The return of Muqtada al Sadr

Muqtada al Sadr, an influential Shia cleric who led an armed resistance against the US army from 2003-2008, has seized on widespread anger toward the the Iraqi government to lead demonstrations calling for reform. Earlier this month, unarmed Sadr supporters stormed the parliament, a building off limits to average Iraqis for the last 13 years. On Friday, Iraqi security forces shot at demonstrators outside the parliament, prompting Sadr to deploy his militia in Baghdad for the first time in nearly a decade. 

 

On this episode, we speak with: 
 

Jonathan Krohn @JonathanLKrohn

Journalist

 

Nancy Youssef @nancyayoussef

Senior National Security Correspondent, The Daily Beast

 

Dhiaa al-Asadi @dna1969

Member of Iraqi Parliament, Ahrar Bloc
 

Ahmed al-Basheer @albasheershow

Host, The Basheer Show
 

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