Shiite Clerics Divided Over Crackdown

Shiite clerics offered sharply different visions Friday in the showdown between government forces and Shiite militias, one predicting that armed groups will be crushed in Baghdad and another calling for the prime minister to be prosecuted for crimes against his people. The contrasting views given during weekly sermons, showed the complexities and risks in the five week old crackdown on Shiite militia factions. The clashes have brought deep rifts among Iraq's Shiite majority. Iraqi and U.S. forces are pressing deeper into Sadr City, a slum of 2.5 million people that serves as the Mahdi Army's base in Baghdad.