Word: sadr
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...Mahdi militia regarded the new forces as a rival gang on its turf. Two weeks ago, government security men arrested one of al-Sadr's closest aides in nearby Karbala, and the truce unraveled from there. Al-Sadr's militiamen then accused U.S. Marines, who have recently taken over responsibility for policing Najaf, of breaking the cease-fire's rules by moving into parts of the city that were supposed to be off limits to them. U.S. officials put the blame on the militia: in the early hours of Aug. 5, Mahdi fighters assaulted a police station with such ferocity...
Making matters worse was the absence of Sistani, who left his home in Najaf two weeks ago for medical treatment in London. Al-Sadr supporters say the U.S. was exploiting his absence to crack down on the populist cleric. But Sistani's associates say al-Sadr was the one taking advantage of the ayatullah's departure to intensify his campaign against the U.S. Just before undergoing angioplasty, the Grand Ayatullah issued a strong statement calling on all parties to stop the fighting...
That may have encouraged the sides to step back for a moment from a climactic confrontation. But al-Sadr has a proven track record of standing up to the U.S. by exploiting American reluctance to storm a holy place. "The shrine," says British Major General Andrew Graham, deputy commander of the Multinational Corps-Iraq, "is an invisible shield. He's picked a battlefield where he knows we won't go." That is why both sides have repeated the pattern of go-no-go set in Fallujah. "Tell me," says Graham, "what are the alternatives?" --With reporting by Christopher Allbritton, Brian...
These are trying days for Iyad Allawi, the interim Iraqi Prime Minister, who faces two threats: the Sunni insurgency in the west and al-Sadr rebellion in the south. He sat down last week in Baghdad for an interview with TIME reporter Christopher Allbritton. Iraqi police officers stood nearby, but signs of U.S. patronage were everywhere. Even the air conditioners bore the label PROPERTY OF THE U.S. GOVERNMENT. Dressed in a natty plaid suit, Allawi was alternately avuncular and forceful...
TIME Whom exactly are you fighting in Najaf and Sadr City...