Saturday 20 / April / 2024
Baghdad: The United States has contacted members of a political bloc in Iraq led by cleric Moqtada Al Sadr after his election win put him in a strong position to influence the formation of a new government, a top Sadr aide said.
The surprise victory by Sadr's political alliance Sairoon in a parliamentary election last week has put Washington into an awkward position. His Mehdi Army militia fought violent battles against US troops after Saddam Hussein was toppled in 2003.
Dhiaa Al Asadi, a top aide to the cleric, said US officials had used intermediaries to initiate contact with members of his Sairoon alliance.
"They asked what the position of the Sadrist movement will be when they come to power. Are they going to reinvent or invoke the Mahdi Army or reemploy them? Are they going to attack American forces in Iraq," he told Reuters.
But according to Asadi there was no question of another Mahdi Army, which Sadr said he disbanded in 2008. "There's no return to square one. We are not intending on having any military force other than the official military force, police forces and security forces," Asadi said.
Sadr cannot be prime minister himself since he did not run in the election, but has been meeting the leaders of other blocs and setting conditions on his support for candidates for prime minister. He says he wants someone who rejects sectarianism, foreign interference and corruption in Iraq.
"We remain open to meet and work with the government that is formed and given that Sairoon won the plurality of seats and they'll certainly make up a part of this government," said a US official, who was speaking on condition of anonymity.
"The US is eager and willing to meet with a variety of people who will be involved in the government and Sadr will be a player in that."
The United States is believed to have some 7,000 troops in Iraq now, though the Pentagon has only acknowledged 5,200 troops. They are mostly training and advising Iraqi forces.
Sadr, long seen by Iraqi and US officials as an unpredictable maverick, made his surprise comeback.
"His political views seem to vary, to put it kindly," said another US official involved in the effort to understand what Sadr is doing. "At this point, we don’t know what he really wants."
Just days after election results were announced, Qassem Soleimani, head of the foreign operations branch of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, arrived in Baghdad to meet politicians.
Sairoon has not ruled out forming a coalition with the bloc headed by paramilitary leader Hadi Al Amiri, as long as he abandons what Asadi says are sectarian policies and becomes an Iraqi nationalist.
"We did not have an official meeting with them. Sometimes we receive some calls that are related to what’s going on. But this cannot be considered a meeting or a discussion over any issue," said Asadi.
The election dealt a blow to incumbent Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi, whose Victory Alliance came in third. But Western diplomats and analysts say Abadi, a British-educated engineer, still has cards to play.
"As of yet, no one has yet emerged as an alternative, not in a serious way," said Ali Al Mawlawi, head of research at Baghdad-based Al Bayan think-tank.
