corrente

Here's what the plan wasn't:

A secret plan to have American forces snatch Mr. Sadr was scrapped last fall only days before it was to have been carried out, senior Bush administration and military officials said, confirming a report in The Wall Street Journal.

They said the decision to scrap the action had been made by senior American officials on the advice of other Shiite clerics in Iraq, including Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, who described Mr. Sadr as inconsequential and warned that his stature would only be enhanced if he was arrested, the American officers said.
(via NY Times)

And here's the plan now:

While combating attacks by Mr. Sadr's militia on Tuesday, American officials are seeking for now to enlist other Shiite clerics in a plan to marginalize Mr. Sadr...

And there has also a continuing plan to arrest Sadr:

[A] secret warrant for [Sadr's] arrest was issued months ago by Iraqi authorities in connection with the killing of Ayatollah Khoei last April, shortly after he was returned to Iraq by American military forces.

In describing the warrant, American officials indicated that a decision had been made to seize Mr. Sadr soon, with a spokesman, Dan Senor, saying there would be "no advance warning".

But the American officials in Baghdad declined to say when they would execute the warrant.

But there's not a word in the article that would explain how shutting down Sadr's newspaper—the spark that ignited this uprising—fits into any of these plans. It sure didn't marginalize Sadr, and it sure didn't help get him arrested.

In addition, there are these curious facts about dates:

A senior Defense Department official who outlined the likelihood of a slower approach said American concerns had been complicated by two dates now approaching — an anniversary and a holiday.

Thursday is the fifth anniversary of the killing of Mr. Sadr's father, a leading cleric, and his two elder brothers, deaths that occurred under the rule of Saddam Hussein. And Friday is the first day of the Shiite religious festival of Arbayeen, which will bring hundreds of thousands of Shiite pilgrims to the Iraqi holy cities of Najaf and Karbala.

So, again, why on earth shut Sadr's paper down now???

Recall the British concerns "events are orchestrated .... with the American political agenda uppermost in mind" (back here). And recall also that the CPA is dominated by Republican operatives.

Could it be that there are other dates Bush has in mind? That is, the date Condi is going to testify, and the date Bush and Cheney are going to visit? Let's get that commission stuff off the front pages and off the air...