BAGHDAD, Sept. 12 (UPI) -- U.S. military commanders in Iraq have been holding secret talks with radical Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr, whose Mehdi Army attacks U.S. forces.
In 2004, U.S. officials branded Sadr an outlaw and he has since remained elusive and has vowed never to speak directly with "the occupiers," although U.S. diplomats and the military have met with tribal Mehdi officers have been in touch since early 2006, the Los Angeles Times said.
A U.S. diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Times the reversal in policy was "not a pleasant vision," but necessary.
"If there are no American troops and there is no American deal, the Mehdi Army seizes control of Baghdad," the diplomat said. "In situations like this, the most extreme elements tend to predominate."
In his testimony to Congress on Monday, Army Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, acknowledged the importance of reaching out to the militants as "distasteful" as it may be.
"It's not easy sitting across the table, let's say, or drinking tea with someone whose tribal members may have shot at our forces or in fact drawn the blood -- killed our forces."
