Sadr in Splinters?

This story is fascinating at several levels. On the question of what’s going on in Iraq, it’s important to understand the control and power of the forces facing the US.

Sadr has been a force for rebellion and violence. If he has lost control and his “army” is splintering, that would be a good thing. It is certainly a good thing that he has left the country and this no longer has direct control of the thugs that made up his militia.

On the question of how he is dished up to the American people, we have two apparently disparate versions.

How is Moktada's excellent Iranian adventure going? "Al Sadr has been in Iran since early February," wrote the AP on March 21, "apparently laying low during the U.S.-Iraqi offensive, according to the U.S. military." Yet poor Moktada's been homesick. "Al Sadr tried to return to Iraq last month," says the wire story, "but turned back before he reached the Iraqi border upon learning of U.S. checkpoints on the road to Najaf, the Shiite holy city south of Baghdad where he lives."

An anonymous Sadr aide appeared to confirm the account. "Conditions are not suitable for him to return," he told the AP. "His safety will not be guaranteed if he returns."

Now, let's cut to the front page of the Washington Post on March 15. That's six whole days earlier. Sitting above the fold that day was a headline that proclaimed, "For U.S. and Sadr, Wary Cooperation," and a subhead that explained, "Radical Shiite Cleric Seen as Crucial To Success of Baghdad Security Plan."

In that story, we learned that "Sadr and the Americans are cooperating uneasily," and that "[t]he collaboration represents a remarkable shift for two adversaries who control the largest armies in Iraq and who fought some of the fiercest battles since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion." Most wonderfully, we learned that, "For Sadr, it is the latest stage in an evolution from populist cleric to guerrilla fighter to political kingmaker and now to power broker."

I guess we'll soon be reading that Moktada has evolved into one of the Eight Immortals, but never mind that for now. If the AP account is accurate, then even as the WaPo reporter was keyboarding the words, p-o-w-e-r- b-r-o-k-e-r, Moktada had already scurried away from the Iraqi border at the prospect of encountering a U.S. checkpoint. That's some impressive power brokering, no? The Post actually writes that U.S. officials now "view [Al Sadr] as a political catalyst who can help keep Iraq together -- or implode it." Would that be the same frightened Moktada last seen speeding deeper into Iran?

Now it’s clearly known that neither the AP nor the Washington Post supports the US effort in the Middle East. But to have two so-called “credible news organizations” dish up two totally different versions of reality heavily underscore the point that the “news” being fed to the American people is mental poison, akin to the poisonous pet food that has also hit the headlines in recent days. The difference is that the pet food killed a relatively small number of pet animals. The sort of poison fed to us by the MSM can – and has – killed millions.