al-Sadr Warnings

While a CNN poll has 73% of respondents (more than 50K) right now saying the military should resume the offensive in Fallujah (and I wonder how many of them have family in the military or understand the issues), another CNN story tells us that offensives elsewhere could result in many casualties:

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The militant Shiite Muslim cleric whom the U.S.-led coalition has vowed to capture or kill warned of suicide attacks Friday if American forces conduct military action in the holy cities of Karbala and Najaf.

At a prayer service in Najaf, Muqtada al-Sadr said his followers would "shed blood to keep our holy city," according to Reuters.

The U.S. military has massed troops around Najaf, a south-central city controlled by al-Sadr's militia, the Mehdi Army. Al-Sadr is wanted by Iraqi authorities in connection with the killing of a rival cleric

"Lots of believers, men and women, came to me and asked permission to become martyrs and to execute martyrdom operations. I keep telling them to wait," Reuters quoted the cleric as saying.