MOOKIE SHINES:

Iraqi Officials Plan to Extend Buying of Arms (RICHARD A. OPPEL Jr. and DEXTER FILKINS, 10/18/04, NY Times)

A government plan to entice Iraq's biggest Shiite militia to turn in its weapons in return for cash here has brought in enough arms in its first week that Iraqi officials extended the program on Sunday and said it might be spread to other cities.

The cooperation with the buyout has raised hopes that the militia's leader, Moktada al-Sadr, would continue his turn toward entering the country's democratic process.

Underscoring the buyout's progress, Prime Minister Ayad Allawi ventured into the heart of Baghdad's hostile Shiite district to salute the militia, the Mahdi Army, for surrendering more than 1,000 of its heavy weapons in the past week. As Iraqi troops nearby assembled stacks of surrendered weapons at a soccer stadium in the district, Sadr City, Dr. Allawi said he was "thrilled" and urged more progress.

Dr. Allawi's aides said the buyout had been successful enough in Baghdad that it would be extended for two more days, until Tuesday, and that they were discussing widening the program to include other cities. A senior aide to Mr. Sadr said the militia would have no objection. [...]

In recent weeks, Mr. Sadr has been meeting with leaders from across the Iraqi political spectrum, telling them he is planning to transform his movement from an armed group into a democratic one. Many Iraqis, and the Americans especially, are skeptical of Mr. Sadr, given his record of breaking similar promises.

But circumstances for Mr. Sadr have changed in recent months, all of which may be nudging him into the political system. His militia has suffered a pounding at the hands of the Americans in Sadr City and Najaf. And the Americans and the Iraqi government have promised to embark on a campaign of house-to-house searches in the area to find whatever weapons Mr. Sadr does not turn over.

At the same time, Mr. Sadr has come under intense pressure from mainstream Shiite leaders, who see the elections in January as the clearest path to political power. Shiites comprise about 60 percent of the Iraqi population.

Mr. Sadr's own aides said he was moving in that direction. "We are part of the political process now," said Karim Bakhati, a representative of Mr. Sadr, after the meeting with Dr. Allawi at the weaponsfor-cash handover. "The Iraqi government wants to have such centers outside Baghdad, and we don't have any objections to that."

The mainstream of Shi'ism is democratic.

Posted by Orrin Judd at October 18, 2004 9:06 AM