Though the Obama Administration has made it very clear they don’t want cleric Moqtada al-Sadr’s political bloc anywhere near the coalition government, the bloc has not only remained within the coalition, but is expected to reap considerable positions in the cabinet.
Top Sadr bloc MP Hakim al-Zamili suggested that amongst the positions sought was Deputy PM in Charge of Security Affairs, as the bloc has often called for the need to “shake up” the security forces.
Analysts said such a position was unlikely because Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki needed to retain some measure of control over the security forces to keep the US happy, and some reports have suggested that the positions of Defense Minister and Interior Minister have been ruled out, though Zamili denied that this was the case.
The Sadrist political faction has rarely had any influence in parliament, but gained several seats in the March election, ending up with the largest number of seats in the Iraqi National Alliance and playing the role of kingmaker in the wake of the vote. While it is conceivable that other members of the INA may get some positions the government has suggested that the large Iraqiya bloc will get virtually nothing, and it seems inevitable that the Sadrists will get multiple key positions.
A side remark: It seems that religion, which entails a strong conviction of some kind, can be instrumental for political changes, regardless of the fact of missing army, weapons, etc. There was a lot more Spanish that were active catholics in church under Franco. And in Poland much more devotion during the communist years of tyranny. In Iraq there have been a sharp rise in the religious heat – wttness the persecution of Christians AFTER the country got "liberated to obey US". How Martin Luther King stood up. And now it is a religious leader in Iraq that wins over the occupiers. Ditto the popular following in Afghanistan to the pashtun movement with religious foundations vs. the salary-bribed trained soldiers created by the occupying forces.
So it seems that in a time of crisis people rely on convictions rather than grabbing a bigger piece of the cake. So that puts the enormous dividens and wages given to corporate leaders in USA in perspective: They HAVE to be paid MUCH more, because they HAVE to lie more, deceit more and play along much more with the shady (to say the least) American establishment ruining the country.