I’ll Bet That’s the Last We’ve Heard of Him!

Once again, Muqtada Al-Sadr challenges the Occupation, and once again the confrontation ends with him still breathing.

This is a terribly conceived war, and I never really held out much hope for its long-term success. Moreover, I’m not in the habit of calling for massive retaliation against Iraqi insurgents, and I don’t like it when our soldiers kill the very Iraqis they’re supposed to have liberated. That said, I am confounded by the fact that the United States has allowed a man like Al-Sadr, who has a vision of Iraq clearly at odds with ours and who has considerable armed support to go on living, much less with the freedom to go where he wants and build his strength steadily. Really, I’m stunned. Why can’t the administration and the occupation understand that killing a thousand of his men doesn’t weaken Al-Sadr when you leave him alive and in charge of his movement? Why don’t they understand that standing up to the United States and surviving leaves him stronger than he was before?

This, as much as anything else, demonstrates how confused, disoriented, and helpless the Occupation has become. Sadr still lives; the Allawi government is weaker than it was a month ago, and 59 Americans have died so far in August. Things are getting worse, not better: casualty totals are higher in 2004 than they were in 2003, which is not an indication of progress. And neither the people in Baghdad nor Washington seem able to do anything about it.

Juan Cole has a nice wrap-up.