WE WIN!

Which, of course, we knew we would, once we took the offensive again.

Moqtada al-Sadr, the rebel Shia cleric who has led uprisings across Iraq, said yesterday he was ready to disband his militia although he still opposed the US occupation.

His comments came after US troops attacked his gunmen in the holy city of Kerbala, killing up to 25 near a mosque they had used to store weapons.

Mr Sadr, 30, has come under intense political pressure as the US military has moved against his fighters in Kerbala and Najaf, further south. Iraq's mainstream Shia parties have tried to convince the young cleric to disband his militia, the Jaish al-Mahdi...

"The dissolution of the Mahdi army depends on the religious authorities. If they issue an edict to disband the Mahdi army, we will disband," Mr Sadr said at the Imam Ali shrine in Najaf yesterday.

Uh...hey "religious authorities"...looks like the ball is in your court. And a whole lot of the world is watching.

What are you going to do?