Sadr calls for his followers to focus attacks on the US

Sadr cannot directly call for attacks because of the risk to his political organization, but that is how this will be understood.

The renegade cleric Muqtada al-Sadr urged Iraqi forces to stop cooperating with the United States and told his guerrilla fighters to concentrate their attacks on American troops rather than Iraqis, according to a statement issued Sunday.....

In the statement, al-Sadr — who commands an enormous following among Iraq's majority Shiites and has close allies in the Shiite-dominated government — also encouraged his followers to attack only American forces, not fellow Iraqis.

"God has ordered you to be patient in front of your enemy, and unify your efforts against them — not against the sons of Iraq," the statement said, in an apparent reference to clashes between al-Sadr's Mahdi Army fighters and Iraqi troops in Diwaniyah, south of Baghdad. "You have to protect and build Iraq."

It's difficult to tell from the statement whether this indicates a nationwide call to arms or is merely a rallying cry. The Sadr inspired demonstrations tomorrow will give a good sense of the temperature.

Later: A newer version by the same writer is much more toned down saying Sadr's focus is to "push American forces out of the country." That's a pretty big walk back from the headline this morning.