By BASSEM MROUE - The country's most powerful Shiite politician issued strong backing Thursday for the Iraqi government's new Baghdad security plan, calling for it to 'strike with an iron fist' and indirectly urging the militia of a radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to disarm.
Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, who heads the 130-strong Shiite bloc in parliament, spoke just hours after President Bush announced his new strategy to quell violence in the Iraqi capital, including an additional 21,500 American for Baghdad and the western Anbar province.
Al-Hakim's backing for the new security drive was crucial if the government and U.S. forces were to succeed in what could be a last attempt to curb the sectarian bloodshed that threatens to push the capital deeper into civil war.
In a speech in the southern holy city of Najaf, al-Hakim did not mention Bush's comments but said that restoring security in Iraq would allow foreign troops to leave.
'The government should strike with an iron fist against those who endanger the safety of people,' he said. 'The great march of reconstruction will begin after guaranteeing security and then all justification for the presence of multinational forces will be removed.'
On Wednesday, al-Hakim discussed the security plan with Iraq's top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. Earlier Wednesday, National Security Adviser Mouwaffak al-Rubaie met al-Sistani and quoted the cleric as saying he agreed that all illegal weapons should be removed.