Stories like this make me wonder whether anyone in the military is familiar with the Islamic concept of hudna—a temporary truce, until the ammo is restocked and the weapons are serviced: Iraqi Cleric Signals End to Shi’ite Revolt.

NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - Radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr sent his fighters home on Wednesday in what may mark the end of a 10-week revolt against U.S.-led forces that once engulfed southern Iraq and Shi’ite Islam’s holiest shrines.

With the formal end of U.S.-led occupation just two weeks away, Sadr issued a statement from his base in Najaf calling on his Mehdi Army militiamen to go home.

“Each of the individuals of the Mehdi Army, the loyalists who made sacrifices…should return to their governorates to do their duty,” the statement said.

That call came a day after President Bush said the United States would not oppose a political role for Sadr — only weeks after branding him an anti-democratic thug.

Sadr’s ragtag fighters, mostly from the slums of Baghdad and impoverished southern villages, had launched an uprising on April 4, overrunning police stations and public buildings in several towns in a bold challenge to U.S.-led forces.

This month the unpredictable young cleric agreed a truce with the U.S. military and Iraqi authorities after weeks of fighting in the Shi’ite shrine cities of Najaf and Kerbala.

Sadr’s office sent a letter to the Shi’ite religious establishment on Wednesday, saying Iraqi police would be welcome back in his stronghold of Kufa, near Najaf, where he has frequently delivered fiery anti-American sermons.

Al-Sadr is going to continue to be trouble, obviously. Why are we dealing with this Islamic fascist at all? Aren’t we supposed to be at war with him and his followers? Americans burned alive, ripped apart, and beheaded—and this is the response?

It’s increasingly clear that the Bush administration is simply trying to keep a lid on things until the election. It’s a very dangerous strategy, and very disappointing to see.