Moktada’s al-Sadr’s timetable
[evidently al-Sadr’s partisans don’t agree with the “Out Now!” =
platform - this is from an article by Edward Wong in yesterday’s NYT]
_r=3D1&oref=3Dslogin&pagewanted=3Dall> But the prime minister resisted Mr. Sadr=92s demand to press the = Americans for a timetable, saying that the issue of American = withdrawal was dependent on =93the readiness of our armed forces to = handle the entire security portfolio in all provinces.=94 Iraqi and American officials have widely criticized Mr. Sadr=92s = ministers as corrupt and ineffective, so replacing them could bring = long-term benefits to the ministries. Mr. Maliki has been saying for = months that he wants to overhaul his cabinet. In part, Mr. Sadr is playing to his base, an enormous population of = poor, downtrodden Shiites who feel they have suffered under both the = American presence and the Sunni Arab insurgency. A senior Sadr legislator, Bahaa al- Aaraji, when asked about the = timetable, said American troops should stay in Iraq for two more = years at the most, and must ensure that the country has a strong army = and police force before leaving.