Coup rumors spreading like wildfire in Iraq

The coup rumors come from several directions. U.S. officials have received reports that a prominent Sunni politician, Saleh al-Mutlak, visited Arab capitals over the summer and promoted the idea of a national salvation government, suggesting, erroneously, that it would have American support.

Meanwhile, top officials of the Iraqi intelligence service have discussed a plan in which Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki would step aside in favor of a five-man ruling commission that would suspend parliament, declare martial law and call back some officers of the old Iraqi army.

The situation is deteriorating so fast that even radical militia leaders are said to be complaining about the anarchy. Moqtada al-Sadr, a Shiite firebrand who heads the militia known as the Mahdi Army, recently told a top official of the Iraqi intelligence service that "an increasing number of Shia death squads, operating under the name of his Mahdi Army, are Iranian pasdaran Revolutionary Guards staff officers and Hezbollah fighters, who are executing operational activities that he is not aware of, nor can he control,"

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/12/AR2006101201669.html

But it certainly is funny that we say "even radical militia leaders". Um, militias exist to limit anarchy, not create it. They're not the same thing as terrorists. If they attack, they attack specific enemies, not society itself. (Though to organized government it may seem to be the same thing, to people living in near-anarchy, it doesn't.)

and neither do the Shia.

Iran has far more to gain from a destabilized Iraq then Sadr who actually is a major part of the governmnet. Make no mistake about it Iran is playing for keeps in Iraq and it doesn't matter if the US bombs Iran or not they will keep doing what they are doing.

And, Saudi suicide bombers will keep coming into Iraq to kill Shia and start a civil war.

At this point, things are so messed up that regardless of how each faction got to this point, the violence is feeding itself because, when your community is attacked, it is to the advantage of a militia to appear to be responding in kind. That provides the legitimacy for all the financial activities that militias do to fund themselves (something that I learned a few things about from reading about N. Ireland). So, because there's money at stake and everyone isn't simply getting payroll from a central source of funding, loyalties are divided between the political boss and the more pressing concern of feeding your own mouth.

But hey ,the US insists on going after the Sadr people and provoking them because they're the 'bad' radical militia. Dunno why the US should be so surprised that they don't like that much.

could be grafted onto the state by the idiots who are mismanaging our country is delusional. I have a hard time believing that a Sunni could be the top official. It will have to be some kind of shared power arrangement to have a chance at all.

civil war or anarchy

It's got to be pretty rough. Anarchy is not a goodn environment for a militia that is playing both sides.