The violence that had erupted in Basra over the last week has finally come to a tentative end. The violence began last week when Iraqi President Nouri Al-Maliki made to confront the Mehdi Army on their home turf in the southern Iraqi city of Basra. Leaders in Washington have said that Nouri Al-Maliki made the decision to confront the Mehdi Army with out consulting U.S. military leaders.

After almost a week of heavy violence in Basra and a trend of violence throughout the country, the Mehdi Army’s leader Al-Sadr asked his fighters to withdrawal themselves from the streets and from engaging in further violence. The fact that quiet and calm has fallen over Basra just hours after Moqtada Al-Sadr’s call for a cease-fire demonstrates not only his power over his militia but also his growing political power in the region because he was able to end the violence while not giving into the Iraqi government’s call to disarm his militia.

Maliki’s decision to go into Basra came at a time when the current political climate in the United States would have made a U.S. lead military offensive in Basra impossible. Popular opinion in the U.S. is already largely in opposition to the occupation and another Fallujah type battle resulting in many U.S. military deaths could push the American people’s threshold for the occupation to a breaking point. There was undoubtedly pressure on Al-Maliki to initiate the offensive by U.S. occupying forces. The first and most obvious reason to do so would be to weaken the Mehdi Army and in turn Al-Sadr, this move materialized with the demanding of the Mehdi Army’s weapons. By weaking Al-Sadr before the coming elections, which are tentatively scheduled for the fall, Washington would be more likely to see leaders emerge whom they approve. Another reason the U.S. was in favor of the offensive against militias in Basra is because of the geographical significance of the location. It is located at Iraq’s only seaport and on a stretch of land that extends into Iran that boasts significant oil wealth.

This unfolding of events in the last week brings again to the forefront the popularity of the young cleric Al-Sadr. The question that American’s have to ask is why he has earned this popularity and the power that follows.

Adding embarrassment to the situation of Al-Maliki are reports and videos released by Al-Jeezera that Iraqi policemen and soldiers are turning their weapons in to the offices of Al-Sadr.