Mahdi Army

Why al-Maliki attacked Basra
The three reasons the Iraqi prime minister launched his ill-fated assault on the Sadrists of southern Iraq.
Is the Bush surge already failing?
The president just gave a rosy assessment of his plan, but insurgents have adapted and Iraqis continue to be slaughtered.
The British retreat from Iraq brings peril for U.S. troops
Vice President Cheney says the British are leaving southern Iraq because things are going so well. In the real world, Basra is a mess.
The Sadr City question
U.S. and Iraqi forces come under political pressure to clear out the Baghdad stronghold of Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr. But at what price will that happen?
Arming our enemies?
An interview with journalist Martin Smith, the maker of a new PBS documentary on Iraqi militias, about how the U.S. strategy of Iraqification could backfire.
Dear Mr. President: Al-Qaida isn't the problem in Iraq
A new Pentagon report says that the army of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr is the biggest threat in Iraq.
Iraq's white-collar crime
The recent kidnapping of Iraqi professionals, and ongoing murder of doctors and teachers, are devastating the country's recovery.
Shiite vs. Shiite
As the two main factions of Iraq's dominant religious group descend into armed conflict, the U.S. military has already been forced to pick sides.
City of vengeance
A savage outbreak of retaliatory killings has pushed Iraq to the brink of civil war. In the first of three exclusive reports, our correspondent investigates the Mahdi Army's Baghdad death squads.
The fake peace
Hours after a deal was struck, armed Mahdi army forces are back in Najaf -- abetted by fresh volunteers.

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