Word: sadr
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...None of this, of course, is to take away from the turnaround in Iraq. Last month we saw the fewest American casualties since the invasion in 2003. Basra, Sadr City, and Mosul are coming back under Baghdad's control. Many Iraqis feel safe enough to move back into their houses. And none of it should take away from General Petraeus; our troops, who are bleeding and dying to hold together a country vital to American interests; or the Iraqis, who have backed away from civil war. So why should we now mischaracterize the enemy...
Iraqi Shi'ite militia leader Moqtada al-Sadr has long been one of the galvanizing figures for opposition to the U.S. presence in the country. Friday's massive street protests against Washington's plans for a long-term strategic agreement with Iraq, along with his followers' call for a public referendum on the issue, were further evidence of this. But opposition, or at least skepticism, towards the U.S. appears to be spreading through the ranks of Baghdad's political establishment, even among partisans the United States hopes to win over...
...years Sistani and Muqtada al-Sadr have seesawed with each other as Iraq's two main Shi'ite power players. In the early days of the occupation, Sistani's call for calm undoubtedly allowed American troops to avoid fierce resistance to their presence in southern Iraq. But Sistani's repeated appeals for peace lost their weight as sectarian violence rose in Iraq, with Sadr leading the Mahdi Army militia in an inexorable year-long quest for Shi'ite revenge following the bombing of a revered shrine in Samarra in early 2006. As a result, Sadr, a mere cleric, towered...
Both Maliki and Crocker stand to gain by keeping Sistani happy and supportive of their political efforts, since hopes that Sadr would drop the renegade routine dissipated as the Mahdi Army battled with government forces across southern Iraq and Baghdad in the last two months. With Sadr on the outs, Sistani rises again as a kind of godfather figure whose silence can be interpreted as tacit support, particularly when leaders such as Maliki are seen as consulting him. Sistani maintained his usual silence as Crocker wrapped up his visit to Najaf Saturday. But there is little doubt about the renewed...
Unseen Tuesday on the streets of Sadr City were the fighters from the Mahdi Army, who faded from view under Sadr's orders. Sheik Salman al-Freiji, director of the Sadr Movement, said the Mahdi Army plans to honor the cease-fire, though signs of tensions are already emerging. Iraqi forces came in much greater numbers than Mahdi Army leaders expected, al-Freiji said, leaving the militia wary of the Iraqi army's next move. A key test of whether the truce will hold is likely to happen in the coming days as Iraqi forces begin to move from...