US officials believe Sadr's actions require a response, said a senior defense official who spoke on condition of anonymity. What that response will be is something that will be determined over the next few days, the official said.
The official suggested other Shi'ite groups or Iraqi security forces also could deal with Sadr on their own.
Such unusually strong comments from Pentagon officials could suggest some imminent US-backed move -- or perhaps an attempt by American officials to get Sadr to back down without a fight.
Arresting or moving against Sadr could cause unrest among his followers, many of whom are young, unemployed, and armed. But US military and coalition officials are finding it harder to ignore Sadr's increasingly open challenges to the American occupation of the country -- and to Iraqis who cooperate with it.
Last Friday, Sadr declared he had formed his own government and called on his followers to peacefully protest until that government was recognized. The US-led coalition has arrested other self-declared rulers of parts of Iraq.
Armed Sadr supporters staged demonstrations yesterday in Najaf as armed followers of more moderate Shi'ite clerics looked on.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Sadr said US forces should announce a timetable for a quick withdrawal from Iraq.
"Whoever cooperates with the occupation forces is not a Shi'ite. Indeed, they are not Muslims," he said.
Iraq's US-appointed interior minister went on a coalition broadcast inside the country on Tuesday to denounce Sadr as "a common criminal and a disgrace to his country and his religion."
US authorities have been reluctant to move against Sadr for several reasons, including uncertainty about how much of a threat the young cleric and his followers pose.
"It's not clear for whom [he] purports to be speaking, and what kind of a following he may or may not have," Pentagon spokesman Larry Di Rita said Tuesday.
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