Sadr Threatens War

Until recently Muqtada al-Sadr & his al-Mahdi Army have been fairly quiet and the renewal of his 6 month cease fire has greatly contributed to the decline in violence - until now.

In response to an Iraqi crack down on his militia in Basra & Sadr City, Sadr has issued Iraq & the United States an ultimatum - stop arresting his followers or he will declare war.

From Al-Jazeera --

.... al-Sadr said in a statement on Saturday that he was giving a final warning to the Shia-led Iraqi government "to take the path of peace and stop violence against its own people".

"If it does not stop the militias that have infiltrated the government, then we will declare a war until liberation," he said.

Sheikh Salah al-Obaidi, a spokesman for al-Sadr, told Al Jazeera that this is the last opportunity of the Iraqi government to make an effort to co-operate with the group.

He said: "We [the Sadrist movement] have tried and tried to improve the political situation in the country. "But our calls were never heeded. This is the government's last chance to correct the current situation." More...

Making matters worse is the month long campaign, "Attack of Righteousness," planned by Sunni-led Al-Qaeda in Iraq. Celebrating the death of 4000 American soldiers in Iraq, the group will "offer the head of an American" as a gift to George Bush.