Iraq: I guess we lost

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Friday took a major step toward a second term by securing the support of a Shiite Muslim political bloc that includes the anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

The reversal by al-Sadr's bloc - which until recently had strongly opposed returning al-Maliki to power - leaves al-Maliki just shy of a parliamentary majority and figures to end nearly seven months of political deadlock that the U.S. military has blamed for a recent uptick in insurgent attacks.

While Obama administration officials have been pushing Iraqi political leaders to end the stalemate, and have privately said that an al-Maliki victory would help bring about a peaceful transfer of power, the critical role played by al-Sadr brings a decidedly mixed outcome for Washington. Al-Sadr's followers waged some of the most brutal attacks against U.S. forces during the Iraqi civil war and have close ties to Iran.

http://www.kansascity.com/2010/10/01/2266961/anti-us-clerics-backing-puts-iraqs.html

After almost a decade in Iraq, we're set to turn Iraq over to a coalition dominated by a Shiite Muslim political bloc that is in turn dominated by anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. The most brutal attacks against U.S. forces, and the most vicious fighting of the war, involved the Iranian-allied al-Sadr. Remember the battles over Sadr City?

I guess we lost and al-Sadr won.