Top Aide to Sadr Outlines Vision of a U.S.-Free Iraq

According to Yaqoubi, the Americans brought the armed resistance on themselves by staying after the invasion and by ignoring Iraqi protests. For example, he said, tens of thousands rallied this summer in Baghdad's Shiite neighborhood of Sadr City to protest the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, but the Americans ignored them. "It was the largest rally in the world. But with them, it's useless," he said, referring to U.S. officials. "No one ever reacts, no one responds to these protests."

Ordinary Americans, on some level, must understand the resistance to the foreign forces, he said.

"We believe the American people are not coming from Mars. They see on their televisions how it is here," Yaqoubi said. "They have the same mentality we have. We believe that if the Americans were occupied by another country they would do the same as we are, or even more."

Yaqoubi said the U.S. failure to meet even the simplest security needs of Iraq was to blame for much of the current instability. As a result, he said, "when the Americans pull out, there will be a civil war. They are using that now, as an excuse for staying."

The Sadr deputy spoke confidently and simply of which faction would emerge the winner. "I don't want to use this expression, but you have an expression," he said. " 'Survival of the fittest; the strongest survive'?"

He added, "If there may be other forces to use their strengths, I don't think they have the capability to match us."

Sadr's armed followers are often accused of enforcing strict Islamic codes; commanders of his militia, known as the Mahdi Army, have acknowledged beating up alcohol vendors.

How would a Sadr government look, should the cleric come to full power? "Our main goal, by our nature, we are Islamists," Yaqoubi said. "Our only desire is to obey God. We want the heavenly laws to be applied, in a normal way."

Yaqoubi described a gentler version of Shiite Islamic government. He insisted that Iraq would not model itself on Shiite Persian Iran next door. But he spoke approvingly of Iran in hinting how Iraq might look, saying, "There is freedom of journalism, women can drive, can go without veils."

Many Western analysts say Iran's religious government and its people have learned to coexist. Newspaper editors now tend to self-censor, and women, while often allowing a generous display of hair to show, still wear head coverings.

Asked if Iraq might adopt the same de facto tolerance as Iran, Yaqoubi replied, "Possibly."

Yaqoubi suggested that statistics support his vision for Iraq. Shiites make up at least 60 percent of Iraq's people, he said, and millions of them follow century-old traditions of fealty to the instructions of their religious leaders.

"The Americans wanted elections and wanted democracy," the Sadr aide said. "This is what they wanted."

Special correspondent Naseer Mehdawi in Najaf and correspondent Karl Vick contributed to this report.