Looks like the folks who thought Moqtada al-Sadr was a dead man walking 5 years ago were wrong [View All]

[NNN0LHI]

http://in.reuters.com/resources/r/?m=02&d=20100719&t=2&i=158420730&w=460&fh=&fw=&ll=&pl=&r=img-2010-07-19T225037Z_01_NOOTR_RTRMDNC_0_India-502435-1

Allawi seeks Sadr's support to become Iraqi PM

Mon Jul 19, 2010 10:50pm IST

By Khaled Yacoub Oweis

DAMASCUS (Reuters) - Pro-Western Iraqi politician Iyad Allawi sought support on Monday to form a government from Iranian-backed cleric Sayyed Moqtada al-Sadr, in the first meeting between the once bitter rivals.

Sadr, an anti-U.S. figure who has emerged as a kingmaker in Iraqi politics, did not endorse Allawi but said Allawi had shown more willingness to compromise than Prime Minister Nuri al- Maliki, who is trying to cling to power after an inconclusive election in March.

Sadr and Allawi met at a hotel in the Syrian capital after they had separately been received by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. They later met Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, who was on a brief visit to Syria.

Iraq has been gripped by violence and political intrigue since the election, which failed to produce an outright winner. A bloc supported by Sunni politicians and headed by Allawi narrowly won the most seats.

Allawi was Iraq's prime minister in 2004 when U.S. forces surrounded Sadr and his followers at the Imam Ali shrine in the Iraqi holy city of Najaf before Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, an Iranian-born cleric, intervened and ensured Sadr safe passage, avoiding a bloodbath inside the grand mosque.


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We are going to give Iraq back to the first guy holding an AK-47 just like I said we should have 5 years ago.