Powerful Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr is expected to extend a six-month truce by his militia, two officials in his movement said on Thursday, a move Washington says is important for maintaining security gains.
They said Sadr had issued a declaration to preachers to be read during midday prayers on Friday at mosques affiliated with the cleric, whose militia was blamed for fuelling a cycle of sectarian violence with minority Sunni Muslims in 2006 and 2007.
"The general idea is that there will be an extension," said a senior official in Sadr's movement in Baghdad, declining to go into detail. "(Sadr) has distributed sealed envelopes to the imams of the mosques... They cannot be opened before tomorrow."
Told you. If he's smart, he'll stick to that idea.
If he's REALLY smart, he'll dismantle his militia and get involved in the political aspect and try to live in relative peace. If he doesn't, he risks having rivals fear something dangerous is going to happen, and when that does, you have yourself a powder keg.
Travis
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