Rebel Iraqi cleric on the rise again, this time in political arena

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/special_packages/iraq/13084122.htm

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Firebrand cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, whom U.S.-led coalition forces wanted captured or killed a year ago, could become Iraq's political kingmaker, a behind-the-scenes force shaping the outcome of the country's December elections.

"Sadr's movement is powerful in Iraq," said Hazim Ali, a political analyst at Baghdad University's International Studies Center. "I would expect him to be able to bring in at least 2 million votes." Ten million Iraqis voted in the recent constitutional referendum.

Ali said al-Sadr is capitalizing on his unbending rebel image to mobilize a substantial following. The result could put him in a commanding position to build a coalition to assemble the next government.

That's why Iraq's major political parties recently have been courting al-Sadr and why the decision to align his followers with the United Iraqi Alliance, the ruling Shiite Muslim coalition, is important to helping them maintain control of the government.

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