It's getting ugly in Basra and southern Iraq, and it could trigger a broader showdown between the Mahdi Army and SCIRI, in advance of provincial elections this year that SCIRI will lose, and heavily. For background, check out (1) my recent article in The Nation on Iran, SCIRI, and Sadr, (2) Reidar Visser's indispensable site, and (3) the comprehensive reports from the International Crisis Group, Joost Hiltermann, and Peter Harling, here and here.

Amazingly, and it's not a joke, one of the authors of the U.S. "surge," Gen. (Ret.) Jack Keane is calling on the British to surge troops back into southern Iraq. [P.S. Keane is a McCain adviser.]