"... With al-Sadr Back In, Is US on Way Out?"

"... Some speculate that al-Sadr's surprise return may have been prompted by Iran. Tehran insists that all U.S. troops must leave Iraq, and its Foreign Minister, Ali Akbar Salehi, visited Baghdad on Wednesday and insisted that al-Maliki's government refrain from agreeing to any extension of the U.S. military presence beyond Dec. 31. While al-Sadr's movement has received support from Tehran, the Iranians maintain close ties with a range of Shi'ite political leaders, including al-Maliki. And while the U.S. military views al-Sadr as an Iranian proxy, many Iran analysts see him as a fiercely independent nationalist.

Al-Sadr began agitating for a U.S. withdrawal almost immediately after the fall of Saddam Hussein, when the main Iran-backed Shi'ite parties were cooperating with Washington. And he may have reason to believe that the Americans are, in fact, going to leave this year. Asked by the Wall Street Journal in an interview shortly before the New Year about the possibility of U.S. troops staying on beyond 2011, al-Maliki was blunt: "The withdrawal of forces agreement expires on Dec. 31, 2011. The last American soldier will leave Iraq." He said the agreement could not be extended or amended unless his government had the parliament's backing to seek a new agreement. So, if there's to be any U.S. military presence beyond New Year's Eve 2011, it will have to be democratically agreed to by the Iraqi parliament. And that's a decision in which al-Sadr will have a major say...."