This article by Edmund Sanders in the Los Angeles Times covers the maelstrom that is local politics in Iraq. This is an interesting report for several reasons, but one of its deeply unsettling moments involves Basra:
One of the most surprising local power struggles is in Basra, where two rival Shiite parties are jockeying for control. The Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq, long a dominant force in Iraq's second-largest city, campaigned under the name Basra Islamic Alliance and won 20 of the 41 seats. The rival Al Fadila al Islamiya, or Islamic Virtue Party, linked to anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada Sadr, captured 12 seats. But Al Fadila leaders quickly forged a coalition with three smaller parties, giving them a 21-20 edge and control of the council. Though both are religious parties, Al Fadila's brand of Shiite Islam is seen as more extreme. Clerics linked to Al Fadila are believed to have participated in a violent attack last month by Sadr followers on a group of male and female students enjoying a picnic together and listening to music, behavior that they called "immoral." Now, Al Fadila leader Mohammed Musabah Waily is the governor of Basra and SCIRI members complain that their suggestions are routinely ignored at council meetings and they've been passed over for senior leadership posts.
Washington must love that bit of democracy.
Posted by armand at April 7, 2005 01:27 PM | TrackBack | Posted to International Affairs