in Iraq.
