http://www.tressugar.com Smart. Sexy. Fun. en http://www.tressugar.com/1567874 <a href="http://www.tressugar.com/1567874"><img width=155 height=160 src='http://media.onsugar.com/files/upl1/19/193328/17_2008/80787378.large.jpg'></div></a><p>Yesterday, hard-line Shiite cleric and leader of the Mahdi Army militia, Muqtada al-Sadr threatened to declare war on the US and Iraqi forces, unless they ended their crackdown on his followers.<br /> <span class="inline left"></span><br /> Al-Sadr renounced Secretary Condoleezza Rice's surprise visit to Iraq as the entrance of terrorists. Rice <a href="http://www.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_8996450" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">dismissed the man</a> as a coward, mocking him:<br /> <blockquote>I guess it's all-out war for anybody but him. I guess that's the message; his followers can go to their deaths, and he's in Iran. </p></blockquote> <p>Iraqi Prime Minister al-Maliki, also a Shiite, is demanding that al-Sadr disband the Mahdi army, or face the disqualification of al-Sadr followers from elections this fall. Thus, the anti-American cleric is accusing the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/04/20/alsadrs-followers-refuse-_n_97640.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Iraqi government of exploiting</a> his truce to stifle his political influence. </p> <p>Al-Sadr's power lies in his control of the militia, which led four deadly rebellions against US forces in 2004. But, his followers also control 30 of the 275 Iraqi parliament seats. Last August, he declared a unilateral truce, contributing to reduced violence in Iraq. </p> <p>Meanwhile, military clashes accompany the tense rhetoric. The US maintains that the Basra military campaign - which al-Maliki commenced without the US and that resulted in 40 militia deaths just yesterday - is not aimed at the mainstream Sadrist movement, but against criminals and Iranian-backed extremist groups. </p> <p><a href="http:/www.gettyimages.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Source</a></p> <!-- no strip poll --><form action="/1567874" method="post" id="epoll_view_voting"> <div><div class="poll"> <div class="vote-form"> <div class="choices"><div class="form-item"> <label>Do You Agree With the US Approach to al-Sadr?</label> <div class="form-item"> <label for="id-0-1567874" class="option"><input type="radio" id="id-0-1567874" name="edit[choice]" value="0-1567874" class="form-radio" /> Yes. The US needs to keep the pressure on the extremists, including al-Sadr.</label> </div> <div class="form-item"> <label for="id-1-1567874" class="option"><input type="radio" id="id-1-1567874" name="edit[choice]" value="1-1567874" class="form-radio" /> Yes. Helping Iraq put pressure on al-Sadr is a key to getting Iraq on its feet.</label> </div> <div class="form-item"> <label for="id-2-1567874" class="option"><input type="radio" id="id-2-1567874" name="edit[choice]" value="2-1567874" class="form-radio" /> No. The US should take a step back and let the Iraqis work this out.</label> </div> <div class="form-item"> <label for="id-3-1567874" class="option"><input type="radio" id="id-3-1567874" name="edit[choice]" value="3-1567874" class="form-radio" /> Sure. Then the US will have to win a war in Iran, which keeps getting mentioned.</label> </div> <div class="form-item"> <label for="id-4-1567874" class="option"><input type="radio" id="id-4-1567874" name="edit[choice]" value="4-1567874" class="form-radio" /> Other. I'll tell you in the comments.</label> </div> </div> </div><input type="hidden" name="edit[nid]" id="edit-nid" value="1567874" /> <span class='button'><span><input class='fancybutton' type='submit' name="op" value="Vote" class="form-submit" /></span></span> </div><input type="hidden" name="edit[form_id]" id="edit-form_id" value="epoll_view_voting" /> </div> </div></form> <!-- no strip poll --> http://www.tressugar.com/1567874#comment News Iraq Iran Condoleezza Rice Muqtada al-Sadar Mon, 21 Apr 2008 15:45:00 -0700 LibertySugar http://www.tressugar.com/1567874