Sadr's party says split from Iraq govt inevitable

BAGHDAD, April 14 (Reuters) - The political movement of Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr was on the verge of withdrawing from the Iraqi government because of Baghdad's close ties to Washington, a senior official in the movement said on Saturday.

Abdul-Mehdi al-Muteyri said Sadr's movement, which has six ministers in cabinet including those for health and agriculture, would not remain in a government which he said constantly defended the U.S. occupation.
"Our withdrawal from the government is now inevitable and might take place in a matter of days," he said.

"If there is no change from the government and its policy of appeasement for the occupation, then we will go ahead," Muteyri told Reuters.

Read in conjunction with the next story this is truly frightening.

Iran trains 'thousands' of Iraqi insurgents

Thousands of Iraqi Shias are being trained in advanced guerrilla warfare tactics at a secret camp near the Iranian capital, according to militants who say they have spent time there.

Through an Iraqi intermediary who also went to Iran, The Independent on Sunday spoke to two seasoned guerrilla fighters. They said large numbers of Mahdi Army volunteers loyal to the maverick Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr had gone to the base in Jalil Azad, near Tehran, for instruction.

Abu Amer, a 39-year-old Mahdi Army fighter who asked that his full name not be used, said he had been trained by instructors he believed were from Iran's Revolutionary Guard. "Shia fighters are being trained in modern fighting methods, such as use of powerful explosives and bringing down helicopters," he told the IoS.

This report is credible enough although the title is somewhat misleading. The insurgents we are currently fighting in Iraq are Sunnis not Shiites. However, I believe that we will be fighting against the al Sadre movement soon enough and then all hell will break loose in Iraq. How will the Bush administration respond? The worse option would be an attack on Iraq, a fact which, in itself, is almost enough to lead me to predict that that is what will happen.