Iraq's Rebel Cleric Sees Surge in Popularity

Roula Khalaf, Financial Times

An Iraqi poll to be released next week shows a surge in the
popularity of Moqtada al-Sadr, the radical young Shia cleric fighting
coalition forces, and suggests nearly nine out of 10 Iraqis see US
troops as occupiers and not liberators or peacekeepers.

The poll was conducted by the one-year-old Iraq Center for Research
and Strategic Studies, which is considered reliable enough for the
US-led Coalition Provisional Authority to have submitted questions to
be included in the study.Although the results of any poll in Iraq's traumatised society should
be taken with caution, the survey highlights the difficulties facing
the US authorities in Baghdad as they confront Mr Sadr, who launched
an insurgency against the US-led occupation last month.

Conducted before the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, it also suggests a
severe erosion of American credibility even before Iraqis were
confronted with images of torture at the hands of US soldiers.

Saadoun Duleimi, head of the centre, said more than half of a
representative sample — comprising 1,600 Shia, Sunni Arabs and Kurds
polled in all Iraq's main regions — wanted coalition troops to leave
Iraq. This compares with about 20 per cent in an October survey.
About 88 per cent of respondents said they now regarded coalition
forces in Iraq as occupiers.

"Iraqis always contrast American actions with American promises and
there's now a wide gap in credibility," said Mr Duleimi, who belongs
to one of the country's big Sunni tribes. "In this climate, fighting
has given Moqtada credibility because he's the only Iraqi man who
stood up against the occupation forces."

The US authorities in Baghdad face an uphill battle to persuade
Iraqis that the transfer of sovereignty on June 30 will mark the end
of the US occupation. The removal of US troops was cited in the poll
as a more urgent issue than the country's formal status.

Respondents saw Mr Sadr as Iraq's second most influential figure
after Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the country's most senior Shia
cleric. About 32 per cent of respondents said they strongly supported
Mr Sadr and another 36 per cent somewhat supported him.

Ibrahim Jaafari, head of the Shia Islamist Daawa party and a member
of the governing council, came next on the list of influential
Iraqis. Among council members, Adnan Pachachi, the Sunni former
foreign minister, came some distance behind Mr Jaafari. Mr Pachachi
is regarded as the apparent favourite for the ceremonial post of
president when a caretaker government takes over.