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...firebrand Shi'ite leader conducted Friday prayers at the historic mosque in Kufa, near Najaf, his first public appearance in more than six months. Predictably, his speech was laden with anti-American rhetoric, and he demanded a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. Sadr has not been seen in public since last fall; in January, U.S. officials said he had fled to Tehran. His supporters said he was still in Najaf, but keeping a low profile because of threats to his life...
...comeback will also likely re-energize the Mahdi Army, which has kept a low profile in Baghdad since the start of the "surge" in U.S. troops. Sadr had initially ordered his militia not to engage the Americans; this lead to an immediate drop-off in the activities of Shi'ite death squads, lending credence to U.S. suspicions that many of these squads are from the Mahdi Army. But there have been indications recently that the death squads are being reactivated: the bodies of Sunnis have begun to turn up in Baghdad, bearing signs of gruesome torture and execution...
...finally, Sadr's return comes at a critical moment for the Shi'ite coalition that dominates the Iraqi parliament. His only real rival in Shi'ite politics, Abdel-Aziz Hakim of the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council, was earlier this week diagnosed with lung cancer and is undergoing chemotherapy in Tehran. If the illness forces Hakim to stay away from the limelight for extended periods, it will leave Sadr as the main voice of Iraq's majority sect...
...that each side stands to benefit from some kind of a deal. The new Iraq strategy developed by General David Petraeus, the American commander, and U.S. ambassador Ryan Crocker stresses political accomodation inside Iraq. That is based on their judgment that neither the Iraqi insurgents nor the powerful Shi'ite militias can be readily defeated by the U.S. on the battlefield. Iran's active cooperation, or at least tacit support, appears crucial to that strategy. As for Iran, its leaders have said they would like to see the U.S. withdraw - perhaps not immediately, but in the relatively near future...
...hundreds of checkpoints and arrested for not having papers. To get new documents, she must first return to the neighborhood where Amer was killed, and get a note from the police station there. But that's impossible, because the neighborhood is controlled by the Shi'ite militias, who would likely shoot her on sight. "Without my husband, I am now a nobody," she says. "For the government, I don't exist...