Iraqi Shi'ite bloc cutting ties with majority alliance

A very unfortunate event. This will weaken the Iraq government and now puts al-Sadr out there to do whatever he wants (as if he hadn't already). I won't link, but I've mentioned often al-Sadr has to be dealt with. Maliki is a puppet compared to al-Sadr.

The Iraqi government's Parliament base fragmented yesterday with the defection of a hard-line Shi'ite bloc.

The followers of radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr announced that they were withdrawing from the Shi'ite alliance in Parliament, where they hold 30 of the 275 seats.

Separately yesterday, an Al Qaeda front group threatened to assassinate Sunni leaders who "stained the reputations" of their people by supporting Americans.

The two developments cast doubt over prospects for political and military progress in Iraq as the US Senate gears up for a debate this week on Democratic demands for deeper and faster troop cuts than President Bush plans.

The threat against Sunni leaders came from the Islamic State of Iraq, which claimed responsibility for the assassination Thursday of Abdul-Sattar Abu Risha, the organizer of the Sunni Arab revolt against Al Qaeda in Anbar Province. Bush met Abu Risha at a US base in Anbar this month and praised his courage.

In an Internet posting, the Islamic State said it had formed "special security committees" to track down and "assassinate the tribal figures, the traitors, who stained the reputations of the real tribes by submitting to the soldiers of the Crusade" and the Shi'ite-led government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

BTW, where was I? When did Islamic State of Iraq become an operative term? I was just getting used to al-Qaeda in Iraq.

Via Boston Globe.