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Iraq is back in the news again. That Iraqi armed forces push into Basra discussed by The Talisman seems to be attracting attention, even though no American forces are involved and it seems to be about routing the Mahdi militias and dealing a fatal blow to Sadr's followers, who control the port city. Long time overdue, if you ask me, and for several reasons, not the least of which is freeing up the port so that oil exports can actually benefit the economy of the entire country, not just the lawless Islamists who gather around Sadr.

It appears Sadr wants to negotiate, but if I was the one making the decision I would not negotiate with him. This is one time when a complete crushing of the enemy of the Iraqi people is the absolute bottom line. After all, al Qaeda in Iraq has been crushed. It's time to do the same for the extremists on the opposite side.

Clashes continue in southern Iraq

Shiite Anger Mounts in Iraq Amid Clashes

Sadr Followers Protest Security Crackdown

They are all good reads and show the usual complexity of political issues in Iraq. Of course, there is a way too much detail to quote extensively here, but I'll take just one from the last article:

"'It's worse than any emergency situation in the world to have to be under the control of naive and uneducated people," said Khafeef, speaking of Basra's militias and gunmen."

Go Iraq!!