Stirrings of movement in the Iraqi govt

Radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has reportedly agreed to allow supporters to rejoin the Iraqi government after a three-week boycott.

Meanwhile, Shiites from parliament’s largest bloc met yesterday in their holy city of Najaf to try to forge a new coalition across sectarian lines – one that will not include al-Sadr’s supporters.

They hoped, in part, to pressure al-Sadr to rejoin the political process and rein in his Mahdi Army militia, which is blamed for much of Iraq’s sectarian violence.

Fighting in Iraq claimed the lives of three more American servicemen, the US military announced, bringing the US toll closer to 3,000 on a day new Defence Secretary Robert Gates was in Baghdad to discuss strategy with military commanders.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told The Associated Press in an interview yesterday that Iraq was “worth the investment” in American lives and dollars and said the US can still win a conflict that has been more difficult than she expected.

“I don’t think it’s a matter of money,” Rice said. ”Along the way there have been plenty of markers that show that this is a country that is worth the investment, because once it emerges as a country that is a stabilising factor you will have a very different kind of Middle East.”

In the southern city of Najaf, delegates from seven Shiite parties appealed to Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, whose word is law to many Shiites, to support a planned governing coalition. The coalition would include Shiites, Kurds and one Sunni party – and bridge Iraq’s treacherous sectarian divide.

Although al-Sistani is expected to approve the deal, he fears the coalition could weaken the Shiite bloc, officials close to him said.

It seems likely that al-Sistani intervened to persuade al-Sadr to return to government and avoid a Shiite split. The Sadrist boycott has undercut Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s government and prevented it from passing legislation.

The new coalition would probably govern more efficiently than the current government, which has been criticised for its ties to al-Sadr. Al-Sadr’s loyalists – 30 in the legislature and six in the Cabinet – walked off the job to protest al-Maliki’s meeting with Bush in Jordan.

However, a new coalition government is not likely to end the threat from al-Sadr’s militia. By ending the boycott, al-Sadr will retain some influence in parliament, and his apparent compromise may help him resist calls to curb his fighters.

Three politically influential Iraqis said the Sadrist boycott is ending.

“Within two days, the al-Sadr movement will return to the government and parliament,” said Abdul Karim al-Anizi, a Shiite politician from al-Maliki’s Dawa faction.

Two figures in al-Sadr’s movement – an aide to the cleric and a member of parliament – also said the cleric had agreed to allow his followers to end their boycott.

“We will rejoin the government and the parliament very soon,” the politician said.

Yesterday, al-Sadr loyalists met with members of the Shiite bloc and laid out their demands.

“Our demands are to hand over the security file and not allow any regional interference in Iraqi affairs,” he said, meaning, apparently, that US forces must hand over all control of security forces to the Iraqi government.

The US military is gradually transferring responsibility for security to Iraqi troops in less violent areas, but doubts remain about whether the Iraqis will be able to replace American troops throughout Iraq in the near future.

Bush is considering whether to quickly send thousands of additional US troops to the country to control the chaotic violence. There are 140,000 American troops in Iraq.

Defence Secretary Gates, after meeting with Iraqi officials, said discussions focused “mainly on the overall approach, including the possibility of some additional assistance.”

But the Pentagon chief, on his fourth day on the job, was vague about the type of assistance discussed, and said no specific numbers of extra troops were brought up.