Sistani Threatens Shiite Resistance if US Invades Najaf
The Iranian newspaper Baztab is reporting that Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani has sent a strongly-worded message to the Coalition forces, in which he warned them against attacking the Shiite shrine cities of Najaf and Karbala after the end of Arba’in.
According to this report, in this letter Sistani warned the US that were the Occupation forces to wage a campaign against Karbala and Najaf, the religious leadership of the Shiites would fight to its last breath for the rights of the Shiites.
Since the fall of the Saddam regime, Sistani has called upon Shiites to be cautious about opposing the US troops, despite his clear distaste for their presence. He has instead attempted to hasten elections for a popularly elected, legitimate Iraqi government. ( Persian link here. )