| Publication |
2012.
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| Summary/Abstract |
Though the United States-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003 aimed to rapidly topple authoritarian leader Saddam Hussein via decisive victory, the unintended consequences of this historical event resulted in full-fledged sectarian warfare. Emerging out of this incident, the captivating populist figure Muqtada al-Sadr moved promptly to capture the spotlight for the Iraqi Shi'a. Muqtada al-Sadr's personal militia ultimately consolidated power under the designation Jaysh al-Mahdi with the sole objective of pushing Coalition Forces out of their cherished homeland. Despite its revolutionary disposition and use of violent tactics in the interim, Jaysh al-Mahdi is indeed a mere tool of Muqtada al-Sadr's strategic objectives, one that can be characterized as an Islamic activist movement striving to restore order to Iraq. After the Iraq invasion, Muqtada al-Sadr likely recognized the unfolding situation as the ideal opportunity to assume authority, in a lack thereof, in order to pursue his family's political goals for the Iraqi Shi'a. Militia members are fighting to win control of Iraq to install a Sadrist strain of governance, which would ensure their safety and protection from other elements of Iraqi society thereafter.
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