The Guardian dares to publish a Naomi Klein report speculating on why Paul Bremer has decided to confront al-Sadr's militia: " Washington has given up on its plans to hand over power to an interim Iraqi government on June 30, and is creating the chaos it needs to declare the handover impossible. A continued occupation will be bad news for George Bush on the campaign trail, but not as bad as if the hand-over happens and the country erupts, an increasingly likely scenario given the widespread rejection of the legitimacy of the interim constitution and the US- appointed governing council."

Klein also reports bizarre scenes in Firdos Square, the plaza where Saddam's statue was toppled last year:

"US forces pointed tanks at the crowd while a loudspeaker told them that 'demonstrations are an important part of democracy but blocking traffic will not be permitted'.

"At the front of the square was the statue that the Americans put up in place of the toppled one of Saddam. Its faceless figures are supposed to represent the liberation of the Iraqi people. Today they are plastered with photographs of Moqtada al-Sadr. "