BAGHDAD, April 8, 2008
Al-Sadr Threatens To End Cease-Fire
Shiite Cleric Demands Iraqi Government Improve Security; Wants Timetable For U.S. Pullout
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Play CBS Video Video Violence Ignited In Sadr City Violent fighting in Sadr City has erupted between Iraqi troops backed by U.S. forces and Shiite gunmen. Lara Logan reports.
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Video On Patrol In Sadr City "Only On The Web:" Lara Logan speaks with U.S. Army Captain Logan Veath, as American forces patrol Sadr City in order to push Shiite militias farther away from the Green Zone.
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A U.S. Army soldier secures a checkpoint in the Shiite enclave of Sadr City Baghdad, Monday, April 7, 2008. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
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Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr said the Iraqi government should "protect the Iraqi people from the boobytraps and American militias" and "demand the withdrawal of the occupier or a schedule for its withdrawal from our holy land." (AP Photo/Alaa Al-Marjani)
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Formally ending the cease-fire could trigger renewed fighting throughout southern Iraq, nine days after a deal brokered in Iran calmed the region.
But there was no letup in the clashes in the capital Tuesday, as American and Iraqi soldiers stepped up the pressure against Shiite militants in their Sadr City stronghold of northeast Baghdad. U.S. troops fired missiles at three mortar positions, killing 12 militants, the American command said. Iraqi police and hospitals said 14 people were killed and 37 wounded in Sadr City.
Two more U.S. troops were killed in the Baghdad fighting, the U.S. command announced. At least 12 American service members have died in Iraq since Sunday. Also Tuesday, rockets or mortar shells also slammed into the U.S.-protected Green Zone, but the U.S. Embassy said there were no casualties.
The bloodshed served as stark reminders of Iraq's continuing instability five years after U.S. troops swept into Baghdad and toppled Saddam Hussein's regime on April 9, 2003. The euphoria of victory was soon dissipated - first by a Sunni insurgency, then Sunni-Shiite slaughter and now battles against Shiite militiamen.
In Washington, top U.S. commander Gen. David Petraeus called Tuesday for an open-ended suspension of U.S. troop withdrawals this summer because of concern over the renewed fighting.
As tension rose in Baghdad on the eve of the anniversary, the Iraqi military ordered vehicles and motorcycles off the streets from 5 a.m. Wednesday until midnight - a move apparently aimed at preventing Shiite gunmen from moving freely about the city.
The vehicle ban was imposed despite a decision by al-Sadr to call off his "million-strong" demonstration set for Wednesday to demand an end to the American military presence. Al-Sadr's Mahdi militia has been battling American and Iraqi soldiers in the sprawling Sadr City slum.
Fearing the demonstration might trigger violence throughout Baghdad, Iraqi soldiers began turning back military-aged men traveling to the capital Tuesday from Shiite areas to the south.
Al-Sadr then called off the rally, apparently fearing a modest turnout would display weakness at a time when he is locked in a violent power struggle with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a fellow Shiite. Al-Maliki has told al-Sadr to disband his militia or give up politics.
Instead, al-Sadr's aides called a news conference at a hotel on Firdous Square, where U.S. Marines hauled down the statue of Saddam five years ago. The aides released a statement condemning the government for allegedly bowing to "the hated American pressure."
"I call on the Iraqi government, if it exists, to work to protect the Iraqi people, stop the spilling of its blood, and the abuse of its honor," al Sadr said in the statement.
He also urged the government to "demand the withdrawal of the occupier or a schedule for its withdrawal from our holy land."
Otherwise, al-Sadr said he might formally end the cease-fire he imposed on his Mahdi militia last August - a move that U.S. officials acknowledge played a major role in calming the violence until last month.
New fighting flared after al-Maliki led a major crackdown March 25 on Shiite militias and criminal gangs in the southern city of Basra. That triggered a violent backlash by Shiite militiamen, who launched attacks across southern Iraq and Baghdad including missiles against the Green Zone.
Fighting eased after al-Sadr called on his militia March 30 to halt attacks. But clashes have continued in Sadr City, where U.S. and Iraqi troops are trying to push militants out of rocket range of the Green Zone.
The flare-up followed months of declining attacks, especially in Sunni areas of central and western Iraq. Thousands of Sunni tribesmen broke with al Qaeda in Iraq and joined with U.S. and Iraqi troops to fight the terror movement.
But the explosion of violence in the south underlined warnings by the U.S. military that the security gains were reversible. It also illustrated the complexity of Iraq, where numerous religious sects and ethnic groups still compete for power.
Iraqi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi said a total of 82 militants, 36 civilians and 37 soldiers had been killed since March 16 in fighting in Baghdad, mostly in Sadr City.
Al-Moussawi also announced that gunmen in Baghdad's northern neighborhood of Kazimiyah - the site of Baghdad's most prominent Shiite religious shrine - have three days to hand in their weapons.
But police in several cities in southern Iraq say few Shiite militants have given up their guns and that most are awaiting orders from al-Sadr to resume attacks.
In Basra, Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf confirmed that 1,000 Iraqi security troopers had "failed to carry out their duties" during last month's crackdown and would face disciplinary action.
The failure of Iraqi troops to crush the militias has raised fresh doubts about the ability of the Iraqis to take over their own security so U.S.-led forces can go home.
