Intensifying conflict in Sadr City underscores US and Iraqi government’s fear of Muqtada al-Sadr

By weakening the Sadrists, the Maliki-Hakim alliance hopes to avert a setback at the ballot-box in October, when voters are scheduled to go to the polls to elect provincial councils. The Sadrists are expected to make significant gains in the upcoming local elections, which would undermine the control of the Maliki-Hakim alliance over most provincial councils in south-central and central Iraq.