A case of Sadrmy

In the wake of ongoing violence in Basra, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki is offering fellow shi'ite Muqtada al-Sadr's militias a guns-for-cash program. The deal is scheduled to end April 8. Al-Sadr offered a nine-step peace program of his own Sunday in Najaf. In exchange for getting out of the way and cooperating, he has asked for the end of "random, illegal raids and arrests" and seeks a general amnesty and release of prisoners, mostly his own followers by the way. Apparently, Sadr's followers even started handing out sweets in Baghdad's Sadr City, probably an attempt to win hearts and minds. While the peace offering has been welcomed by the Iraqi government, it has vowed that the war on "criminals" will continue. Casualty reports range from 50 to as high as 290, depending on who you ask. Maliki has called this a "decisive and final battle." Good luck with that.