Anti-U.S. Sentiment on the Rise in Iraq

As the real American strategic interests in Iraq are laid bare, anger at the U.S. and Iraqi government is fueling the resistance.

Many Iraqi Shiites are turning against the Americans, expressing their anger and indignation at U.S. policies and practices in increasingly violent ways.

The Shiite political factions were ostensibly pleased with America’s invasion of the country and its removal of former leader Saddam Hussein.

But that “marriage of convenience” did not last and the Shiites, like their Sunni brethren, have come to realize that U.S.’s strategic interests lie somewhere else.

Spearheading the anti-U.S. drive among the Shiites is the powerful movement of cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who is in collision not only with the Americans but also with his former Shiite allies currently steering the government.

While some semblance of quiet has returned to violent areas where Sunni Arabs form the majority, Sadr’s supporters and militias are reported to have turned into a destabilizing factor in numerous towns and cities in southern Iraq.

Sadr’s people are not opposing the Americans only. They are opposing the Shiite-dominated government which they believe is a U.S. stooge.

Anti-U.S. Sentiment on the Rise in Iraq