Publication

This paper examines the internal tensions within the Sadr movement in Iraq and how US policy could influence it. The author argues that the far south of Iraq has a special potential for radical and unpredictable millenarianism by discontented Sadrists. On the other hand, he argues, developments among the Sadrist leadership nationally suggest that many key figures still prefer a more moderate course and will seek to hold on to a veneer of Shiite orthodoxy as long as possible.