Sadr and his Al Mahdi Army Essential to Governing Iraq

Shiite politicians met with Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani in this Shiite holy city, and then said they had thrown their support behind Sadr, who demands a withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq rather than the temporary increase under consideration in Washington. Haider Abadi, a leader of Shiite Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's Islamic Dawa Party:

The Sadr movement is part of Iraqi affairs. We won't allow others to interfere to weaken any Iraqi political movement.

Ali Adeeb, another member of the Dawa Party, said Shiite leaders, including the prime minister, would resist U.S. efforts to sideline Sadr and his Al Mahdi army.

The Iraqi government decides what it thinks is necessary for the interest of the political process.

He added that Sadr's participation was essential to improve Iraq's political and security problems.