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Shiite Contest Sharpens In Iraq
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Hakim is battling lung cancer, although he has appeared healthier in recent weeks. His successor remains unknown.
By reaching out to the urban underclasses, the Supreme Council is wooing Sadr's core constituency. For years, the Sadrists have brought social services to the Shiite masses.
Despite the arrests, Sadr's close aides say the cleric will maintain the freeze on his militia's operations. It is in part a pragmatic decision: The U.S. and Iraqi raids have weakened his movement. But Sadr is also trying to exert control over his unruly, decentralized militia, parts of which still commit atrocities.
"We are rebuilding the Mahdi Army," said Salah al-Obaidi, Sadr's chief spokesman in Najaf. "We want them to be well disciplined, well educated."
If all goes well, Sadr might extend the freeze, scheduled to end in February, Obaidi added. That could bolster the young cleric's popularity, especially during the April referendum, if it takes place. U.S. military commanders are now publicly commending Sadr for the freeze.
"He wants to be more like his father, who was a religious leader, and to have influence on the government in a peaceful way," said Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, the second-ranking U.S. commander in Iraq.
Sadr's top aides have vowed to win their bid to lead Iraq's Shiites. The Supreme Council "is claiming they are our biggest rival, but in fact they have no popularity in the south," said Mohammadawi, Sadr's representative in Karbala. "They are trying to seize power in every way, but they can't. They will fail."
