by Aamer Madhani

Is Moqtada al-Sadr an enemy of the United States?

It’s an old question, but one that is logically resurfacing in the aftermath of fierce fighting in Basra and Sadr City between Iraqi security forces—aided by U.S. and British troops—and elements of the Mahdi Army, the Shiite militia that is loyal to the young cleric.

While U.S. officials credit Sadr’s call to the Mahdi Army to observe a ceasefire as playing a critical part in lessening the levels of violence in Iraq, Sadr has never dampened his blistering criticism of U.S. forces.

In a recent interview with Al Jazeera, Sadr told the journalist Ghassan Bin-Jiddu that armed resistance against U.S. forces was legitimate as long as Iraqi civilians were not harmed such attacks.

“Resistance is a legitimate right for all peoples,” said Sadr, according to a translation of the interview by Mideastwire.com. “In any place where there is occupation, there is bound to be resistance. God willing, the occupation forces will be driven away, as happened in Vietnam.”

But when questioned this week about Sadr, top U.S. officials continued to show a certain amount of deference to the young cleric, who has been living in Iran for many months and reportedly attending to his religious studies.

“He is a significant political figure,” said Defense Secretary Robert Gates at a Pentagon news conference today. “He has a large following. And I think that it's important that he become a part of the process if he isn't already.”

Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that he would describe Sadr as an “enigma.”

“It's pretty difficult to figure out exactly across all of the things that he is involved in where he's headed or what his plans are,” said Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. “…The cease-fire that he asked for many months ago…has had a positive effect…But just based on what happened at Basra the other day, he clearly can have the opposite impact, as well.”

Before the recent Basra incident, there had been some speculation that Sadr was a wanted man and was hiding out in Iran to avoid arrest by either the Iraqi or American forces.

But Gates said he'd "be surprised if there were a move along those lines."

When asked about Sadr’s statement supporting aggression against U.S. forces, Petraeus earlier this week said that any attacks against his troops would not be tolerated. At the same time, he spoke respectfully of the clout that Sadr carries in the Shiite slums of Baghdad and other predominantly Shiite areas of the country.

“And if there are those who are cloaking their actions in the name of what, again, is a respected movement, a nationalist movement, and one that is known for having reached out over the years to the poor and downtrodden,” remarked Petraeus. “But again, people cannot cloak their actions in that name.”