Iraqis Consider Ways to Reduce Power of Cleric
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Several major political parties are in talks to form a coalition to break the influence of the radical Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr, Iraqi officials say.
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Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi talks to Hussein al-Sadr (R), a senior Shiite cleric, during a meeting with senior religious leaders in Baghdad Nov. 9. Allawi appealed to militants in Fallujah to lay down
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NAJAF, Iraq - An Iraqi Cabinet minister said Thursday that Iraqi forces could begin an offensive against Muqtada al-Sadr within hours, despite the firebrand cleric's acceptance of a peace proposal.    To prevent an imminent attack on his forces, who are holed up in the revered Imam Ali Shrine in Najaf, al-Sadr must immediately disarm his Mahdi Army militia and hand over its weapons to the authorities, Minister of State Qassim Dawoud said...
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NAJAF, Iraq - Hoping to end weeks of fighting in Najaf, Iraq's top Shiite cleric unexpectedly returned home from Britain on Wednesday armed with a new peace initiative and a call for Iraqis across the country to march on the holy city to demand an end to the fighting.    Grand Ayatollah Ali Husseini Al-Sistani, who wields enormous influence among Shiite Iraqis, had previously declined to get involved in resolving the violent conflicts roiling the nation, and it was unclear why he suddenly changed his mind...
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Muqtada al-Sadr's surprise decision to stand down his Mahdi Army for up to six months was designed to stop a Shiite-Shiite rift from spiraling out of control and to weed out infiltrators in his militia's ranks, according to aides of the radical Shiite cleric.
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NAJAF, Iraq -- Two years after helping to bring to power a government led by Shiite religious parties, Iraq's paramount Shiite clerics find their influence diminished as their followers criticize them for backing a political alliance that has failed to pass crucial legislation, improve basic...
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NAJAF, Iraq A delegation of Iraqis arrived here Tuesday to try to persuade a rebellious Shiite cleric and his militia to evacuate a shrine in this holy city and end fighting with US and Iraqi government forces.
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BAGHDAD, Iraq - Rebel Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr called for his followers across Iraq to end fighting against U.S. and Iraqi forces and is considering joining the political process, an al-Sadr aide said Monday...
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NAJAF, Iraq  - A senior Shi'ite cleric urged  Iraqis on Saturday to boycott Sunday's landmark elections and  take up arms to expel U.S. forces from the country.
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BAGHDAD -- Mercurial Shi'ite Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr once again has everyone guessing about his next move.
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BAGHDAD The American-backed Iraqi government and representatives of Moktada al-Sadr, the rebellious Shiite cleric, continued talks on Monday, seeking a peace plan for the vast, volatile Baghdad neighborhood of Sadr City that could set a precedent for
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NAJAF, Iraq  - Iraq's top Shi'ite cleric made a  sudden return to the country Wednesday and said he had a plan  to end an uprising in the "burning city" of Najaf, where  fighting is creeping ever closer to its holiest shrine.
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Iraq&#39;s top Shi&#39;ite cleric is to unveil a peace deal that could end the fighting around the Imam Ali mosque in Najaf. Grand Ayatollah Ali al Sistani is calling for foreign troops to leave Najaf, Iraqi police
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BAGHDAD, Oct. 7 -- The U.S. military released a senior aide to the rebellious Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr on Thursday, and Sadr aides said momentum was growing toward an agreement to disband the cleric's militia, which would halt a major element of the insurgency in Iraq.
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Radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has ordered heads of his Mehdi Army militia to leave Iraq and asked the government to arrest "outlaws" under a U.S.- backed crackdown, Iraq's president said on Thursday.
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A cleric's order to freeze a Shia militia's operations may free US forces to tackle al-Qaeda in Iraq, the US says.
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This week's intense clashes between the Iraqi army and a Shiite militia are part of a strategy to whittle away the power of a radical cleric. But the high-risk gambit could trigger more fighting across the Shiite south &#151; at a time when the cleric's stronghold in the capital is virtually off-limits.