Woofie, the al-Dawa party split years ago…there are more than one branch, and Maliki participated in just one of those branches.

Malaki’s party and he himself were based in Iran prior to the US led liberation of Iraq.

Guess what party Iraqi Prime Minister al-Maliki hails from.

# December 1983: Muslim extremists (al-Dawa) blew up the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait, killing five and injuring 80.

WHO does al-Maliki have to thank most for his current postion?

Here are they are:
a) his own Islamic Dawa party, of course. (led by al-Jaafari)

b) The Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq:

The Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) is, historically, an Iraqi insurgent group backed by Iran during the Iran-Iraq war, and, presently, an Iraqi political party. Its political support comes from the country’s Shi’a Muslim community, as well as from Iranian Shiites and the Iranian government. Prior to August 2003, SCIRI was led by Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim; its current leader is the ayatollah’s brother, Abdul Aziz al-Hakim. In light of its gains in both elections and government appointments, SCIRI is one of Iraq’s most powerful political parties.

…
The party was founded in 1982 when the Islamic Dawa Party was severely weakened after its failed assassination attempt on Saddam Hussein. It was largely based in Tehran. During the Iran-Iraq War, the Iranians considered SCIRI as the government of the Islamic Republic of Iraq. A key ideological distinction between SCIRI and al-Dawa is that SCIRI supports the tenet of Iran’s Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini that government should be controlled by the ulema (Islamic scholars), while al-Dawa sided with Iraq’s Ayatollah Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr, who posited that government should be controlled by the ummah (Islamic laity).

Despite this ideological disagreement, several of SCIRI’s factions came from al-Dawa before the 2003 invasion of Iraq[1]. This historical intersection is significant because al-Dawa was widely viewed as a terrorist group during the Iran-Iraq war[2]. As of 2006, it is unclear to what extent either SCIRI or al-Dawa should inherit this past reputation.

…

[The Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq] gained popularity among Shiite Iraqis by providing social services and humanitarian aid, following the pattern of Islamist organizations in other countries such as Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood. SCIRI is alleged to receive money and weapons from Iran, and is often accused of being a proxy for Iranian interests. The party leaders have toned down many of the party’s public positions and committed it to democracy and peaceful cooperation. SCIRI’s power base is in the Shi’a-majority southern Iraq. It has an armed wing, the Badr Brigade, with an estimated strength of between 4,000 and 10,000 men
…

The Badr Brigade has allegedly been involved in many incidents of kidnapping, beating and torturing Sunni Iraqis, and many experts view it as a sectarian militia. In 2005, reports appeared that they were also attacking and murdering gays in Iraq

c) the Sadr Movement of Muqtada al-Sadr (Muqtada al-Sadr lead the Mahdi Army)

Muqtada al-Sadr:

Muqtada al-Sadr is the fourth son of the famous Iraqi Shia cleric, Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr and son-in-law of Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Baqir As-Sadr. As of early 2004, he was the de facto ruler of the Sadr City section of Baghdad and commanded the loyalty of the Mahdi Army, an insurgent force making a bid for power in Iraq. Clashes with U.S. forces in April were followed by a truce in June, and mixed signals from al-Sadr after his promises to disband his resistance movement and become involved in the political process. The Coalition Provisional Authority had on several occasions threatened to arrest al-Sadr, and in early April 2004 issued an arrest warrant, alleging his involvement in a homicide.

U.S. military commanders expressed an intention to “capture or kill” him. Then Al-Sadr had agreed to disband his army and join the political process, and he was given assurances that he would not face arrest and be allowed to stand in the 2005 elections. However, tensions rose again in August, and U.S. and Iraqi forces decided to move against al-Sadr and kill him.

…

In the initial phases of the occupation, al-Sadr was vocally opposed to the Coalition Provisional Authority occupation and stated that he had more legitimacy than the Coalition-appointed Iraqi Governing Council (IGC). In September 2003, he declared a shadow government in opposition to the IGC officials chosen by the U.S. This initiative petered out, as it was opposed by both the CPA and al-Sistani’s faction. There were several instances of skirmishes between his followers and the occupying forces in the Sadr City ghetto.
…

At the end of March 2004, Coalition authorities in Iraq shut down Sadr’s newspaper, Al Hawza, on charges of inciting violence (as a side note, al-Hawza is also the name of a religious college in Najaf which was headed by his father). The Coalition authorities said false reporting, including articles that ascribed suicide bombings to Americans, could touch off violence.

Sadr responded by mobilizing many Shi’a followers to demonstrations protesting the closure of the newspaper; the demonstrations escalated throughout the week in number and militancy. On April 4 fighting broke out in Najaf, Sadr City and Basra. Sadr’s al-Mahdi Army took over several points and attacked coalition soldiers, killing dozens and taking many casualties of its own in the process.

what has the Mahdi Army been up to lately?

The Mahdi Army has also recently pledged military support to Iran if Iran were to be attacked by Western forces

Jerusalem post paraphrasing and quoting al-Sadr,

Radical Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr said Sunday that his Mahdi Army would help to defend Iran if it is attacked by a foreign nation, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported.

Al-Sadr, speaking on the sidelines of a meeting with top Iranian nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani, said his militia was formed to defend Islam.

“The forces of Mahdi Army defend the interests of Iraq and Islamic countries. If neighboring Islamic countries, including Iran, become the target of attacks, we will support them,” al-Sadr was quoted as saying.

“The Mahdi Army is beyond the Iraqi army. It was established to defend Islam,” he said.

The Washington Times,

A senior member of Muqtada al-Sadr’s Iraqi Shi’ite militia, the Mahdi Army, says the group is forming a squadron of up to 1,500 elite fighters to go to Lebanon.
The plan reflects the potential of the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah to strengthen radical elements in Iraq and neighboring countries and to draw other regional players into the Lebanon conflict.
“We are choosing the men right now,” said Abu Mujtaba, who works in the loosely organized following of radical Shi’ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. “We are preparing the right men for the job.”
…
Sheik al-Sadr’s black-clad armed militia numbers in the thousands, operates throughout central and southern Iraq and is thought to be responsible for numerous killings of Sunnis.

Other Shi’ite groups in Baghdad are rumored to be gathering donations to help the Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon, where the Islamist group has come under fierce attack since kidnapping two Israeli soldiers on July 12.
Sheik al-Sadr has openly voiced support for Iran — Hezbollah’s main sponsor — and on Friday urged Iraqis to stand behind Lebanon to confront the “common enemy,” Israel.
“We say no, a thousand nos to Israel and its terrorism, and everybody should know that we in Iraq will not stay quiet against the rampaging Zionists,”

Hence why shites militias run rampant and unabated in Iraq, and with immunity it seems.
Hence why we haven’t killed/impresoned Mqtada al-
Sadr

I an no confident al-Malik will be able to overcome this constrains.

I really hope the US is grooming a transformational, potential future leader from among Iraq’s military ranks. That might be what it takes to set Iraq straight and we have done it in many other countries before.