Sources: Iraqi PM Weighs Political Realignment

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

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Iraq's prime minister is weighing whether to sever his alliance with a radical Shiite cleric blamed for much of the country's sectarian violence, aides said Wednesday. But isolating Muqtada al-Sadr could lead to more deadly attacks, even if the strategy could produce a more stable administration over time.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has been meeting over the last three days with a small circle of his Dawa Party stalwarts to discuss their options, according to his aides who spoke on condition of anonymity because the subject is sensitive.

The meetings began after reports surfaced of a proposed realignment of the alliance supporting the governing coalition, the aides said.

The White House has acknowledged efforts to shore up al-Maliki's coalition but has denied that the move is aimed at replacing him, though some of his aides fear this is the goal.

"We've talked in recent days about a moderate bloc that has Sunni, Shia and Kurdish leaders," White House spokesman Tony Snow said Wednesday.

Central to that strategy is to curb the power of al-Sadr, the radical anti-American cleric who controls 30 of parliament's 275 seats, five Cabinet ministries and the Mahdi Army, Iraq's biggest and most active Shiite militia.

Read the rest at the Washington Post

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