Growing Shia discontent

But it was not supposed to be like this. The Shias were presumably the people, the US and Britain came to liberate. They were the ones, who, it was oft-repeated, had suffered the most under Saddam Hussein, even though they were the majority population. So, what went wrong? Many may like to argue that this is not a general Shia uprising; only a handful of them supporting the radical young cleric, Moqtada Sadr, are involved in the violence. But even then US could have avoided it, because the protests were actually triggered by the closure of Sadr's al-Hawza newspaper a week ago on the ground that it was inciting violence. Can the coalition forces now prevent the discontent over their extended presence in Iraq from spreading? After all, the hand-over of sovereignty to a new Iraqi government is planned for July. Are they going to stick to the timetable?

Perhaps the coalition might seek intervention of moderate Shia leaders like Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani who believes in peaceful opposition to the US. Meanwhile President Bush is under increasing pressure to persuade Americans that his Iraq policy would still work. It's high time he found a tangible solution to the escalating violence and resentment among the Iraqis and allow them to live in peace. An effective UN involvement holds the answer.

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