The story tonight in Iraq is not the arrival of more U.S. troops, but the departure of one of the country's most powerful men, Moqtada al Sadr and members of his army.
According to senior military officials al Sadr left Baghdad two to three weeks ago, and fled to Tehran, Iran, where he has family.
Al Sadr commands the Mahdi Army, one of the most formidable insurgent militias in Iraq, and his move coincides with the announced U.S. troop surge in Baghdad.
Sources believe al Sadr is worried about an increase of 20,000 U.S. troops in the Iraqi capital. One official told ABC News' Martha Raddatz, "He is scared he will get a JDAM dropped on his house."
Sources say some of the Mahdi army leadership went with al Sadr.
The Democrat-controlled Congress has been obsessed with trying to draft a resolution claiming what a disaster the surge will be, and before they can vote on it, coalition forces and the Maliki government have sent one of Iraq's worst actors out of Baghdad. The Democrats are disapproving of a strategy that has demonstrated its power.
UPDATE: Meanwhile, note where our Congressional delegation stands:
Eight months after she voted to support President Bush’s policies on Iraq, Rep. Stephanie Herseth expects to cast a symbolic vote this week denouncing the president’s decision to send in 21,500 more troops.
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Instead, she said, the president should embrace the recommendations of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group, which include negotiating with Iraq’s neighbors to bring peace and stability to the area.
The House Democratic leaders plan to put it to a vote late Thursday or Friday. They have said they will give all 435 members five minutes to speak to the issue on the House floor.
South Dakota Republican Sen. John Thune, meanwhile, supports the troop surge into Iraq. Last week he joined nearly all the Republicans in blocking a Senate nonbinding resolution opposing the troop increase. Seven of those Republicans, including Sen. John Warner, R-Va., who co-authored the resolution, subsequently signaled their intent to break ranks and seek a vote on the measure after all.
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