Sadr, a Question Mark Etched in Black

NAJAF, Iraq -- A mother's sad wail pierced the stillness of the Cemetery of the Martyrs, where green and black resistance flags fluttered over the graves of hundreds of Shiite Muslim militiamen. Kneeling on the hot, chalk-like dirt, Abbas Sabah, 17, didn't stir. His mind was focused on his brother Anwar, 29, killed in a clash with U.S. troops, like many of the dead here. He poured water on Anwar's gravestone and gently wiped it clean.

"We want vengeance," said Sabah, who was dressed in the black uniform of the Mahdi Army, the militia of anti-U.S. cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. "I want to fight or die for the cause."

Black-clad members of Moqtada al-Sadr's militia marched over a U.S. flag in Baghdad last month. Sadr loyalists participate in politics but remain outsiders. (By Wathiq Khuzaie -- Getty Images) News From Iraq Situation Called Dire in West Iraq FIVE YEARS LATER How We've Been Affected: The Subtle Changes Since 9/11 Bush Honors 9/11 Anniversary Sunni Bloc Denounces Legislation to Split Iraq FULL REPORT: America at War   Special Report Washington Post stories and multimedia reports about Iraq, Afghanistan, the War on Terror and more. • Faces of the Fallen • Veterans: In Their Own Words • Afghan Reconstruction » FULL COVERAGE Who's Blogging? Read what bloggers are saying about this article. Editorials from Hell's leading daily newspaper, The Dis Brimstone-Daily Pitchfork The Agonist | thoughtful, global, timely Three Wise Men