Moqtada al-Sadr, the populist Iraqi Shiite cleric, has returned to Iraq from Iran once more, ready to take on a prominent role in mainstream politics. For Sadr, whose Mahdi Army militia was responsible for some of the bloodiest violence during the U.S. occupation, it is the latest of several evolutions since the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Matthew Duss, director of Middle East Progress at the Center for American Progress, told Trend Lines that Sadr will have his work cut out for him moving forward.
“Here is this firebrand who very effectively exploited popular anger at the American occupation, and now with the Americans gone, he must demonstrate that he can actually deliver politically,” said Duss.