Surprisingly, this article is in this morning’s Washington Post, which hasn’t exactly been all that brimming with optimism about Iraq:

KARBALA, Iraq—Posted at the door of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr’s office recently, a flier denounced the arrests of his followers. Up and down the barricaded street, soldiers and policemen loyal to his Shiite rivals stood sentry, some in tan armored personnel carriers, questioning anyone they suspected of links to the populist cleric.

Inside the shuttered office, five guards spoke frankly of their sense of vulnerability and weakness. Once in control of the streets of this southern city of holy sites, the Sadrists said they have been chased underground, their rivals at their heels.

Al-Sadr, another in a long line of Muslim clerics who are basically thugs and gang leaders using their religion for self-promotion and power, just hasn’t been able to fool all of the people all of the time, it seems.

The article is a lengthy one but worth the read. It seems that people like peace. What a novel concept.

Oh, and by the way.....I may have missed it, but nowhere in the article does it say just where Mookie himself is at the moment. If his recent history is any basis for judgement I’d have to say he’s found another rock to slither under while his subordinates take the heat. Just like so many other of the clerics who preach jihad and martyrdom. Their unspoken motto is, “Ididn’t mean me - I meant you. Now, go get ‘em.”

Good ol’ Mookie. When the going gets tough, Mookie gets going - elsewhere.