Word: sadr
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...reappearance of Moqtada al Sadr comes at an inconvenient time for an Iraqi government struggling to keep up the appearance of political stability - and for U.S. military commanders trying to impose a degree of peace in Baghdad...
...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...
...absence from view did not prevent Sadr from looming large over the political scene in Baghdad, where his loyalists make up the second-largest bloc in parliament and his militia, the Mahdi Army, control some of the largest neighborhoods. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki depends on Sadr's support to keep his job. Nearly two months ago, he ordered six of his followers to resign from Maliki's cabinet, to protest against the government's failure to secure a withdrawal timetable from the Americans. But his loyalists remain in parliament, giving him a big say in any legislation that comes...
...argument that would serve Cheney well is persuading the Saudis that a Shi'a Iraq is not necessarily the same thing as an Iranian Shi'a Iraq. He should point out that U.S. forces have started working alongside the Mahdi Army of radical Shi'a cleric Moqtada al-Sadr in Baghdad, a sign that the United States has the sense and ability to try to help and stand Sad'r up on his own, and in so doing, help cut the Shi'a umbilical cord to Iran...
...recent foot patrol in south Ghazaliya at least two Sunnis who spoke with American soldiers said they had recently moved from Huriya. That neighborhood north of Ghazaliya is dominated by the Mahdi Army, Moqtada Sadr's Shi?ite militia that has been pushing Sunnis out of their homes in Baghdad. Those refugees, like other Sunnis in Ghazaliya, said they welcomed the American presence but did not trust the Shi'ite-dominated Iraqi Army. The wall is only as effective - and as fair - as the men guarding it. Sunnis must now pass through Iraqi Army checkpoints on their...