The politics of Iraq

There was a major bombing in Sadr City which killed at least 31 and wounded at least 51. Another truly horrible act in this "new" Iraq.

But what caught my eye is the way it is being viewed/used by the people there.

Abdul-Ridha (a wounded civilian) said the area had been exposed to attack because U.S. and Iraqi forces had driven Mahdi fighters who usually provide protection into hiding.

"That forced Mahdi Army members, who were patrolling the streets, to vanish," Abdul-Ridha, 41, said from his bed in al-Sadr Hospital.

Sadr's spokesman echoed the charge.

US forces can also expect to face the fury of local people.

Since Tuesday, American troops hunting for a kidnapped comrade have operated road blocks and patrols around the fringes of Sadr City, and many blamed them for failing to prevent the attack.

"The responsibility for this attack lies with the occupying forces," said Hamdallah Rikabi, a spokesman for Sadr's movement.

"Everybody knows that before this, this was a secure city and deploying the occupier's forces is just harming our security," he said.

As broader framing for this, Time's Juan Cole interview.

They promised him, (Maliki) last summer when they launched the major security offensive to retake Baghdad, that the U.S. would take care of Sunni guerrilla movement in Baghdad before moving against Mahdi Army. That way, Maliki could to go to the Shi'ite elders in Baghdad and say, you are safe, you no longer need militias and they are a source of discord, so they must be disbanded. But the Americans failed to dislodge the Sunni insurgents, and then they go after the Mahdi army anyway.....

The reason Shi'ite communities believe they need militias is to protect them from the Sunni guerrillas, which they say the government and the U.S. are not doing. And Maliki can't go and tell them to get rid of their militias while they remain vulnerable to attack by Sunni guerrillas.