He once fought U.S. troops. Now Moqtada al-Sadr is battling Iraq’s political system.
BAGHDAD — When Moqtada al-Sadr called on his followers to fight against the presence of U.S. troops in Iraq following the 2003 invasion, they obliged to devastating effect. His militiamen launched thousands of attacks on U.S. soldiers. Their notorious roadside bombs killed and maimed.
Now, he has turned his sights to Iraq’s corrupt halls of power, and the dramatic storming of Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone last week by his followers has shaken Iraq’s political system.
It has dramatically ramped up pressure on Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to implement reforms he has promised.
But it has also caused a backlash against the rabble-rousing cleric — some politicians accuse him of holding the country to ransom and using his call for reform for the purpose of increasing his personal influence.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/he-once-fought-us-troops-now-moqtada-al-sadr-is-battling-iraqs-political-system/2016/05/06/77f3a2f6-109e-11e6-a9b5-bf703a5a7191_story.html
