More Najaf and Al Sadr

Think that the people in Iraq do not support Moqtada Al Sadr's goals? Think again:

"I will lie on the ground in front of the tanks, or I will kill the Americans to defend Sadr and Najaf," said Fadil Hamed, 30.

Last week, thousands of Iraqis staged pro-Sadr protests in several cities and called for the downfall of interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi.

Some marched to Najaf and are in the shrine with many of Sadr's Mehdi Army militiamen, who are posing the biggest challenge to Allawi since the U.S.-led occupiers handed power to Iraqis in late June.

Several of the "volunteers" referred to Allawi as Saddam Hussein the second, referring to the toppled dictator accused of killing thousands of Shi'ites.

"Allawi you coward, you agent of the Americans," the crowd yelled. "Allawi we don't need you."

Now more than 2000 Iraqis have come to the Imam Ali shrine to act as a human shield for both the shrine and Al Sadr himself. For the U.S, to put down such a revolt involves not only desecrating the shrine itself and turning thousands more against us, but it also the slaughter of Iraqi civilians.

This is not just a battle that we have taken sides in, but a battle that is a direct result of our entrance into Iraq. Before the war, Al Sadr was a relative nobody hungry for power. Now we have turned him into a legend while placing ourselves and Allawi in a no win situation in Najaf. Any violent action will increase those calls that Allawi is another Saddam, willing to kill people in his own country to secure power.

If we give into Al Sadr and any of his demands, it establishes Allawi and American forces as weak in a country where power is everything.

I'm not an expert on foreign policy by any means. And I don't have all the answers.
Juan Cole gave an online Q&A at the Washington Post that has more info. And always check his site for even more.