Al-Sadr’s return to Iraq internal affair – U.S. State Department

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The return of prominent cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to Iraq is an internal affair, U.S. State Department spokesman Philip J. Crowley said on Thursday. Crowley called al-Sadr “the leader of an Iraqi political party that won a number of seats in the March 2011 election,” and said “his return is a matter between him and the government of Iraq.” “It’s not for us to be for or against any particular leader or party in Iraq” under a democratically elected system, Bloomberg quoted Crowley as saying. Speaking in Washington, Crowley said the U.S. now hopes that al-Sadr’s party “will play a constructive role” in the coalition government. If sectarian violence were to recur, Crowley said, the U.S. has worked “hard to build up the capability of Iraqi security forces to handle whatever challenge to the government occurs.” SH (P) 6