Rather, his case appears to be part of an effort by Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to repress and marginalize Sunnis, including elected officials - and to monopolize power. Down that road lie chaos, sectarian war, and the reemergence of Islamic extremists, including al-Qaeda. In other words, the destruction of all that U.S. officials claim to have achieved over the last eight years.
Yet, the administration seems unwilling to use what leverage it still has to prevent this result.
Dr. Riyadh's story is the perfect example of what's gone so wrong in Baghdad. I first met him in 2003 through Col. Joe Rice, a U.S. Army reservist from Denver, who did five tours in Iraq. Rice helped set up local government institutions in Baghdad; he worked with Dr. Riyadh, who lived in Adhamiyah - a Baghdad neighborhood that became a hotbed of Sunni resistance.
But the doctor chose political resistance over violence. Despite death threats against anyone who worked with Americans, he joined the local Adhamiyah council (two of whose members were murdered). Then he ran for office, won a seat on the Baghdad provincial council, and was named council vice president.
"Some people accuse me of working for the Americans," he told me in 2004 in his spartan clinic, where poor patients crowded into the stairwell and hallways. "But I think I must take part in the political process because I want the people to have representation."
He said he had urged Adhamiyah locals not to attack Americans who came to talk to local council members. But he was also bitterly critical of the errors of the U.S. occupation - such as the failure to restore electricity or compensate his neighborhood for war damage.
