For U.S. and Sadr, Wary Cooperation

The absence of full-blown resistance against U.S. troops and the recent decline in the number of bodies found in the capital with signs of torture, usually attributed to the Mahdi Army, suggest that Sadr still controls the bulk of his forces, even as U.S. intelligence officials assert that his grip over the Mahdi Army is slipping.

Such murders have dropped by a third during the first month of the security plan, Fil said.

"If the sayyid says it is in the best interest to rise up against the Americans, we will rise. If the sayyid says there's no interest, we won't rise," said Haider, using the honorific for a descendant of the prophet Muhammad. "All the people in this city follow Sayyid Moqtada al-Sadr."

After the invasion, Sadr channeled the growing disenchantment with the occupation, attracting poor, young and dispossessed Shiites into his militia. In 2004, Sadr's forces staged two major uprisings against U.S. forces. Since then, the Mahdi Army has repeatedly attacked U.S. troops and Iraqi security forces.

Even as his gunmen fought, Sadr sought political influence, focusing on the January 2005 elections. Today, his loyalists control 30 seats in the Iraqi parliament and four ministries. His support enabled Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a conservative Shiite, to enter office.

Despite intense U.S. pressure, Maliki refused to take stern action against his benefactor, preferring a softer approach. He publicly rebuked American raids into Sadr City. In October, he ordered U.S. forces to lift a blockade of the area.

According to two Maliki aides, the prime minister proposed to U.S. officials that, as a key component of the new security plan, he would persuade Sadr to order his militiamen to stand down. In return, he asked U.S. forces to focus their efforts on combating Sunni insurgents, which the Shiite-led government views as the roots of the sectarian violence. U.S. commanders have said publicly they do not favor one sect over the other.

Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top U.S. military leader in Iraq, said in an interview that Maliki reached out to Sadr and his advisers. U.S. and Iraqi commanders promised Sadr's representatives that they would enter Sadr City in "a respectable manner," he said.

Sadr's cooperation "certainly has been a factor in the way we've been able to go into Sadr City, this early, this quickly," Fil said. "We were planning to go in later." He described the ongoing sweeps in Sadr City as "gentle, cordon-and-knock type operations."

The United States is funding 16 reconstruction projects inside Sadr City, although some were launched before the new security plan, said Daniel Speckhard, charge d'affaires at the U.S. Embassy.

"The Americans are wise this time," said Wamidh Nadhmi, a political analyst. "When they first arrived, they didn't consult or have a dialogue with Sadr when he was the most important person in Iraq. Now, they are moving gradually, step by step, not very provocative as they had done in 2004."

Sadr has other motives for allowing U.S. soldiers into Sadr City, U.S. military officials said. In recent months he has become increasingly concerned about his political and religious image, because the Mahdi Army has been linked to torture and other crimes. He has purged militiamen from his fold and threatened to excommunicate others. He has also ordered that his photos be taken down from government ministry offices he controls to discourage officials from justifying their actions by invoking his name.