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Cleric revs up anti-U.S. rhetoric

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published April 9, 2007

BAGHDAD - Muqtada al-Sadr, the rebellious Shiite cleric and power broker, exhorted Iraqi security forces Sunday to unite with his militia members against the U.S. military in Diwaniyah, an embattled southern city where fighting has raged for three days.

The cleric called for an enormous demonstration today in Najaf to mark the fourth anniversary of Baghdad's fall.

Sadr's statement represented his most forceful condemnation of the American-led occupation since he went underground after the start of an intensified Baghdad security crackdown nearly two months ago.

"You, the Iraqi army and police forces, don't walk alongside the occupiers, because they are your archenemy," the statement said.

He urged his followers not to attack fellow Iraqis but to turn all their efforts on American forces.

"God has ordered you to be patient in front of your enemy, and unify your efforts against them - not against the sons of Iraq," the statement said.

Iraqi legislators and regional experts say Sadr's powerful anti-American movement has lost its footing amid U.S.-led military operations and say they see desperation in his attempt to reposition his movement and maintain his power.

In Sunni communities Sadr's name has become synonymous with kidnappings and revenge killings. Among Shiites, his reputation has suffered as cracks appear in his vast Mahdi Army militia and in the top leadership of his movement.

Joost Hiltermann, Middle East director for the International Crisis Group think tank, said that Sadr's "lie-low" strategy has backfired among his militant followers.

"Shiites who were targets want to respond, and Muqtada is coming under more pressure to call for some kind of retaliation," Hiltermann said. The mass demonstrations are "one way of allowing people to let off steam."

Legislators say today's demonstration is an effort by Sadr to appear strong against the crackdown.

"Muqtada is hiding and it has given a very bad picture to his followers and all Iraqis," said Mithal al-Alusi, a secular Sunni legislator. "His people don't believe in him. ... He's using (today) as a day to clean his name, to come back within his movement."

On Sunday, witnesses said, thousands of residents in Baghdad's largest Shiite slum, Sadr City, boarded buses and minivans for Najaf.

Information from the New York Times, McClatchy Newspapers and the Associated Press was used in this report.

[Last modified April 9, 2007, 01:44:29]