NEWSMAKER-Firebrand Iraqi cleric hits centre stage again

[brettdale]

NEWSMAKER-Firebrand Iraqi cleric hits centre stage again

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L25581430.htm



BAGHDAD, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Firebrand cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, whose fighters clashed with rival Shi'ite factions on Wednesday night, has again returned to centre stage in the new Iraq but this time the stakes are much higher.

As Shi'ite and Kurdish government leaders were set to push through a constitution Sadr fiercely opposes, his spokesman warned that his Mehdi Army militia could be quickly mobilised after fighting erupted with administration-linked Shi'ites.

Sadr, scion of a respected Shi'ite clerical dynasty who led two uprisings against U.S. troops last year, has set a pattern of lengthy periods of silence followed by dramatic entrances.

[Vogon_Glory]

1. However Strongly I opposed Gee Dubya's Invasion of Iraq, I Think

However strongly I opposed Generalissimo Gee Dubya Boojum's invasion of Iraq, I still think that Moqtada al-Sadr is a punk with a turban. Maybe he and Gee Dubya will get to be roomies in the afterlife.