U.S. trying to form coalition of political parties to oppose Sadr, say Iraqi officials

"After discussions with the Bush administration, several of Iraq’s major political parties are in talks to form a coalition whose aim is to break the powerful influence of the radical Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr within the government, senior Iraqi officials say.
The talks are taking place among the two main Kurdish groups, the most influential Sunni Arab party and an Iranian-backed Shiite party that has long sought to lead the government. They have invited Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki to join them. But Mr. Maliki, a conservative Shiite who has close ties to Mr. Sadr, has held back for fear that the parties might be seeking to oust him, a Shiite legislator close to Mr. Maliki said.
. . . President Bush met last week in the White House with Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, the leader of the Iranian-backed Shiite party, and is to meet on Tuesday with Tariq al-Hashemi, leader of the Sunni Arab party.
. . . If he [Sadr] thinks he is being marginalized within the government, he could ignite another rebellion like the two he led in 2004.
. . . Iraqi officials say that the other main risk is a potential backlash against the parties involved in the talks from other leaders in their own ethnic or sectarian populations." [1]

source
[1] The New York Times. Iraqis Consider Ways to Reduce Power of Cleric. December 12, 2006.

posting: thrusday, december 14, 2006, 4:44 PM ET
update: thrusday, december 14, 2006, 5:18 PM ET