Sadr and Democrats on same page

NY Times:

Moktada al-Sadr, the rebellious Shiite cleric, withdrew his six ministers from the Iraqi cabinet on Monday, in the first major shake-up of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki’s government since it was installed a year ago.

It was the first time Mr. Sadr had followed through with a threat to cut some of his ties with the government and with Mr. Maliki, a conservative Shiite whose grip on authority largely rests on Mr. Sadr’s political support.

Legislators working for Mr. Sadr said that he was pulling his ministers from the 38-member cabinet because the government had refused to set a timetable for the withdrawal of American troops. In a written statement, Mr. Sadr said he was motivated by Iraqi nationalism, asserting that his action was intended to give the government a chance to appoint new ministers who would not be beholden to any political party or have sectarian agendas.

“I ask God to bestow upon the people an independent, devoted government to be like a candle in the middle of the darkness, away from occupation,” said the statement, which was read at a news conference by Nassar al-Rubaie, a senior Sadr legislator.

The move by Mr. Sadr, who went underground at the start of the new Baghdad security plan in February, appeared to be an effort by the young cleric to shore up his reputation as the leading opposition figure in Iraq’s fragmented and acrimonious political landscape.

Mr. Sadr has long demanded that the Americans withdraw from Iraq, but Mr. Maliki has resisted setting a timetable. Mr. Sadr’s latest call for a timetable for American withdrawal comes as many Democrats and a few Republicans in Congress are pressing President Bush for exactly the same thing.

Mr. Sadr’s diminished presence in the government could complicate American efforts to draw the cleric and his militia, the Mahdi Army, away from violence by giving them more of a stake in the political process. Despite talk of a fractured Mahdi Army, Mr. Sadr has shown an ability and a willingness to rein in large segments of the militia under the new American security plan, perhaps concerned that resistance could cost him some of his political gains.

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It is nice that the Times has come around to the view expressed hear two days ago on the similarity of the Democrats' and Sadr's plans. Sadr is not reining in his militia because of concerns that resistance will cost him politically. That is a ridiculous analysis. There are two reasons he reined in his militia. First, if he left them out there they would be destroyed by US forces. Second, if the surge is successful, they want be needed, because their primary purpose was to protect the Shia non combatants who were being slaughtered by the Sunni terrorist.

Sec. of Defense Gates says that the resignations may actually help the reconciliation process.