Washington (AP) Defense Secretary Robert Gates says he doubts the radical Shiite cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr would be subject to arrest by U.S. forces.
Al-Sadr is believed to be in Iran while elements of his Mahdi army in the Sadr city section of Baghdad fight Iraqi government troops supported by the U.S. military. Al-Sadr advocates the
departure of all U.S. forces.
Gates was asked about the U.S. view of Al-Sadr at a Pentagon news conference today. At the same news conference, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen called Al-Sadr “an enigma.”
