Anti-U.S. cleric reappears in public

Firebrand cleric Muqtada Sadr reappeared Friday after months in hiding, a move that appeared carefully staged to strengthen his hold over the Shiite Muslim street and to reassert his position as political kingmaker.

In a sermon delivered before thousands of supporters in this Shiite holy city, the cleric presented himself as the champion of all Iraqis -- regardless of creed. He called for a U.S. pullout and instructed his militia to refrain from confrontations with Iraqi security forces, saying they should “resort to civilian means when they are attacked.”

U.S. officials in Baghdad seemed surprised by Sadr’s sudden return, which came at a key juncture in Iraq. Officials in Iraq and Washington expressed uncertainty about his motives, and a Bush administration spokesman was uncharacteristically charitable toward a figure who has often been depicted as a chief enemy of the United States.

“We hope that he would take the opportunity to play a productive role,” said Scott Stanzel, a White House spokesman.

Members of Sadr’s Al Mahdi militia staged two major uprisings against U.S. forces in 2004. But this year, the 33-year-old cleric has given tacit support to the U.S.-led security plan in Baghdad and surrounding areas, ordering his followers to pull back.

Sadr’s return to a public platform comes as frustration is mounting with the weak and fractured government, the security plan launched in February has made few inroads against the violence, and speculation is rife about how much longer U.S.-led forces will remain actively engaged in Iraq. Talks scheduled for next week between U.S. and Iranian representatives add another element of uncertainty.

Both in Baghdad and Washington, patience is wearing thin because of the Iraqi coalition government’s failure to make progress on the country’s overwhelming political and economic problems. Sensing Prime Minister Nouri Maliki’s weakness, Iraqi leaders have been positioning themselves to prepare for his possible fall.

Sadr’s return could signal a “gathering of forces” in anticipation of major changes in the Iraqi government, said Vali Nasr, an expert on Shiite politics at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif.

“Everybody is hovering around trying to get well-positioned for what comes after Maliki,” Nasr said.

“And Sadr is probably the biggest player in that because he has a large chunk of the vote, and he controls the street.”

Sadr was largely responsible for putting Maliki in power last year, throwing his 30-member legislative bloc behind the fellow Shiite at a key point. Now, he, too, has taken steps to distance himself from the prime minister without giving up the power he holds as head of one of the two largest groups in the Shiite alliance that dominates parliament.

Last month, Sadr pulled his six ministers from the Cabinet to protest Maliki’s refusal to demand a timetable for a U.S. pullout, but he kept his legislators in the ruling Shiite bloc.

The cleric has also taken steps in recent months to repair his national image. Last year, his followers were widely blamed for the execution-style killings that drove up the civil war’s toll.

The cleric has reached out to Sunni Arab leaders and has purged some followers who refused to rein in their activities. This week, his representatives in Sadr City, the vast Baghdad slum named after his revered father, met with Sunni tribal leaders who have rallied against insurgents in Al Anbar province.

Sadr, as a nationalist and opponent of the U.S. presence, may be able to win allies among Sunni Arabs and thus could represent a potent counterpoint to pro-American politicians such as Maliki, said Anthony Cordesman, a former Defense Department official now at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

“It is not yet clear what he will do, but this puts him in a better position to game any crisis,” Cordesman said.

A Sadr aide, Sheik Salah Ubaidi, said the cleric was trying to find a way to move the country forward. “Iraq is now facing a severe crisis in all aspects, politically, economically and security-wise,” he said. “We as a political movement are trying to get the country out of the bottleneck.”

U.S. officials have alleged that Sadr fled to Iran ahead of the security crackdown that began Feb. 13. Most of Sadr’s followers contend that he never left Iraq, though one official in his movement said Friday that the cleric had used the time for a “regional tour” that included a stop in Iran.

Sadr was surrounded by aides and guards when he arrived at the western gate of the Kufa Mosque to deliver the Friday sermon for the first time in more than four months. An emotional crowd surged forward and showered him with sweets.

He began the sermon with the familiar anti-U.S. rhetoric on which he has built his nationalist credentials, asking his followers to chant three times, “No to injustice! No to Israel! No to America! No to the devils!”

“I renew my request that the occupiers should withdraw or schedule their withdrawal,” said Sadr, who appeared in his traditional black robe and turban, and wore a white cloth symbolizing willingness to die as a martyr. “The government should not allow the occupiers to extend their stay in Iraq, not even for one more day.”

Sadr said he stood ready to defend Sunnis and Christians who have been targeted by extremists, even as he underscored his displeasure with proposals to re-integrate members of Saddam Hussein’s Baathist regime into the government and civil service -- one of the benchmarks for Maliki set by the U.S.

And Sadr instructed his militiamen to refrain from clashes with Iraqi police and soldiers so as not to be used as an excuse for the U.S. troop presence.

“I advise the Mahdi army to resort to civilian means when they are attacked,” he said.

Around the time that Sadr spoke, Iraqi special forces killed a leader of the militia in Basra in a “precision strike,” the British military said without elaborating. Two aides also died in the attack, according to Sadr’s representatives in the southern city, who reiterated the cleric’s appeal for restraint in a statement issued later. But by nightfall, there was a revenge attack against an Iraqi army officer’s residence, and wire services reported an attack on a police station.

Early this morning, five militants were killed and one arrested in a joint raid on Sadr City, the U.S. military said in statement. U.S. forces called in an airstrike when fighters tried to block them from leaving.

An Iraqi police officer said several U.S. airstrikes in the neighborhood killed three civilians and wounded 16.

The arrested fighter, who was not identified, is suspected of being a proxy for Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, the military said. He allegedly led “a secret cell terrorist network known for facilitating the transport of weapons and explosively formed penetrators, or EFPs, from Iran,” the statement read.

zavis@latimes.com

Special correspondent Fakhrildeen reported from Kufa and Times staff writer Zavis from Baghdad. Staff writers Paul Richter in Washington; Saif Hameed, Suhail Ahmad and Ned Parker in Baghdad; and special correspondents in Basra contributed to this report.