Iraq: The Mehdi Army's Existential Crisis

Radical Iraqi Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr on March 25 threatened that his group would engage in nationwide civil disobedience actions if U.S. and Iraqi security forces keep targeting his followers. As STRATFOR predicted, the al-Sadrite movement and its militia are clearly undergoing a metamorphosis because of pressure from the United States and Iran. Conflicts within al-Sadr's group will prevent it from assuming the more political shape al-Sadr would like to see it take.