Word: sadr
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...leave." Looked at another way, that's pretty much what the Americans had asked for: a "conditions-based" withdrawal plan. But by demanding a firm deadline for withdrawal, al-Maliki has appropriated a key rallying point of one of his key opponents, radical Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr...
...Iraqi government acknowledges that its still fragile security forces are not yet capable of providing security and protecting the country's borders without U.S. help. Such successes as al-Maliki's forces have recorded against al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia in Basra and Baghdad have been achieved with support from the U.S. military - and also through political agreements with al-Sadr. Still, the show of force helped extend the predominantly Shi'ite government's control into the south and burnished al-Maliki's image as a strongman and a nationalist, rather than a Shi'ite politician beholden...
...leaders who played a key role in tamping down al-Qaeda are also growing increasingly wary of what they fear are al-Maliki's plans to sideline them, raising the specter of renewed sectarian tension. And the Prime Minister remains at odds with Shi'ite opponents such as al-Sadr...
...Things have changed in recent months, however, with al-Maliki steadily strengthening his own political footing. Through a series of battles earlier this year, the improved Iraqi security forces nearly managed to marginalize the Mahdi Army militia of powerful Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, the Prime Minister's chief rival. Moreover, the Iraqi army has shown new muscle in Sunni areas of Iraq like Diyala province, even as the Prime Minister shored up Sunni support for his government in Baghdad - a delicate political process involving force and cajoling but little compromise on his part...
...Whether Sadr's apparent pressure move will work remains uncertain. But U.S. military officials are likely to take it seriously. The U.S. commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, has kept up a dialogue with key figures from Sadr's ranks, and U.S. officials in Baghdad have repeatedly spoken hopefully about Sadr's plans to transform his movement into more of a humanitarian organization. Even while Maliki's government clashed in the streets of southern Iraq and Baghdad with Sadr's fighters earlier this year, American officials did not call for Sadr's capture or destruction but were openly holding...