Posted on 05/23/2005 5:55:15 AM PDT by FreeManWhoCan
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- An influential anti-U.S. Shiite cleric yesterday joined the campaign to get Sunni Arab Muslim leaders to help quell the sectarian violence now roiling Iraq, even as insurgents continued their attacks against government officials and U.S. troops.
Muqtada al-Sadr, who commands thousands of militia fighters in the capital's slums, sent a delegation to meet with Sunni leaders and appeal for an end to tensions.
At least 10 Shiite and Sunni clerics have been killed in recent weeks, prompting speculation that they were tit-for-tat killings. The head of the Sunni Association of Muslim Scholars last week blamed several of the Sunni killings on the Badr Brigades, a Shiite paramilitary force linked to the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, the nation's largest Shiite political movement.
Sadr, who had been in hiding since a high-profile clash with U.S.-led forces last August, told Al-Arabiya satellite television that he had returned to the political scene to try to reconcile Muslim factions.
"Iraqis need to stand side by side at this time," Sadr said, warning that extremists were provoking civil war.
Sadr's return to prominence could be seen as a challenge to U.S. authority in Iraq. He and his militants have made withdrawal of foreign forces a prerequisite for participation in the emerging political process.
A U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity indicated that Sadr's activism will be tolerated by Washington so long as he refrains from "crossing red lines," or violating the U.S.-backed government's goal of peaceful restoration of order and national reconciliation..........
(Excerpt) Read more at paktribune.com ...
I don't recall hearing the Iraqi's had dropped their long standing murder charges against this yahoo. I hope they act on them.
.
He (dingy harry)and his militants have made withdrawal of foreign forces personal accounts a prerequisite for participation in the emerging political process
Who is borrowing from whom's playbook?
Muqtada al-Sadr, who commands thousands of militia fighters in the capital's slums,
Thousands Gracie?
IMHO, the only hope for peace with good ol' Mucky the Sadist is a half-inch diameter (that's" .50 cal BMG" to those in the know) hole about an inch below that black head-rag....
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.