Al-Sadr orders militia to continue cease-fire

BAGHDAD – Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr ordered his Mahdi Army militia on Friday to extend a cease-fire for six months, a decision designed to bolster his stature and power but one that U.S. and Iraqi officials hope will also increase stability in Iraq.

Al-Sadr’s order, read aloud at Shiite mosques across the nation during afternoon prayers, marked another step in his transformation from guerrilla chieftain to political leader. Senior U.S. officials immediately welcomed his decision, underscoring how vital the 34-year-old cleric has become to the United States and its exit strategy for Iraq.

“The continuation of the cease-fire is an important commitment by al-Sayyid Muqtada al-Sadr that holds the potential for a further reduction in violence in Iraq,” Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, said by e-mail, referring to al-Sadr with an honorific used for descendants of the prophet Muhammad.

Al-Sadr’s decision reflects Iraq’s transition away from violence and toward more peaceful politics. Attacks on Shiite areas have fallen since many Sunni insurgents began allying with U.S. troops against religious extremists. At the same time, al-Sadr is facing growing competition from his Shiite rivals in southern Iraq. Extending the cease-fire could help improve his political standing as a would-be nationalist capable of leading Iraq when U.S. troops leave.

But al-Sadr’s ability to enforce the truce hinges on his control over the unruly, decentralized militia. Many senior Mahdi Army leaders and politicians loyal to al-Sadr have called for the cease-fire to be lifted because they said it was being exploited by Iraqi and U.S. forces, and their political rivals, to arrest al-Sadr’s followers. In some areas of Baghdad, militiamen have ignored al-Sadr’s orders and continued to commit atrocities.

Iraqi and U.S. officials viewed the extension of the cease-fire as emblematic of al-Sadr’s political evolution. With the passage of a law last week that calls for provincial elections, they said, al-Sadr believes his movement could win against Iraq’s current Shiite rulers, widely viewed by Iraqis as corrupt and inefficient. Last year, al-Sadr’s loyalists withdrew from the government to distance themselves from it.

“They can compete either through the ballot box or through militias,” said a senior U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity. “The Sadrists think they could make significant advances at the ballot box as part of a backlash at the perceived failures of the government. … They think they made a mistake in boycotting elections in 2005.”