In other developments:
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Add a Comment See all 47 Comments
- cease fire????? the ****ker just waved the white flag an ran..
how come this is so predictable?????? - Reply to this comment
- The Fatman,(Sadr)is running out of juice,let us ship him to Cuba for a little tightening up,R & R ,wait lost and reprogramming before he gets killed.
- Reply to this comment
- "SUCCESS in Iraq" is when an American soldier and an Iraqi soldier can sit down in a Baghdad Cafe for a peaceful friendly cup of tea (and not worried about getting blown up!)
Therefore, we should leave the "Search and Destroy" mentality for Bin Laden (who is NOT an Iraqi, by the way!) - Reply to this comment
- "It appears that the goal of the Bush/Republican administration is to install a new dictator in Iraq who answers to them - maybe Maliki - maybe somebody else who is waiting in the wings. Posted by CBS_Oliver
Yeah - sure. For the last 9 months he is President, Bush will attempt to install a dictator to be his puppet.
I have never heard a more asinine statement.
Or, perhaps you see vast conspiracies wherever you look ? After all, you are from the far left, correct ? - Reply to this comment
- Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr needs to realize that as soon as his folks stop terrorist/insurgent type activities then they will be left alone.
If he insists on abandoning his cease fire, the Iraquis government needs to make it clear he is the prime target, as will be his replacement, until the cease fire is once again in place. - Reply to this comment
- I don''t understand why we just don''t take all the decent people out of Sadr,and Baghdad.Put them on planes ,choppers,buses whatever.Then go on a search and destroy anything moving.They are giving us time lines to withdraw.After what we have spent on that country,and the accomplishments made.I spent 12 yrs in the Army 10 th SOG,and 82nd Airborne.We had capabilities then to sweep and destroy,and this was in the 80''s early 90''s I can just imagine the weapons we have at our disposal now.Congress,Bush whoever is the puppet master needs to pull the strings and get it done.This is costing way to much money Iraq is in the Red we are in the black makes no sense either.
- Reply to this comment
Good night.- Reply to this comment
Re: "Anyone reading these posts you both are posting can see you"RE both enemy propagandist. I''''d rather be a bad typist."
Posted by sillywilly4
You must see "the enemy" everywhere you look.
What a sad existence.- Reply to this comment
sillywilly4,
I usually don''t pick out spelling mistakes, but you keep repeating this one.
You + are = "you''re", not "your"- Reply to this comment
re: "What happened to the s in christians?"
Posted by sillywilly4
The scary brown people must have chopped them out of there, when you weren''t looking.
They''''ll do anything to make Jesus look bad, don''t cha know.- Reply to this comment
Re: "Av 3:35 are you trying to fake being a Chritian when it''s only a small minority of chritians you associate with. Gotcha!"
Posted by sillywilly4
It looks like "AVSuvorov" at 03:51 AM pretty clearly exposed the fake Christian here.- Reply to this comment
Re: "I myself live by the golden rule which you know is treat others as you would want to be treated."
Posted by sillywilly4
Maybe you should both reconsider your blind support of the torture, maiming, rape, and murder of innocent Iraqis then, just to spare the feelings of troops that have no business there.- Reply to this comment
Back to the article...
...we notice once again that the dubious and imaginary "al-Qaeda-in-Iraq" has virtually disappeared, as U.S. stooges like General Betrayus attempt to justify a war of aggression against Iran.
I''m not a big fan of al-Sadr, but pissing him off and attacking his was just about the dumbest thing that the Bush regime and their Iraqi "governmnet" stooges could have possibly done at this time.
As the situation continues to deteriorate, we can be sure that the "al-Qaeda-in-Iraq" fables will be revived by the regime, as their favorite scapegoat.- Reply to this comment
re: "My wife supports the sick, retarded and other needy people."
Posted by sillywilly4
So you have a live-in care-giver.
Congratulations.- Reply to this comment
RE: "So it would be ok if she were muslim?"
Posted by sillywilly4
I don''t know. Would your Lebanese wife accept the maiming, rape, torture, and murder of her Muslim friends and family in Lebanon, in a fraud-based and criminal war of aggression, so long as the feelings of our ALL VOLUNTEER military were spared?
It wouldn''t be O.K. with me, and I''m not Lebanese or Muslim.
"AVSuvorov" most definitely gotcha.- Reply to this comment
Re: "Your just anti American and i see your anti Christian too."
Posted by sillywilly4
Nope. I think that "AVSuvorov" is just pointing out that the Maronite Christians in Lebanon have a history of supporting terrorism, and a history of supporting terrorists, so her opinions must be assessed within that context.- Reply to this comment
sillywilly4,
Would your Lebanese wife accept the maiming, rape, torture, and murder of her friends and family in Lebanon, in a fraud-based and criminal war of aggression, so long as the feelings of our ALL VOLUNTEER military were spared?- Reply to this comment
"Do you understand that the Iraqis are "people" too?"
(Cartoon-like smoke pours from the ears of "sillywilly4".)- Reply to this comment
sillywilly4,
If you did not want them there, then you would not be making excuses for them to remain there and be maimed, disgraced, and killed.
You seem to be offering excuses for the continuance of this despicable crime against the people of Iraq, our country, AND our troops, just to appease your own stupidity and cowardice.- Reply to this comment
Re: "You know what I meant."
Posted by sillywilly4
I think that I do. You mean that you have an insatiable appetite for fascistic pole, and you would be happy to climb over the corpses in the wake of your stupidity, to get at it.- Reply to this comment
