Method to His Madness

al-Sadr having his army fight the U.S.--or as he sees it, the U.S. proxies in the form of the new Iraqi government--makes perfect sense as it enhances his position at little cost to him. This thought is a follow on to my previous piece, Down the Rabbit Hole, which asked why al-Sadr would be inciting fights with his fellow Shiites in the Iraqi government.

Sadr understands that the future leaders of Iraq will come from the cadre of those who have fought the U.S. after Mission Accomplished, and not from amongst the quislings. He is putting his ducks in a row.