iraqi politicians coming together to deal with sadr

Iraqi political effort targets Muqtada al-Sadr http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2008-04-06-pressuring-al-sadr_N.htm?csp=34 BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq's major Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish parties have closed ranks to pressure anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr into disbanding his Mahdi Army militia or be barred from political life, lawmakers and officials involved in the effort said Sunday. They said a first step would be to add language to a draft election bill banning parties that operate militias from fielding candidates in provincial balloting this fall. "We want the Sadrists to disband the Mahdi Army. Just freezing it is no longer acceptable," said Sadiq al-Rikabi, a senior adviser to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. "The new election law will prevent any party that has weapons or runs a militia from contesting elections." Such a bold move risks a violent backlash by the Mahdi militia. If it succeeds, however, it would mark a major realignment of Iraq's political landscape. U.S. officials have been pressing Iraq's government for years to disband the militias, including the Mahdi Army. All major political parties are believed to maintain links to armed groups, and previous efforts to disband them have failed. But the militia issue has taken on new urgency after the flare-up of fighting which began after al-Maliki launched a major operation March 25 against Shiite extremists in Basra. The fighting quickly spread from the southern port city to Baghdad and elsewhere. Fighting eased after al-Sadr ordered his fighters off the streets March 30 under a deal brokered in Iran. But the truce did not address the long-term threat posed by militias. Broad outlines of the strategy to combat the militias were made public late Saturday in a statement by the Political Council for National Security, a top leadership body including the national president, prime minister and leaders of major parties in parliament. The statement called on parties to disband their militias or face a political ban. Although the statement did not mention the Sadrists, the intent was clear. President Jalal Talabani said Sunday that the statement was adopted after "heated, cordial, frank and transparent discussion" and that the two Sadrist lawmakers who attended Saturday's meeting objected to the call for militias to disband. One of the Sadrists who attended, lawmaker Hassan al-Rubaie, confirmed Talabani's account and said "our political isolation was very clear and real during the meeting." "We, the Sadrists, are in a predicament," he said Sunday. "Even the blocs that had in the past supported us are now against us and we cannot stop them from taking action against us in parliament." Al-Sadr controls 30 of the 275 parliament seats, a substantial figure but not enough to block legislation. Al-Rubaie said the threat was so serious that a delegation might have to discuss the issue with al-Sadr in person. The young cleric is believed to be in the Iranian holy city of Qom. In a rare public signal of dissent in Sadrist ranks, al-Rubaie complained that "those close" to al-Sadr "are radicals and that poses problems." "We must go and explain to him in person that there's a problem," he said. Senior Kurdish lawmaker Mahmoud Othman said the Sadrists must either disband the militia "or face the Americans." The anti-American cleric has called on supporters to stage a "million-strong" protest in Baghdad on Wednesday to mark the 5th anniversary of the city's capture by U.S. troops. "We will watch it carefully," said Reda Jawad Taqi, a senior member of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, al-Sadr's leading Shiite rival. Al-Sadr led two uprisings against the U.S.-led coalition in 2004 — a move that cost his Mahdi Army thousands of fighters. The fighting was ended through mediation by Shiite clerics, who stopped the fighting but allowed al-Sadr to remain in politics. The hardline stand against al-Sadr represents a major shift in Shiite politics. Since 2005, Shiite leaders had attempted to bring the Sadrists into the political mainstream, offering them Cabinet posts and deferring to them on some major security issues. Last year, ministers loyal to al-Sadr quit al-Maliki's government and the 30 Sadrist lawmakers pulled out of the Shiite faction in parliament. Last August, al-Sadr declared a truce — a move which helped bring down violence in Baghdad and elsewhere. But attacks by Shiite extremists continued, allegedly carried out by pro-Iranian splinter groups. The recent fighting, however, was believed to include Mahdi Army units loyal to al-Sadr. The Sadrists believed the Basra crackdown was aimed at weakening their movement before the fall elections. They insisted al-Maliki was encouraged to move against them by their chief Shiite rivals — the Supreme Council — whose followers have penetrated the ranks of Iraq's security services.