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In Iraq, U.S. walks tightrope with Sadr: The military is battling militiamen loyal to the cleric, but takes pains to not blame his Mahdi Army, whose political and social services role make it immensely popular (Tina Susman, 5/07/08, Los Angeles Times)

The U.S. military has tied itself into a verbal knot as it tries to avoid further inflaming tensions with Shiite cleric Muqtada Sadr while confronting members of his Mahdi Army militia.

U.S. forces battle almost daily with Shiite militiamen in Sadr City, including Sadr loyalists, but commanders are careful to avoid blaming the Mahdi Army for the violence.

"This is focused on the criminal groups," the chief U.S. military spokesman, Maj. Gen. Kevin Bergner, said at his most recent news briefing on April 30. When U.S. commander Gen. David H. Petraeus alluded to violence in Sadr City during a visit to London on Thursday, he did so without naming any group, only referring to "the militia in and around Sadr City."

The evolution in words used, or not used, by military officials when discussing Sadr and his fighters reflects the United States' turbulent relationship with the Shiite cleric and his own reinvention of himself as a political player. The United States, which in 2004 considered arresting Sadr in connection with the killing of a rival Shiite leader, began softening its tone early last year after Sadr agreed to not confront extra U.S. troops deployed by President Bush to Baghdad to quell violence. [...]

The Mahdi Army has roots in Baghdad and serves as a local social service organization. Sadr loyalists hold 30 seats in the national parliament, and the Mahdi Army is part of the political movement known as the Sadr Trend.

"The Mahdi militia is a political organization," said Army Capt. Alan Boyes, whose base is a former butcher's shop in Sadr City's Jamila neighborhood. "Now, do I believe political groups should have militias? No, but that's the way things are in Iraq."