Muqtada Surrenders
Muqtada al Sadr recently announced that he was going to disarm his personal army and reorganize it as a social serviceS organization. What a striking turn of events for the guy who not all that long ago was being described as the real power in Iraq, with the power to make or break the government. We were informed by the media that taking him on would just be too risky.
So, what happened? First, we decided to stop letting the media set the agenda and took him on. Next, the surge put the bad guys on the run and his guys were definitely bad (the surge's success can be listed as another thing the media got wrong). Next, the Iraqi forces have been able to stand up (another media miss).
So, what can we take away from Muqtada's change in fortunes? How about these:
1. The best way to fight for your interests is to fight for them, not to surrender.
2. The "sophisticated " thinkers in the media echo chamber have an agenda that doesn't necessarily coincide with what is in our best interests as a nation.