Word: sadr
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...those same officials to make the real compromises needed to break the deadlock over forming a government of national unity. And the sectarian upsurge appears to have boosted the political momentum of forces outside of Khalilzad's sphere of influence, foremost among them the firebrand Shi'ite cleric Moqtada Sadr...
...biggest concern for many Iraqis is al-Sadr's unwillingness to disarm the Mahdi Army militia, which has a long record of inflammatory and often criminal behavior. In areas where al-Sadr's fighters hold sway, they use brute force to impose a strict Islamic code. They are frequently accused of kidnapping and assassinating those who resist them. Many Mahdi Army fighters have been absorbed into the Iraqi security forces and police, and in the aftermath of the Samarra bombing, many police vehicles in Baghdad were openly flying Mahdi Army colors--black and green. Sunni groups say policemen did nothing...
...Sadr does have one potential trump card: his strident anti-Americanism has helped him broaden his support base, so that many Iraqi Sunnis regard him as the only Shi'ite leader they can trust. Sunni groups contributed men and material to support the Mahdi Army's uprisings against U.S. forces, and elements of the Mahdi Army fought alongside Sunni insurgents in the battle of Fallujah in fall 2004. "He is somebody who has fought against the occupying forces," says Abdul Salam al-Kubaisi, spokesman for the Association of Muslim Scholars, the leading Sunni clerical body. "All other Shi'ite leaders...
...April: Supporters of Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr stage an uprising against U.S. troops in several Iraqi cities...
...August: Pro-Sadr forces clash with the U.S. in Baghdad and Najaf. After the intervention of Grand Ayatullah Ali Husaini Sistani, the rebels agree to end their insurgency...