Sadr says his war threat is aimed only at US

Prime minister says Mahdi must surrender arms

BAGHDAD - Under pressure from Iraqi government troops and the US military and with his eye on upcoming provincial elections, Moqtada al-Sadr called on his followers yesterday to stop the bloodshed, unite with all Iraqis, and focus their firepower on driving out the "occupation forces," meaning the US military and its foreign allies.

The statement, read at Friday prayers, appeared to be part of a calibrated political strategy on the part of Sadr, a radical Shi'ite cleric, of emphasizing his profile as a nationalist who cares about all Iraqis and playing to the Iraqi public, which generally responds enthusiastically to antioccupation exhortations.

Sadr's overtures to the Iraqi government come at the same time that a coalition of Sunni politicians is preparing to rejoin the government. Sadr's followers and Tawafiq, the coalition of Sunni parties, are looking to the provincial elections scheduled for October, which are a dress rehearsal for the general elections that will take place in 2009.

Both Sadr's movement and Tawafiq discouraged their followers from participating in elections in 2005 and regretted the decision. They want to compete in the next round.

"People learned a lesson, and now they know everybody should get prepared for the next election," said Haithem al-Hussaini, a spokesman for the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, the rival Shi'ite party to Sadr's.

Other groups are also lining up, announcing the formation of new political fronts and exploratory committees. Adnan Pachachi, a secular politician, said yesterday in an interview that he and former prime minister Ayad Allawi are working to put together a new secular political front, which they hope will bring together secular Sunnis and Shi'ites.

The Awakening Councils, made up of primarily Sunni tribal leaders, held a conference last weekend to discuss the formation of a political party so that they, too, can get on the ballot.

But Sadr's moves are among the most complex, in part because he is a key participant in the struggle within Iraq's Shi'ite majority, and a master at alternating between hard power and soft power - bullets and words; guns and butter - to boost his political position.

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Yesterday, he appeared to have decided the time was ripe to back away from a military approach, which he had employed in recent weeks. His people were being killed by US and Iraqi troops; civilians were caught in the crossfire, which made the public less likely to support him; and the parliament was reviewing legislation that would outlaw participation in the elections by parties that have militias.

In the prayer in Sadr City, Sheik Hassan al-Athary, who delivered the sermon, called in effect for a cease-fire among Iraqi factions, setting the stage for Sadr to step back into the political sphere. "My brothers in the Iraqi Army and police and my brothers in the Mahdi Army, stop shedding the blood of each other," he said.

Sadr issued eight edicts using bellicose language when he referred to the Americans but conciliatory words when he talked about other Iraqis. He urged his followers "to wage open war against the Americans" but forbade them from "raising a hand against another Iraqi citizen."

He urged the Iraqi Army and Iraqi police to stop cooperating with the Americans, and he asked the government to purge the militias within the ranks of the police and the army. He said he would oppose any US military bases in Iraq.

Iraqi government officials expressed skepticism at Sadr's purported olive branch, making clear that he had not gone far enough for them to talk with him. "There is no negotiation with anybody," said Yasseen Majid, a spokesman for Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

In an interview with Al-Arabiya TV yesterday, Maliki took a hard line against Sadr's militia and other illegally armed groups, setting conditions for stopping military operations against them that included surrendering weapons.

Maliki said the groups must hand over weapons and cease interference in the affairs of the state. He also demanded that the militants hand over all wanted people and present lists of names of people involved in violence.

Late yesterday, the tide seemed to be turning in Sadr's direction with the announcement by the speaker of the Parliament that a committee had been formed to approach Maliki today to discuss a way to help the people of Sadr City with food, water, electricity and supplies for hospitals. If there are humanitarian efforts underway, it is less likely that the clashes would continue at the same pitch.

Elsewhere in Iraq, it was a day of scattered violence. In Tikrit, north of Baghdad, a police officer who taught in the police academy was killed when a bomb planted in his car exploded as he turned the key in the ignition. I

Also yesterday, US military officials said an American soldier was killed Thursday in a bombing south of Baghdad.