2,500 U.S. troops are rolling towards the holy Shiite city of Najaf, headquaters of one Muqtada al-Sadar. Kos has written about the
personification of the enemy that often occurs during U.S. wars. Of course, this is exactly what is happening with al-Sadar. Kill this one cleric and the war will be over, or so the Bushies claim.
It appears that killing al-Sadr will simply get other Shiite rulers pissed at us:
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Iraqi leaders launched hurried negotiations aimed at averting a U.S. assault on the city, site of the holiest Shiite site, the Imam Ali Shrine.
The sons of Iraq's three grand ayatollahs - including the most powerful one, Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani - met al-Sadr Monday night in his Najaf office and assured him of their opposition to any U.S. strike.
"They agreed not to allow any hostile act against Sayyed Moqtada al-Sadr and the city of Najaf," said a person at the meeting, speaking on condition of anonymity.
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Col. Dana J.H. Pittard, the commander of the force, said his troops were aware that a "single shot in Najaf" by U.S. soldiers could outrage Iraq's powerful Shiite majority.
"Look at this as the Shiite Vatican," Pittard said before the deployment.
The grand ayatollahs - older, moderate leaders with immense influence among Shiites - have long kept the young, fiercely anti-American al-Sadr at arm's length. The dispatch of the delegation reflected the eagerness to avoid bloodshed in Najaf and the new influence that the uprising by the al-Mahdi Army's militia has brought al-Sadr.
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If al-Sistani firmly backs al-Sadr, or even worse, declare his solidarity with al-Sadr's supporters if he is killed, then I would say the occupation is pretty much over. I don't want to make al-Sistani more powerful than he is, but let's remember this guy held up the Iraqi constitution for three days. Even the United Nations couldn't keep Bush waiting that long.