US NOW “REACHING OUT” TO TERRORIST THUG MUQTADA-AL-SADR
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/dec/21/us-reaching-out-to-former-foes-in-iraq//print/
U.S. reaching out to former foes in Iraq
Eli Lake
BAGHDAD | The U.S. is reaching out to followers of a key Shi’ite cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr, whose militia once battled U.S. troops and who remains a powerful leader, particularly among Iraq’s urban poor.
A top Sadrist political leader in Baghdad, Qusay al-Suhail, told The Washington Times that he and his colleagues have been approached five times in the last five months by emissaries seeking to arrange meetings with senior U.S. military and civilian officials at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.
“Yes, the Americans tried to talk to me and other Sadrists several times,” Mr. al-Suhail said. “They try to talk to us as individuals, but we made it clear that there is no use to talking to us when you are an occupying power.”
Two U.S. officials familiar with the outreach efforts confirmed that the U.S. Embassy is trying to reach an understanding with the Sadrists, who represent one of the largest factions among Iraq’s Shi’ite majority and have legions of followers in a Baghdad slum known as Sadr City.
The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the topic, said that in return for a political understanding, they are willing to release, in coordination with the Iraqi government, thousands of Sadrist prisoners.
The outreach represents a major turnaround in U.S. policy toward Mr. al-Sadr, who is the descendant of one of the Shi’ite sect’s most famous clerical families.
In 2004, L. Paul Bremer III, then in charge of the U.S. occupation authority, closed down the Sadrist newspaper and ordered the arrest of Mr. al-Sadr for fomenting opposition to U.S. forces. The action led to widespread clashes between the U.S. and the Sadrists, culminating in a three-week war in the Iraqi theological center of Najaf, where Mr. al-Sadr and his supporters had occupied the holy shrine of the Imam Ali.
In2008, Mr. al-Sadr declared that he had disbanded his Mahdi Army militia and would concentrate on elevating his weak religious credentials through study in the Iranian theological center of Qom. Mr. al-Suhail said Mr. al-Sadr now divides his time between Qom and Najaf.
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