Heating Up

No, not the primaries. But NPR is publishing this rumor:

Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr is expected to announce his decision in the next few days about whether to maintain the ceasefire he ordered six months ago. There has been pressure from rank-and-file members of his militia to end it.

Put that in the context of what William Arkin is reporting. Arkin suggests that the American military is setting in place a "pause" to the withdrawal of the escalated troop deployments and the implementation of permanent American bases in Iraq. The recent "pause" in the Iraqi war just may be about to end. Arkin also discusses how the Pentagon hawks are setting these changes in motion so that the next President will have "his/her hands tied".