Thanassis Cambanis writes: Iraq’s parliamentary elections on May 12 might seem to offer more of the same because most of the leading candidates and movements have dominated the country’s political life since the United States unseated Saddam Hussein in 2003. But the 44-year-old firebrand Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr is leading an encouraging transformation, which could jar Iraq’s politicians out of their sectarian rut. - New York Times
By Andrew Zapf & Joshua Peltier, Small Wars Journal: “Arguments over the fate of the PMFs reflect sectarian tensions, political rivalry, and differing ideas on the sectarian future of Iraq.”