MOOKIE IN THE MIDDLE:

Muqtada unleashes new, improved army (Sami Moubayed, 4/30/10, Asia Times)

Muqtada al-Sadr has been on everybody's radar for six years, especially after emerging victorious in the March elections in Baghdad, winning 40 of the 70 seats taken by the Iraqi National Alliance. His victory was testimony that those who preach political Islam are not yet completely defeated in Iraq, although politicians with similar programs, like the Iran-backed Ammar al-Hakim of the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council (SIIC) have suffered a severe reversal of fortunes, loosing approximately 70 seats in parliament, and eight out of 11 provinces.

Muqtada's approval will now ultimately make or break any incoming prime minister, just as it did with Ibrahim al-Jaafari and Nuri al-Maliki in 2005-2006. Coinciding with his recent political victories, Muqtada last week announced that his Mahdi Army, which has been frozen for nearly two years, is back in full operation.

His words sent shivers down the spine of seculars and Sunni radicals, vibrating throughout Washington, which was never too fond of the Sadrists, whom it never could fully grasp or control. [...]

Muqtada has been working hard for two years to transform the Mahdi Army into another Hezbollah, personally inspired by Hassan Nasrallah. That is why he froze all activities of the Mahdi Army, so he can take a long hard look at membership and filter out the undisciplined, the reckless and the corrupt (of which there were plenty in 2003-2007).

That is why he went back to the seminary, so he could elevate his academic credentials and rise from the rank of sayyed to that of an ayatollah (which enables him to issue fatwas) and grants him greater authority within the Shi'ite community at large. And that explains why, against all odds, he has insisted on refraining from any sectarian rhetoric, copying the Nasrallah model in Lebanon, who always speaks of Lebanon, not of Shi'ites.

Muqtada also copied Hezbollah's massive charity network, monopolizing education, hospitals and fund-raising within the Shi'ite districts of Iraq to make sure that no family goes to bed hungry and all receive a monthly stipend from the Mahdi Army. Much like a modern Robin Hood, Muqtada is suiting himself to become spokesmen, defender and leader for the poor of Iraq.

Now is the time to unveil the new Mahdi Army. It will look, sound and act like Hezbollah. No more street violence or sectarian tension triggered by the Sadrists. On the contrary, the Mahdi Army - this time with strong Iranian support - will replace the failed state of Maliki. It will extend an arm to the Sunnis and Kurds willing to work with it, making sure that no prime minister is brought to power, without full consent of Muqtada.