Basra, Moqtada Sadr and his new alliesnote

The situation in central and southern Iraq is easing. However, radical Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr came out much stronger, while his former ally Iraqi PM Nuri Al-Maliki came out much weaker. The following 857-word article gives a preliminary evaluation of the US-Maliki offensive against the Sadr Militia and its allies. It describes the situation in Basra during and following battles, and tries to find out why the US-Maliki offensive ended in failure, and how the Iranians reacted. The article also talks about the role of Sadr’s new allies: Asaeb Ahl Al-Haq and Iraqi Hezbollah.