Clerics advise Sadr to keep Mahdi Army

[annabanana]

Source: United Press International

BAGHDAD, April 9 (UPI) -- The influential Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr said his clerical advisers, including Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, rejected calls to disband the Mahdi Army.

Salah al-Obaidi, the spokesman for Sadr, said the cleric issued his decision in a statement following a meeting with Sistani and Ayatollah Kazem al-Haeri in Qom, Iran.

The statement reiterated Sadr's call for an end to the apparent politically motivated violence in Iraq by urging all parties to solve their issues through comprehensive dialogue, Voices of Iraq said.

Sadr called on Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to demand U.S. forces leave Iraq, or at least draft a timetable for their withdraw, rather than insisting the Mahdi Army disband.


Read more: http://www.upi.com/International_Security/Emerging_Threats/Briefing/2008/04/09/clerics_advise_sadr_to_keep_mahdi_army/4693/

---

So it looks like Al Sadr is no "dead ender" after all. Maliki demanded that they lay down their arms, but Sistani (THE clerical muck-a-muck) says..."hold onto them puppies awhile longer".

[annabanana]

1. kicking for visibility. . . . .n/t

[Javaman]

2. Now that Sadr has Sistani in his corner...

Things are about to get very VERY interesting.

[Supersedeas]

3. meanwhile -- as our troops are dying, the Establishment media is focus on April showers

[The Magistrate]

4. This Deserves More Notice, Ma'am

If Mr. al'Sadr is telling the truth, this is effectively a declaration of war from Ay. al'Sistani against the Maliki government....

[ClayZ]

5. K and R ... US out of Iraq. Let Iraq BE.

[corporatemedia]

6. Significant development. n/t

[annabanana]

7. I'm not exactly sure why it was moved out of LBN... but I'm

happy if it gets more attention.

[corporatemedia]

9. Yeah, I was going to say the same thing about it being in LBN.....

but you know how DU is about criticism!

[DavidDvorkin]

8. Just what Juan Cole said would happen

He also said that al-Sadr knew this would happen and that his asking the clerics for their opinion was a formality.

[annabanana]

10. kicking AGAIN.. because I don't think people KNOW

that this happened... (Is there anything wrong with the site I linked?)

[DavidDvorkin]

11. The link works fine for me

[corporatemedia]

12. SISTANI BLESSES MAHDI ARMY IN DEFIANCE OF MALIKI ....

maybe that headline would have done it?