Iraq govt says top cleric Sistani backs crackdown

If true it appears that in the recent meeting that Sistani had with Sadr he to him to stick it.

NAJAF, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Iraq's national security adviser said on Wednesday the country's most senior Shi'ite cleric had given his blessing to government efforts to disarm militants as it prepares to implement a major new security plan for Baghdad.

U.S. commanders and Iraq's once dominant Sunni minority have made clear they want any crackdown to include not just Sunni rebels but militias loyal to powerful Shi'ite Islamists.

Mowaffaq al-Rubaie said he had briefed Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani on the security situation in Iraq, and particularly in Baghdad, during a meeting in the holy city of Najaf.