Sadr reigns in militia:
Iraqi Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr has ordered his fighters off the streets of Basra and other cities in an effort to end clashes with security forces.
- Sadr's plan was defensive and not offensive. However, the militias were starting to take too much territory and expose themselves to airstrikes. This is an attempt to get them back into a defensive crouch.
- It likely means that government's offensive has failed. The US didn't ride in to bail Maliki out from his adventure (he wasn't deemed too big to fail and the open source counter-insurgency effort was considered too important to abandon).
- This also likely means that a deal is likely in the works between Maliki and Sadr. Wonder what Maliki is going to be forced to give up in consideration.
Shouldn't that be "rein in" rather than "reign in"?
Posted by: dino | March 31, 2008 at 12:03 PM