The demonstrating Sadrists are angry over recent raids and detentions, saying U.S. and Iraqi forces have taken advantage of the August cease-fire to crack down on the movement.

They have accused rival Shiite parties, which control Iraqi security forces, of engineering the arrests to prevent them from mounting an effective campaign after the Iraqi parliament agreed in February to hold provincial elections by the fall.

So the surge was supposed to reduce the levels of violence and create a space for political reconciliation. Apparently all we did was create the impression that we we’re taking sides in the political impasse. In light of the Sadrists accusations, the fact that Iraqi government forces are now leading the military response in Basr makes it all the worse. The more the government cracks down, the more the Sadrists will point to it as evidence that the government is trying to wipe out its political opposition and the cycle continues.

We are now caught between two heavily armed and militant sides in an internal Iraqi conflict. So what do we do conservatives? Any answers besides “surge to victory!”