Article: Shiite leaders are open to cooperation with U.S. _ for now.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)

Byline: Trudy Rubin

NAJAF, Iraq _ The biggest wild card facing U.S. troops in Iraq is the Shiite factor.

So far, attacks on U.S. forces come mainly from diehard Saddam supporters in Sunni Muslim areas. But nearly 60 percent of Iraqis are Shiite Muslims, and many follow the lead of their religious establishment, or hawza, based in the Iraqi holy city of Najaf.

The moderate ayatollahs who lead the hawza have left the door open for good relations with the United States _ with big caveats. But there are younger, more radical clerics in the slums of Baghdad itching to challenge the occupying forces.

So U.S. officials better pay attention to ...

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