ASKED about Muqtada al-Sadr, Odierno responded: “He’s a figurehead . . . erratic in his behavior . . . unpredictable. . . but he’s the individual who reaches out to the Shia nobody else reaches out to. The problem is that he’s lost control of some parts of his movement, the Special Groups and others – many of whom are funded by Iran. “We need to separate those elements and kill or capture them – while working with those closer to the mainstream.”… So what about Iran? “It’s a difficult problem . . . it’s important to have regional and international awareness of what they’re doing.” But the general feels that, before we take any cross-border military action, we need to think through the second- and third-order effects. He’d much prefer a diplomatic solution – if possible.