Cash For Blood Update

clipped from www.strategypage.com June 8, 2008:  When the Mahdi Army began attacking British troops more frequently two years ago, the British conducted an intelligence effort to find out why. They discovered that Iran was paying members of the Mahdi Army up to $300 a month to make these attacks (which caused over a hundred British casualties). The Iranian connection was kept secret by the British until recently, since the recent defeat of the Mahdi Army is likely to bring the Iranian "cash for blood" campaign to light anyway.   Iranians are concerned with more mundane matters. The inflation and unemployment, despite constantly rising oil prices (from $11 a barrel a decade ago, to 12 times that today), has turned popular opinion against the government.