Freedom of the Press Returns to Iraq

Man...this new guy's just making us look bad. Okay, okay. We did have some hand in us looking bad. Okay, okay. We used BOTH hands to look bad, but hey...

Iraq's interim prime minister has reversed a coalition decision and is allowing Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's newspaper to reopen.

The closure of that paper was the flashpoint that set off months of fighting between U-S forces and militants loyal to al-Sadr.

The weekly Al-Hawza routinely carried the cleric's fiery sermons along with articles sharply critical of the U-S-led occupation.

Interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi - also a Shiite - says reopening the paper demonstrates his "absolute belief in the freedom of the press."