ASSASSINATION OF SECOND GOVERNOR SHOWS ANTI IRANIAN BIAS OF MAHDI ARMY IN IRAQ

Once again, Juan Cole writes with insight on the goings-on in Iraq, especially regarding the assassination of the second Shia provincial governor within the last week. Cole concludes that it is the result of Shia vs. Shia internal strife involving the Badr Corps (with close ties to Iran) against Al Sadr's Mahdi Army who resent the Iranian connection.

"Mohammed Ali al-Hassani, was assassinated on Monday by a roadside bomb. This killing was the second in recent days of a provincial governor from the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council (SIIC).

"In both Muthanna and Qadisiya, the site of the other assassination, the Badr Corps paramilitary of SIIC has been locked in power struggle with the Mahdi Army of the Sadr Movement, loyal to young Shiite nationalist, Muqtada al-Sadr.

"SIIC and Badr are very close to Tehran, and some southern Shiites see them as unpatriotic. The Sadrists have complained that the provincial government of Muthanna is corrupt and has not delivered necessary services to the people.

"Since some observers don't get this right, I just want to underline that these assassinations have been strikes against Iranian influence in Iraq, by nativists probably at least loosely connected to the Sadr Movement. Likewise, if an EFP was used in the bombing, it is unlikely to have come from Iran, since Tehran has no interest in knocking off its own clients (SIIC and Badr), and, indeed, would go out of its way to protect them."

So how does this fit in with the Bush/Cheney spin that Iran is the source of all evil in Iraq? Two governors allied with the SIIC and Badr are assassinated with IEDs and shaped explosive charges. The Bush line (repeated verbatim by his generals) is that Iran is supplying these deadly explosives to Shias to kill Americans. As Cole points out, surely if Iran were the source, it would make no sense to ship IEDs into Iraq to be used against the SIIC and Badr-allied governors.