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Sadr Offers to Trade Militia for Set Timetable

Posted Aug 8, 08 1:13 PM CDT in World 

(Newser) – Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr ordered most of his Mahdi Army to disband today, and offered to completely dismantle it once the US agrees to a withdrawal timetable, Time reports. “The main reason for the armed resistance is the American military presence,” said a Sadr spokesman. “If the American military begins to withdrawal, there will be no need for these armed groups.”

If the offer is genuine, it would be difficult for the US to refuse; past Mahdi ceasefires have coincided with big drops in violence. In a statement read at mosques today, Sadr says remaining cells will be “small and limited,” striking only under the cleric’s direct orders, the AP adds. He’s also turned a portion of the force into a social and religious group.
Sources: Time, Associated Press

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A man pushes a cart past a poster of anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in Baghdad's Shiite enclave of Sadr City in this July 3 file photo.   (AP Photo)
"If the American military begins to withdrawal, there will be no need for these armed groups," says a rep of the Mahdi Army of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.   (AP Photo)
Anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr ordered most of his Mahdi Army to disarm today, with one "resistance group" to remain combat-ready if there's no deal for American troops to leave Iraq.   (AP Photo)
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