CAIRO – In a major turnaround, the US is reaching out loyalists of young, influential Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr, a long-time foe, to reach a political deal before time for its troop drawdown from the oil-rich country.
"Yes, the Americans tried to talk to me and other Sadrists several times," Qusay al-Suhail, a top Sadrist political leader in Baghdad, told The Washington Time on Monday, December 21.
He said senior American military and civilian officials sought meetings with Sadrists at least five times in the past five months.
"They try to talk to us as individuals…But we made it clear that there is no use to talking to us when you are an occupying power."
Loyalists of young, influential Shiite leader have 32 lawmakers in the incumbent 275-member parliament.
Sadr has been a vocal critic of the 2003 US invasion of Iraq.
His Mahdi Army militia, estimated at some 60,000 fighters, has often clashed with US forces since the March 2003 invasion.
In 2004, Sadr led two rebellions against American troops from Najaf which saw hundreds of his militiamen killed.
Though Sadr, whose whereabouts are not known, has disbanded his Mahdi militia in 2007, he still has another militia known as the Al-Yawom al-Mawood (The Promised Day) Brigade.
He had urged other followers to lay down their arms to work on building social, cultural and religious services in Iraq's dominant Shiite community.
"Sayeed Muqtada al-Sadr has transformed the Mahdi Army to a cultural institution," Suhail told the Times.
"Their duty is to deepen their cultural beliefs and widen their religious understandings."
He said the military resistance has been exclusively put in the hands of the Al-Yawom al-Mawood Brigades.
"It's open, there is no limit or number for it; anyone who has the discipline to apply the rules can get in. But he has to abide by the orders of Sayeed Muqtada."
Deal
US officials confirmed the outreach effort led by Gary Grappo, an ambassadorial-level official who works out of the US Embassy in Baghdad, and Maj. Gen. Joseph Reynes Jr., who heads the Force Strategic Engagement Cell.
Two US officials similar with the effort said the outreach aims to reach a political understanding with the Shiite leader.
In return, American would release thousands of Sadrist followers in its custody, said the officials.
There are nearly 2,000 Sadrist followers in the US custody in addition to another 2,000 in Iraqi custody.
"We have a committee formed in the movement seeking their release, specifically with the Iraqi government only," said Suhail.
"We speak only to the Iraqi government."
The US embassy in Baghdad declines to confirm the reported outreach effort.
"The embassy is always interested in meeting individual members of any group that has renounced violence and expressed a willingness to participate in the political system," said spokesman Philip Frayne.
Analysts believe the American outreach aims to prevent any troubles following the US drawdown, set for August 2010.
"They have been a driver of instability in the past, though they have certainly moderated their approach and have emphasized the importance of the political and social aspects of the movement," said Marisa Cochrane Sullivan, research director at the Institute for the Study of War.
"They still do retain a militia wing known as the Promised Day Brigade, which is a security concern and something I am sure US civilian and military leaders in Baghdad are concerned about as they consider withdrawal."
"Yes, the Americans tried to talk to me and other Sadrists several times," Qusay al-Suhail, a top Sadrist political leader in Baghdad, told The Washington Time on Monday, December 21.
He said senior American military and civilian officials sought meetings with Sadrists at least five times in the past five months.
"They try to talk to us as individuals…But we made it clear that there is no use to talking to us when you are an occupying power."
Loyalists of young, influential Shiite leader have 32 lawmakers in the incumbent 275-member parliament.
Sadr has been a vocal critic of the 2003 US invasion of Iraq.
His Mahdi Army militia, estimated at some 60,000 fighters, has often clashed with US forces since the March 2003 invasion.
In 2004, Sadr led two rebellions against American troops from Najaf which saw hundreds of his militiamen killed.
Though Sadr, whose whereabouts are not known, has disbanded his Mahdi militia in 2007, he still has another militia known as the Al-Yawom al-Mawood (The Promised Day) Brigade.
He had urged other followers to lay down their arms to work on building social, cultural and religious services in Iraq's dominant Shiite community.
"Sayeed Muqtada al-Sadr has transformed the Mahdi Army to a cultural institution," Suhail told the Times.
"Their duty is to deepen their cultural beliefs and widen their religious understandings."
He said the military resistance has been exclusively put in the hands of the Al-Yawom al-Mawood Brigades.
"It's open, there is no limit or number for it; anyone who has the discipline to apply the rules can get in. But he has to abide by the orders of Sayeed Muqtada."
Deal
US officials confirmed the outreach effort led by Gary Grappo, an ambassadorial-level official who works out of the US Embassy in Baghdad, and Maj. Gen. Joseph Reynes Jr., who heads the Force Strategic Engagement Cell.
Two US officials similar with the effort said the outreach aims to reach a political understanding with the Shiite leader.
In return, American would release thousands of Sadrist followers in its custody, said the officials.
There are nearly 2,000 Sadrist followers in the US custody in addition to another 2,000 in Iraqi custody.
"We have a committee formed in the movement seeking their release, specifically with the Iraqi government only," said Suhail.
"We speak only to the Iraqi government."
The US embassy in Baghdad declines to confirm the reported outreach effort.
"The embassy is always interested in meeting individual members of any group that has renounced violence and expressed a willingness to participate in the political system," said spokesman Philip Frayne.
Analysts believe the American outreach aims to prevent any troubles following the US drawdown, set for August 2010.
"They have been a driver of instability in the past, though they have certainly moderated their approach and have emphasized the importance of the political and social aspects of the movement," said Marisa Cochrane Sullivan, research director at the Institute for the Study of War.
"They still do retain a militia wing known as the Promised Day Brigade, which is a security concern and something I am sure US civilian and military leaders in Baghdad are concerned about as they consider withdrawal."
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