Out of the ashes of Iraq rose a Phoenix. A Shi'ite Cleric little known to the world until the power vacuum of the USA occupation.

...The youngest son of Grand Ayatollah Muhammad Sadiq Sadr (click here) - who was assassinated in 1999, reportedly by Iraqi agents - Moqtada Sadr was virtually unknown outside Iraq before the March 2003 invasion.

But the collapse of Baathist rule revealed his power base - a network of Shia charitable institutions founded by his father.

They also changed the name of the Saddam City area to Sadr City.In the first weeks following the US-led invasion, Moqtada Sadr's followers patrolled the streets of Baghdad's Shia suburbs, distributing food, providing healthcare and taking on many of the functions of local government.

Moqtada Sadr also continued his father's practice of holding Friday prayers to project his voice to a wider audience....

For all the oppression, the USA believed it should be the center of gratitude in Iraq. The USA believed its presence was all important and the people should rejoice. I remember the second day of USA presence in Iraq there was a elder stating, "I am grateful for removal of Saddam, but, what are all these troops still here for?" See, the Shi'ites had been living in a parallel universe for a long time and never needed anything except the removal of Saddam. They were ready to get on with life.

It wasn't long before we weren't making friends at all.

March 29, 2004

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Several thousand Iraqis (click here) protested the closure of a newspaper Sunday, chanting anti-U.S. slogans and burning American flags outside the newspaper's office in Baghdad.

 

The U.S.-led civil administration in Iraq closed the Baghdad newspaper Al Hawsa for 60 days, accusing its publishers of inciting violence against coalition troops.

 

The paper is published by followers of prominent Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

 

"If the Coalition forces are going to keep on presenting us with such messages... they can just dream about any sort of end to terrorism," a statement from the newspaper said. "And they can also dream that we will stay quiet and step down from what we believe."

 

The Coalition Provisional Authority accused the paper's editors of printing articles that incited violence against U.S. and other coalition troops -- a violation of coalition regulations....