Saturday, December 23, 2006

Sadr denies plans to rejoin government, may call for new elections

Nouri al-Maliki, Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, Moqtada al-Sadr,
Harith al-Dhari and Massoud Barzani

BAGHDAD, Iraq - An American-led initiative to sideline militant cleric Muqtada al-Sadr by bolstering support for his political rivals has gained little traction here and may even have strengthened al-Sadr's hand, according to interviews Friday with several Iraqi politicians and clerics involved in the talks...

Al-Sadr's supporters appear unintimidated by U.S. proposals for a new coalition. On Friday, a al-Sadr spokesman in Najaf said the cleric had declined to meet with a delegation of senior Shiite officials at his home there. Waleed al-Zamali also denied reports that al-Sadr had agreed to end his boycott of the government...

A key al-Sadr adviser told al Jazeera television that al-Sadr is contemplating calling for early elections. Many here believe that al-Sadr would win additional seats in the parliament if elections were held now.

Read the entire article at the San Jose Mercury News

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