Thousands mark Saddam’s fall, demand U.S. pullout

BAGHDAD – Draped in Iraqi flags and chanting anti-American slogans, tens of thousands of Iraqis swept into the southern city of Najaf on the call of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to mark the fourth anniversary of the ouster of President Saddam Hussein, calling for U.S. forces to withdraw from Iraq.

“No, no to the occupier. Yes, yes, to Iraq,” they chanted, as demonstrators burned and ripped apart American flags. “Get out, get out occupation.”

Others carried banners proclaiming their loyalties to the influential cleric. They had traveled by bus and car, from Baghdad and Basra, to march peacefully, under heavy security, through the center of one of Shiite Islam’s holiest sites.

Al-Sadr has not been seen in months, leading critics to speculate that his grip over his followers has weakened and that he has fled the country to neighboring Iran. But Monday’s protest underscored the immense power al-Sadr still wields even as an eight-week-old U.S. and Iraqi security offensive to quell violence in Baghdad has targeted many of his commanders and advisers.

The protests came a day after al-Sadr, in a statement, called America “the great evil” and urged his militiamen and members of Iraq’s security forces to unite against the U.S. occupation. But he stopped short of calling for a violent uprising, which would almost certainly complicate current efforts to stabilize Iraq.

Al-Sadr, a nationalist who has long called for a U.S. withdrawal, is engaged in a delicate balancing act. His street power is largely derived from his opposition to the U.S. occupation, yet his political bloc also is part of Iraq’s ruling coalition, which is trying to stabilize the capital. He has ordered his fighters to stand down and not be provoked into battle as U.S. troops patrol and conduct security sweeps.

Monday, his men said they were itching to fight U.S. and Iraqi troops and that al-Sadr’s commands were the only thing stopping them. “We wish as much as the distance between heaven and earth,” said al-Kufi. “When he asks us to fight, we will fight and hope for martyrdom.”