WASHINGTON (CNN) - This looks like one of those pivotal moments in Iraq with enormous ramifications for the approximately 150,000 U.S. troops in the country.
The government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s Shi’ite-dominated government is facing a major new challenge right now – not necessarily from Sunni insurgents, but from the anti-American Shi’ite cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr’s supporters. They have been relatively quiet in recent months – basically honoring a cease-fire. But now, there is a real possibility that will change and a new level of Shi’ite versus Shi’ite fighting will escalate.
We are already seeing brutal fighting in the southern Iraqi city of Basra, where there is so much of Iraq’s oil reserves. Iraqi government forces are battling al-Sadr’s militia in the area. British forces retreated from the area and handed over security responsibility a few months ago to the Iraqi military and police.
That, in turn, is fomenting angry and violent al-Sadr-led demonstrations against al-Maliki’s government in the Sadr City area of Baghdad. And the shelling of the so-called Green Zone in Baghdad – where the U.S. Embassy is located - has escalated as well.
This is a real test for the Iraqi government. President Bush is welcoming what he calls al-Maliki’s “bold decision” to go after the rebel Shi'ite forces in Basra. “Terrorists and extremists in Iraq will know they have no place in a free and democratic society,” President Bush said.
At stake right now – whether the Bush administration’s military strategy will work. The political fallout on the campaign trail could be significant.
–CNN Anchor Wolf Blitzer
A group of high-profile Hillary Clinton supporters is going after Nancy Pelosi.
Nearly 20 Clinton donors sent a letter to the House Speaker, criticizing her for her recent suggestion that the Democratic superdelegates should not overturn the election results. Pelosi has said it would be hurt the Democratic Party if the superdelegates did not support the candidate who ends the race with the most pledged delegates. The Clinton donors want Pelosi to "clarify" her position.
The letter says Pelosi's take is at odds with the party's original intent on the role of superdelegates, those nearly 800 party insiders and elected officials who will likely decide the outcome of this race. The Clinton donors insist the superdelegates should look at a whole range of factors to help them decide who will be the party's strongest nominee in November.
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(CNN) - In an interview Wednesday, one of John McCain’s top backers, Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, appeared to pour cold water on the notion that his home state’s governor, Mark Sanford, would be a strong addition to the Republican presidential ticket.
Sanford, a fiscal hawk from the Charleston area with solid credentials on social issues, has seen his name floated by national political observers as a possible running mate for McCain. But within South Carolina, Sanford has maintained a rocky relationship with Republican legislators over spending and reform issues.
Speaking with reporters and editors from The State newspaper in Columbia, Graham praised Sanford as a "solid conservative reformer" and said of the 47-year old governor, "I think his profile nationally among conservatives is very positive."
However, Graham noted that Sanford has had a "tough" tenure as governor, and argued that adding a South Carolinian to the Republican ticket would have a meaningless electoral impact.
"To be honest with you," said Graham, "I don't see any of us in South Carolina bringing a whole lot of value to the ticket. We're talking about winning a national race that's going to be very competitive."
Sanford did not endorse McCain or any GOP candidate before the South Carolina primary, but he has since backed the presumptive nominee.
"When it comes time to pick a vice president, that the smart money, I think, would be trying to add to the national security, you know, reinforce that aspect of the ticket," Graham said.
Speculating on what could happen in his state this fall, Graham said he considered South Carolina too conservative to turn blue in the general election, but still predicted Barack Obama had the potential to shift the electoral map.
"Sen. Obama would create energy and enthusiasm, particularly among African-Americans, so there he is ... some states would be in play that hadn't been in play before," he said.
Related: Speculation begins over McCain's running mate
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