Populist Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr resurfaced on Friday to deliver a fiery sermon at communal prayers in the mosque at Kufa near the holy city of Najaf.
Sadr disappeared in January shortly before the United States  began its peace campaign in Baghdad. He opened his address with the chant, “No-no for Satan.  No-no for America. No-no for the occupation. No-no for Israel,” to which the congregation of 6,000 responded.
He reiterated his longstanding call for US forces to leave Iraq or, at the very least, provide a timetable for a pullout.  He also  demanded that the Iraqi government, which is dependent on the US presence, not extend the occupation “even for a single day.”
Washington claims that Sadr, the only Iraqi politician with a mass following, went underground in Iran but his aides insist he did not leave Iraq during the weeks he did not appear in public. Iraqi sources argue it is unlikely that he went to Iran since he portrays himself as a nationalist and is highly critical of Tehran’s intervention in Iraq’s affairs.
Sadr is also the main rival of Iran’s chief ally, Abdel Aziz al- Hakim, head of the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council. Since Sadr’s re-emergence coincides with Hakim’s extended stay in Tehran for medical treatment, there is speculation that Sadr’s Mehdi Army militia might try to profit from Halim’s absence by mounting an offensive in contested cities of the south.

Govt in crisis
Sadr may also have decided to resurface at this time because the Shia fundamentalist government of Nuri al-Maliki is in crisis and may be forced from office. Sadr, an unpredictable maverick, could decide either to bolster Maliki or bring him down. Since Sadr has 32 seats in the 275 member parliament, he is certain to play a key role in the preservation of the Maliki regime or the formation of a new government.
Sadr must impose his personal control over wayward elements of his militia, which have not heeded his decree to stay off the streets and cease attacks on Sunnis during the US “surge” effort.

Sunni murders
While the number of Shia death squad murders of Sunnis decreased during the first few weeks of stepped-up US-Iraqi operations in Baghdad, the figure has now reached pre-surge levels.
Sadr must get his gunmen under control if he is to achieve his aim of reaching an agreement with the Sunni Iraqi nationalist resistance to launch joint operations against al-Qaeda and US forces.
He has also told the Mehdi Army to halt attacks on Iraqi security forces and focus instead on foreign troops.