Make of this what you will

At the end of August, Moqtada al-Sadr's office indicated that he would take part in the planned January elections. At the end of September, it said that he would not take part. A few days later, he himself said he "may" not take part.

Now it's the end of October and Azzaman, an Arabic daily based in London, reports that

radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr said he was ready to assist the mujahideen of Fallujah, and would interfere to keep the city safe. "If you keep resisting the occupation, I will be with you, but I hope your city avoids war. No mercy for the occupiers," he told Fallujans.

That comes via the Iraqi Press Monitor for October 25.

I've been saying for a while now that I wonder how much Sadr is in control of his militia and his organization and how much it is in control of him. What some people describe as his "mercurial personality" I think might be a reflection of an on-going internal struggle about the most effective course for him to take: anti-occupation, yes, but as an election-oriented radical or a militant revolutionary? And what of his grander design, his desire for a theocratic government - which course is more likely to advance that cause?

If he ever does settle down to one course, we will know which side won that debate.