Middle East Economic Survey

VOL. XLVII

No 35

30-August-2004

The Political Scene (30 August 2004)

Ayatollah Sistani has returned to Najaf and brokered a deal with radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr that stands a very good chance of ending the latters confrontation with the Baghdad government and its US backers.

Sistani Comes Home

It has been another week of government threats to evict radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadrs Mahdi Army militia from the shrine of the Imam Ali in Najaf by force and, on Mr Sadrs...