Shi'ite assails accord with US

Cleric criticizes lack of deadline

Worshipers, one with a placard of Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, demonstrated yesterday. (Karim Kadim/Associated Press)

BAGHDAD - The debate over a deal that would chart the future of US troops in Iraq has reignited the rhetoric coming from Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who denounced the plan yesterday for not setting a firm date for a US withdrawal.

Sadr's opposition to the draft of the agreement, which must be approved by Iraq's parliament, is a reminder of his potential to create headaches for Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

The draft would not have US troops leave Iraq until 2011, if security conditions permit. It was to be circulated among Iraqi political leaders and presented to parliament when lawmakers reconvene Sept. 9 after their summer break.

Iraq's government spokesman, Ali Dabbagh, reiterated yesterday that any departure of US troops was "subject to Iraqi national security" and that the dates are hypothetical. The final departure date "will be jointly set" by Iraq and the United States, he said, downplaying suggestions that the draft was the final deal.

At the weekly prayer service in Sadr's Baghdad stronghold of Sadr City, chants of "No to the agreement!" rang out through loudspeakers positioned along the street.

Worshipers responded with applause and repeated the chant as the service ended and people drifted away.

Sadr and his Mahdi Army militia have kept a low profile since fighting in spring led the Iraqi military to move into former militia strongholds. But while Sadr claims to have revamped his army into a cultural organization, his fiery anti-US message can rev up supporters and could hurt Maliki's standing if Iraqis see him as kowtowing to American wishes.

At prayer services across the country, Sadrist preachers said any plan struck with the Americans was a blow to Iraq's sovereignty. In Sadr City, listeners agreed.

"Everyone is talking about how it will really serve the interests of the Americans, not the Iraqis," said Mohammed Fadim, whose grocery store overlooks the wide avenue where worshipers knelt side by side in prayer. "Everyone knows the US administration. Once they occupy a country, if they want to make an agreement to stay, 80 percent of the terms will fulfill their interests."

Fadim and others said their main desire was to restore Iraq's sovereignty, something they said could not happen as long as US forces remained on the ground.

"We want to rebuild our army, police, society. We want to help our country," said a man who gave his name as Sheik Jabbar. "They came to us as liberators, and now they are occupiers. This is ridiculous. It's been five years."

He and others complained that the fighting that engulfed Sadr City and other Shi'ite militia strongholds in March and April had killed mainly civilians and left their neighborhoods in ruins.

Sadr City's streets are lined with ruined buildings, their roofs and walls shattered by bullets, rockets and mortars. Iraqi army soldiers and military vehicles roam the streets.