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Tater reinterates hostility to US
The boy has delusions of grandeur, doesn't he?
Radical Shi’ite cleric Moqtada Sadr emphasised his hostility towards the US-led forces in Iraq and said he was ready to help make them leave peacefully, in a rare interview broadcast on Friday.

Sadr called on the Iraqi government to “get rid of the occupation” when he spoke to the Al-Arabiya television channel in Saudi Arabia, where the young cleric had been taking part in the annual hajj pilgrimage for the first time.

The firebrand leader said he was willing to help rid the country of foreign forces by taking part in “protests, strikes and peaceful marches.” He also accused the US military of creating the presumed leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab Al Zarqawi, who is blamed by US and Iraqi officials for some of the worst attacks in the country. “As long as the occupation remains in Iraq, Zarqawi will continue to harm the security and stability” of the country, Sadr said.

As for political wrangling taking place following the December 15 general election, Sadr insisted he was above politics. At the same time, he indicated he would help bring together the different Iraqi political groups to create the next government, but warned this would be impossible to do under the occupation.
Posted by: Dan Darling 2006-01-15
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=139862