US must compromise with Iraqi cleric, says Chalabi

8.00am

BAGHDAD - The United States knows it has to seek a compromise with Moqtada al-Sadr, given the Shi'ite cleric's strong support and the sanctity of the city he is in, Iraqi Governing Council member Ahmad Chalabi said on Wednesday.

Chalabi, a long-time ally of Washington, said US forces massing round the holy city of Najaf would face the wrath of millions of Shi'ites worldwide if they entered the city to capture or kill Sadr.

"Najaf must not be touched. This is what we told the coalition. We must seek a peaceful solution. On the other hand we must enforce the law in Iraq," Chalabi told Reuters in an interview.

Sadr, who has headed a Shi'ite revolt against the US-led occupation in central and southern Iraq in recent weeks, has taken refuge with his armed followers in Najaf as a US force builds up around the city.

An envoy appointed by the 30-year-old cleric said Sadr has proposed peace terms to avoid fighting between his militia and US troops. There has been no official US response, but Chalabi said the United States wanted to avoid massive Iraqi casualties in the city.

"American meetings with the Governing Council have been very realistic and positive in this regard. They are holding their fire," he said. "The situation in Najaf has been static for the past 10 days. The Americans realise this is s special case and they must seek a political solution which does not contradict the rule of law."

The US announced last week that an Iraqi judge had issued an arrest warrant for Sadr months ago in connection with the killing of Abdel Majid al-Khoei in Najaf a year ago.

Sadr says he was not involved in the killing of Khoei, the son of a late Grand Ayatollah, at Najaf's Imam Ali shrine.

Chalabi said the legal case against Sadr must be handled delicately, and he must be integrated into Iraq's postwar polity, especially since his family is one of the most distinguished scholarly families in the Shi'ite world.

Moqtada's uncle Mohammad Baqer, who was executed on Saddam Hussein's orders along with his sister in 1980, was one of Islam's foremost thinkers.

"The Sadr family has strong support," said Chalabi, adding that what is seen as the Moqtada political phenomenon was started by his father, Sayyed Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr.

"It is the movement of the dispossessed, the people who felt oppressed by Saddam, and their current state of mind is that they have not seen any change in the situation in Iraq to favour them. They have been excluded from the political process."

Chalabi, a former banker, helped build a case in the United States for the overthrow of Saddam, lobbying for the Iraq Liberation Act, passed in 1998, which committed the United States to supporting democracy and the rule of law in Iraq.

Now he sees the prospects for a stable Iraq allied with Washington weakened by a rebellious young cleric who has capitalised on a postwar political vacuum and the slow pace of rebuilding.

"We need a very rapid creation of wealth and distribution of jobs in Iraq, especially among the dispossessed Shia community," Chalabi said. "People must feel they are benefiting from the fall of Saddam and benefiting from the association with the United States."

- REUTERS

Herald Feature: Iraq