The call to march on Najaf by the Shiite moderate - who has said little about a crisis that has killed hundreds and undermined the authority of interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi - could escalate passions among the majority Shiite community in Iraq.
First, the battle in Najaf has done a lot to establish the authority, purpose, and legitimacy of PM Allawi. Sadr's support has evaporated with the continued fighting. More importantly, the larger Shiite uprising Sadr and his followers and our own leftwing media hoped for has never materialized.
Not ones to give in to defeat, however, the Lefties at AP and Reuters and the New York Times that owns IHT, would like to portray the whole episode as undermining authority rather than the successful establishment of a new legitimate government in Iraq.
Oh, and Smeisim, the spokesman for Sadr quoted in the article? He's been arrested along with three others with "a tablet engraved with verses of the Koran, dating back centuries and a stash of dollars."
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