World

GIs On Foot Patrol In Fallujah

April 26, 2004 / 7:00 AM EDT / CBS/AP

U.S. troops will begin patrols with Iraqi security forces in Fallujah, the military said Sunday, as the United States backed down from warnings of an all-out assault on the city's guerrillas, which would spark new bloodshed and further fuel anti-U.S. sentiment in Iraq.

Meanwhile, a U.S. general said troops are likely to move into parts of Najaf but would stay away from holy sites, an attempt to clamp down on the militia of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr without outraging Iraq's Shiite majority, which opposes any U.S. foray near their holiest shrine.

CBS News Correspondent Kimberly Dozier reports U.S. troops in Iraq continue to face a dilemma: when they use their superior firepower, they anger more Iraqis and swell the ranks of their enemies. But when they try to get Iraqis to take the lead, they've found them unable - or unwilling - to stop the killing. Many Iraqis have said they do not want to kill their fellow countryment.

In other recent developments:

A U.S. soldier was killed Sunday when a roadside bomb hit his patrol in eastern Baghdad. Also Sunday, mortar attacks in the northern city of Mosul killed two Iraqis outside a hotel, and an explosion outside a hospital killed two Iraqis, wounding 10 others.

A U.S. Coast Guardsman has become the third American to die of injuries received in Saturday night's suicide boat attack on oil facilities in the Gulf. The attacks - similar to the that against the USS Cole in 2000 and a French tanker in 2002 - have knocked Iraq's two largest oil terminals out of commission, losing the country about $28 million in oil exports each day.

Because of the surging violence, U.S.-financed contractors rebuilding Iraq are spending a quarter of their money to protect workers and insure their projects, according to American officials. Coupled with the current instability, the siphoning of resources from reconstruction to security is slowing work on projects like building roads and refurbishing electric plants, the officials said.

The Army is making a "full-court press" to locate and deliver every armored Humvee in its inventory to Iraq, said Maj. Gen. Martin Dempsey, commander of the 1st Armored Division. At the same time, factories are boosting production. Armored Humvees can stop AK-47 bullets, anti-personnel RPGs and most roadside bombs and mines - weaponry that makes short work of the non-armored version. Of the nearly 15,000 Humvees in Iraq, about 1,500 to 2,000 are armored, according to the Army.

The United Nations envoy who is helping draft an Iraqi interim government urged the Bush administration Sunday to "tread carefully" in besieged Fallujah and avoid alienating an already angry populace. As for Najaf, one of the holiest cities of Islam's Shiite sect that also is under near siege by U.S. forces, Lakhdar Brahimi warned of a disaster if American soldiers enter the city to hunt down a radical cleric.

Brig. Gen. Mark Hertling did not say when troops could move into Najaf, and a fellow general said there was no intention to move in soon. A coalition spokesman, Dan Senor, said weapons were being stockpiled in mosques and schools in Najaf, saying the practice had to stop.

The measures in Fallujah and Najaf were announced a day after U.S. President Bush consulted with military leaders over Iraq. The steps appeared to be aimed at finding a way out of the standoffs, by bringing a degree of control over the cities without re-energizing the intense violence that erupted when U.S. authorities moved on the two fronts simultaneously at the beginning of April.

The wave of violence since has killed up to 1,200 Iraqis and at least 111 U.S. troops, nearly as many in 25 days as the 115 Americans killed during the two-month invasion and war that toppled Saddam Hussein a year ago.

The new steps in Najaf and Fallujah were not without risks.

The U.S. military is vowing to impose control in Najaf and bring al-Sadr to justice for allegedly murdering a rival cleric. But Shiites might be angry over any entry into Najaf, even one limited to the more modern areas away from the holy shrines at the city's heart.

And there was little guarantee that guerrillas in Fallujah won't attack joint U.S.-Iraqi patrols. Some Marine commanders said privately they had hoped to push on with an offensive deeper into the city and were concerned Marine patrols would become targets.

The Iraqi security forces due to patrol with them were equally ill at ease.

"I don't feel safe because the Americans themselves are not safe," Police Capt. Jassim Abed said. "They get shot at. They can't guarantee safety for themselves, so how can they guarantee my safety?"

U.S. officials on Sunday dramatically toned down the repeated warnings they have made this week that they could launch an all-out offensive on Fallujah unless guerrillas disarm within days. They also spoke of progress, even while admitting insurgents were not abiding by deals reached a week ago.

"We certainly have more than sufficient military capability," Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt told reporters in Baghdad. "There may come a time in the future when we've got to use the military option."

"At this point it would not seem to be constructive for either side to be laying down ultimatums," he said.

Senor said the United States was "cautiously optimistic" over the situation in Fallujah. "We've seen progress in the last 24 hours."

Still, Kimmitt said there had been no more weapons handed in over the past day — not even the largely rusted, broken or otherwise useless arms that were surrendered earlier this week. U.S. officials have been complaining for days that guerrillas were not abiding by a call to disarm issued by Fallujah civic leaders under last week's agreement reached with American negotiators.

The patrols are to begin Tuesday, and Fallujah city officials will make announcements through the city that anyone seen carrying a weapon in public will be considered hostile, Kimmitt said.

The patrols are "the first step to returning the city to a sense of stability," he said.