MUQTADA AL-SADR SHIFTS FROM POLITICS TO FIGHTING US FORCES

The rebel cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr has decided to focus all of his attention on fighting US forces in Iraq rather than seek political reconciliation with the struggling Iraqi government.

Al-Sadr shift: away from politics and favoring fight
By HAMZA HENDAWI and QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA, Associated Press Writers Thu Apr 24, 9:37 PM ET

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080425/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_sadr_s_path

BAGHDAD - Muqtada al-Sadr is considering setting aside his political ambitions and restarting a full-scale fight against U.S.-led forces — a worrisome shift that may reflect Iranian influence on the young cleric and could open the way for a shadow state protected by his powerful Mahdi Army.
A possible breakaway path — described to The Associated Press by Shiite lawmakers and politicians — would represent the ultimate backlash to the Iraqi government's pressure on al-Sadr to renounce and disband his Shiite militia.
By snubbing the give-and-take of politics, al-Sadr would have a freer hand to carve out a kind of parallel state with its own militia and social services along the lines of Hezbollah in Lebanon, a Shiite group founded with Iran's help in the 1980s.
It also would carry potentially disastrous security implications as the Pentagon trims its troops strength and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki finally shows progress on national reconciliation.