With the news over the weekend that the Iraqi Army has now effectively cleared Basra, that the Iranians are backing away from their support of the Mahdi militia, and that Sadr suddenly appears rather desperate and marginalized, writing at Contentions, Abe Greenwald observed:
What a strange ceasefire it was, leading as it did to three more weeks of fighting; what a strange powerlessness Maliki suffered, leading as it did to total victory; and what a strange power flaunted by Sadr, leading as it did to total defeat.
Indeed, the headline from the Times read “Iraqi Army Takes Last Basra Areas From Sadr Force.” Not exactly what one would have expected a few weeks ago as the left celebrated Sadr’s apparent victory over the Iraqi security forces. And it has produced some real soul searching on the left. Take Kevin Drum, for example:
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