Al-Sadr orders Cabinet ministers to quit government

Muqtada al-Sadr's picture is on the left. The picture
on the right is his father, Mohammed Sadek al-Sadr.

I've said it many times (just search for Sadr on the right sidebar). This guy is powerful and he's been ignored as if a minor player in Iraq.

Radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has ordered his Cabinet ministers to withdraw from the Iraqi government immediately, the head of his parliamentary bloc said today.

Al-Sadr’s ministers will “withdraw immediately from the Iraqi government and give the six Cabinet seats to the government, with the hope that they will be given to independents who represent the will of the people,” said Nassar al-Rubaie, head of al-Sadr’s bloc, reading a statement from the cleric.

Al-Sadr’s followers hold six seats in the 37-member Cabinet.

Their withdrawal would deal a blow to the government of Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, who relied on support from the Sadrists to gain office.

Oh yes, you will rarely see Muqtada al-Sadr's name in a story not preceded by "radical cleric", "radical Islamic cleric", "radical Shiite cleric" or some variation on those themes. Perhaps "political power broker" might be more appropriate.

Maybe that's why I think this picture speaks volumes in addition to the one above.


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