Iraq gives al-Mahdi militia deadline to surrender its weapons.

This is from the Times.
al-Sadr is simply biding his time and making sure he is not banished from elections this fall. However, his forces are not all happy with his relinquishing armed struggle. The US and Iraqi offensive will actually help al-Sadr since they will likely vanquish any militia who do not respond to Sadr's demand to honor the truce he negotiated (with Iran's help!) I have never seen Al_Sadr as that much of a radical. He is primarily an opportunist and clever populist. When it seems to be in his interest he will co-operate with the Iraqi authorities and even the U.S.



From The Times
June 17, 2008
Iraq gives al-Mahdi militia deadline to surrender its weapons
James Hider in Baghdad
Iraqi and US forces were poised to strike a key Shia militia stronghold in southern Iraq yesterday as Nouri al-Maliki, the Prime Minister, pushed ahead with his campaign to rid the country of al-Mahdi Army gunmen.
Iraqi army tanks, armoured troop carriers and infantrymen surrounded al-Amarah, a lawless tribal city near the Iranian border that is renowned for its smuggling rings. It once held a British base but the army was mortared so heavily by al-Mahdi Army irregulars that it withdrew to patrol the Iranian frontier.
Mr al-Maliki has told the militiamen that they have until Thursday to surrender their weapons before the Iraq forces — backed by US troops and air power — move in. “The military is deployed to ensure total control of the city without leaving any gaps for the militants to flee,” General Nassir al-Abadi, a senior Defence Ministry official, said.
Mr al-Maliki, who gained a boost in popularity when his forces took Basra from murderous militias, is hoping to push forward with his campaign to isolate al-Mahdi Army, led by Hojatoleslam Moqtada al-Sadr, the Shia cleric who once ordered a full-scale revolt against the US occupation.
Colonel Mahdi al-Asadi, a spokesman for al-Amarah police force, said that the operation would target any illegal militia groups, not specifically al-Madhi Army. “It will target outlaws even if they are government officials. It will not target any militia specifically but those who are criminals,” Colonel al-Asadi said.
Hojatoleslam al-Sadr has announced a series of reforms since his street fighters lost control of Basra and he was forced to cut a deal allowing Iraqi government troops into his once-impregnable stronghold of Sadr City in Baghdad. Last week he said that his al-Mahdi Army would shift its focus to civilian action, with only a small armed wing being retained to fight the Americans.
The Iraqi Government is trying to manoeuvre the Sadrist movement into renouncing violence and transforming itself from one of the most-feared militia groups into a political organisation. It already runs charities and welfare groups among the poorest of the Shia population but retains the right to attack US forces.
The cleric has sent a delegation to al-Amarah ordering his militia fighters there — many of whom have already fled or buried their weapons — to respect a ceasefire he declared with Iraqi forces.