corrente

Guess whatever deal Bush tried to make with his Eminence, the Shi'ite moderate Sistani didn't work. (Sistani, no fool, must understand that making a deal with Bush is, well, about as smart as Max Cleland voting for tax cuts on the assumption that would buy him some safety.)

The sons of Iraq's top Shiite cleric and two other grand ayatollahs met Monday with radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, telling him they oppose any U.S. assault to capture him, a man who attended the meeting told The Associated Press.

Al-Sistani's son, Mohammed Rida, often serves as his main envoy: The 75-year-old grand ayatollah never leaves his home, which is not far from al-Sadr's office.

The rare gathering reflected the depth of Shiite Muslims fears of military action in Najaf, their holiest city. The top cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani - a moderate who opposes anti-U.S. violence - has long kept the young, vehemently anti-American al-Sadr at arm's length.

"They agreed not to allow any hostile act against Sayyed Moqtada al-Sadr and the city of Najaf," said the man in the meeting, speaking on condition of anonymity.

He said the meeting took place in al-Sadr's office, where his supporters said he moved to from Kufa several days ago and where he has remained holed up, surrounded by armed militiamen.

But the unexpected strength shown by al-Sadr's al-Mahdi Army militia in last week's uprising has increased his influence, and the prospect of a U.S. military operation in Najaf is alarming to Iraq's Shiites.

Al-Sadr office is a stone's throw from the Imam Ali Shrine, raising the possibility of damage to the holiest Shiite site in Iraq if he is targeted in an attack. The shrine also is the third holiest in the world after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia.

The pullback by al-Sadr appeared to be an attempt to avert U.S. action, though al-Sadr followers rejected another U.S demand - the dissolution of the al-Mahdi Army.
(via AP)

Well, Bush is certainly uniting the Sunnis, and the Shi'ites, both radical and moderate. Think he'll go for the trifecta, and get the Kurds pissed off at us too? (It would be interesting to know if we are aiming the Kurds at Syria.)