Common Ground

What do Democrats and an Iraqi Islamic Militia Ruler have In common? The desperate need for a U.S. withdrawal date.

clipped from www.latimes.com Sadr's bloc quits Iraq's ruling coalition BAGHDAD -- -- The parliament bloc loyal to influential cleric Muqtada Sadr walked out of Iraq's ruling Shiite coalition Saturday, further aggravating rifts inside the country's largest religious sect and loosening the alliance's grip on power. "The main problem in Iraq now is the occupation, and the solution is to have a timetable for the withdrawal of occupiers, and anyone who agrees with us on this demand will find our hearts opened to him," lawmaker Nassar Rubaie said.