Mahdi Army militia to be disbanded, report says

Radical anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr plans to announce the disbanding of his Mahdi Army militia on Friday, the Wall Street Journal reported this week.

The armed force at one time was thought to number as many as 68,000 members, but it has suffered a series of major defeats at the hands of the Iraqi Army in the past four months.

In April 2004, the militia suffered enormous casualties in a failed uprising against the U.S. Army.

After weeks of late-night negotiations and under intense U.S. pressure, Iraqi lawmakers failed to pass a much-debated provincial elections law Wednesday before adjourning for the month.

The failure to pass the law, which would govern provincial elections, may push the voting into next year. Elections originally were scheduled to take place in October of this year.

Parliament's failure underscores the great divide between security and political progress in Iraq. While violence is at a record low, progress on the political front is lagging as sectarian blocs wrangle over each divisive issue to come before the parliament.

Parliament also has yet to pass a law to share oil revenue or to amend the constitution on such issues as the role of Islam and the nature of federalism in the government.

Americans who work with the Iraqis on reconstruction said Baghdad has been increasing its capital spending by 30 percent to 35 percent each year since 2006. Figures released Tuesday by the U.S. Government Accountability Office suggested U.S. taxpayers were footing the majority of the costs.