Enough is Enough

We knew two years ago when Moqtada Al Sadr, commander of the Mahdi Army, rose to power that he was a dangerous man. We knew when we let him escape the Imam Ali Shrine that he was even more dangerous, having successfully stared down the American and Iraqi armies. Then we allowed him to escape briefly to Iran, where he vowed to return.

Now he has returned within the past months, and true to his form, he has started stirring trouble again. According to NPR.org:

Radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army may be responsible for the kidnappings of five Britons from an Iraqi government office, an Iraqi official said Wednesday.

Unsurprisingly, local religious leaders have once again had to come to the table to deal with and negotiate with Al Sadr as has happened in the past with various hostages in Iraq. These types of negotiations, although frequently successful in freeing captured hostages, have served to do little except support claims of legitimacy within the militias who frequently demand to be recognized.

With Al Sadr becoming a growing thorn in the side of Iraq's growing civil war, and having widely recognized political power and social appeal, hasn't the time come to find him, and people like him, and end their continued efforts to destabilize Iraq?

If we're to remain in Iraq for now, shouldn't we at least do something productive in the short term? If not, then we need to bring them home and stop sacrificing our men and women like sheep.