A very canny political 180, though.
By doing this he's saying that while he won't deal with Iyad Allawi or his government, as he is an illegitimate puppet, he will deal with the conference choosing a national assembly. And, by extension, the national assembly - which has the merit of being much further removed from the accusation of being linked to the US (a link which is political suicide in the long term).
Note the point in the article below -
the Sadr movement was ready to take part in the political process “if it is honest”. The guy is in it for the long term, showing off his power over the "Iraqi" government and the US forces, without going too far down the military road to actually get crushed.
As a bonus he's got the "Iraqi" government and their forces looking like bloodthirsty oppressors with no regard for Shia Islam into the bargain, (a) for threatening the Ali Imam shrine at all and (b) threatening to do it after he agreed to leave. Pretty smart.
If the national assembly doesn't go his way, he'll no doubt start again.
Sadr surprised by threats, had agreed to mediators’ demands: aide
(AFP)
18 August 2004
DOHA - A spokesman for rebel leader Moqtada Sadr expressed surprise on Wednesday at threats of an imminent attack on his militia by Iraqi forces, saying the Shiite cleric had agreed to demands made by peace mediators.
“We are surprised by the declaration and threat by the minister of defense ... because we have given our full accord to the initiative presented by the delegation,” Ahmed Shibani said on Al Jazeera television.
Defence Minister Hazem al-Shaalan vowed that a “decisive” battle would be launched against Sadr militiamen, who he said must surrender within hours in the central holy city of Najaf, where heavy fighting raged earlier Wednesday.
Shibani said: “The delegation came with three demands, including that the Mehdi Army hands (the security of) the old city to the suitable party...and that the Sadr movement participates in the political process.”
He added that the Sadr movement was ready to take part in the political process “if it is honest”.
“We discussed these points and 10 other points that had been discussed with (National Security Advisor) Muaffaq al-Rubaie, and our efforts were successful. The delegation went back satisfied,” he said.
But the government of Prime Minister Iyad Allawi was “blocking” any peaceful resolution of the crisis, he said.
“We are ready to meet the delegation anytime...we pledge to (organise) a meeting between Moqtada Sadr and the delegation” on the condition of “putting an end to the bombardment of the old city of Najaf and the end of the siege”, he said.
The fierce fighting has threatened a peace initiative spearheaded by emissaries from Iraq’s key national conference, who travelled to the shrine late Tuesday, only to be snubbed by Sadr who said “aggression by the Americans” had made it unsafe for him to appear.
Rajaa Habib al-Khuzai, a former member of Iraq’s former Governing Council, one of those who went to Najaf, said the head of the mission, Sheikh Hussein al-Sadr, would meet Allawi to ask for a ceasefire for a subsequent trip.
Khuzai also told Al Jazeera: “All what Shibani said was true. The mediation did not fail. On the contrary, it was a success. The meeting was positive.”
She also denounced the threats by the defense minister of an imminent offensive, saying: “It is regrettable because there was an agreement this morning.”
