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No! Mookie Didn't Run. Certainly Not!
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Supporters of Muqtada al-Sadr said Wednesday that the radical Shiite cleric was still in Iraq, denying a report that he fled to Iran ahead of a security crackdown targeting his militia.  Oh, yeah? Then why'd he sell all his furniture? An Iraqi government official said al-Sadr was in the Shiite holy city of Najaf Tuesday night, when he received delegates from several government departments. The denials came after a senior U.S. official said Tuesday that al-Sadr left his Baghdad stronghold some weeks ago and is believed to be in Tehran, where he has family. "And we looked around us and — pffft! — he wuz gooooooone!" The official said fractures in al-Sadr's political and militia operations may be part of the reason for his departure. The move is not believed to be permanent, the official said. "Maw! Yez gotta put me up until da heat's off!" "The news is not accurate because Muqtada al-Sadr is still in Iraq and he did not visit any country," Iraq's National Security Adviser Mouwafak al-Rubaie al-Rubaie told The Associated Press. A close aide who meets regularly with al-Sadr said the cleric was not in Tehran, said the report probably stemmed from a campaign by al-Sadr's people to put out false information about his movements amid fears he will be detained by U.S.-led forces. The cleric also is sleeping "Tell Clemenza we're goin' to da mattresses!" "Yes, Your Immensity!" An official in al-Sadr's main office in Najaf also said the cleric had decided not to appear publicly during the current month of Muharam, one of four holy months in the Islamic calendar. "The The black turbaned cleric rarely appears in public or announces his movements and his Mahdi Army militia has mostly been keeping a low profile ahead of the security sweep. Al-Sadr was reportedly going to make a speech on Monday in Najaf to mark the anniversary of the bombing of an important Shiite shrine north of Baghdad, but he did not do so. The anniversary fell on Monday, according to the Islamic lunar calendar. A spokesman for the Sadrist bloc said the assertion that al-Sadr had fled was part of a "psychological war" by U.S.-led forces to try to prod the cleric into the open. "The leadership of Muqtada al-Sadr is a brave one and will not leave the field," Saleh al-Ukaili said. Posted by: Bobby 2007-02-14 |
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