While we're celebrating Saddam's capture, this is a new twist on the Iraq situation that I haven't seen stated in this form before (my emphasis).
U.S., Iran jockey over Iraq San Francisco Chronicle 12/14/03
<< Across central and southern Iraq, photos, books and pamphlets extolling [the late Iranian leader Ayatollah] Khomeini are being distributed widely, though it is unclear by whom. Shiite militias have taken virtual control of many towns and cities, melting away when U.S. troops approach and reasserting their grip when the Americans disappear. But it is not always clear to whom the militias answer. >>
This sounds like a boilerplate description of Vietcong-controlled areas during the Vietnam War. But I have not seen the situation described like this anywhere else. It would suggest that the Shiite militias are playing a more prominent role in the resistance than I've seen suggested before.
I'm skeptical of this article's analysis. It could be based on a line of argument designed to emphasize the danger of Iran. The article mentions the Shiite leaders Muqtada al-Sadr and Abdel Aziz al-Hakim. But it doesn't talk about the most important Iraqi Shiite religious leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, who takes a notably different view of the role of the clergy in government than the religious hardliners in Iran.
But even though I'm waiting to see what other information may support the comment, I was struck by that statement about Shiite militias taking "virtual control" of many municipalities.
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