Former firebrand militia leaders like Muqtada al-Sadr and Qais al-Khazali have tempered their rhetoric and quietly discuss working with the Americans. This is not a tactical charade but, for many militia leaders, it is a strategic necessity. Among Iraqis, the general mood has turned on the militia leaders. Iraq’s public sector is huge. What is clear, though, is that successive Iraqi leaders mass hire at the expense of long-term financial solvency.