New Iraqi Moment? –Conservative Battleline Online

Talk about a radical shift in policy. On March 25 Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki ordered security forces to attack strongholds of the Mahdi Army loyal to Moqtada al-Sadr and other opposition militias in the southern port city of Basra to bring these “criminal gangs” under his authority. The operation would be conducted wholly by Iraqi armed forces, he bragged. President George Bush called the initiative by the Iraq army acting on its own “a defining moment” for the future independence and success of the nation and predicted a “victory” and “rebirth” for Iraq.

One day later, in the face of fierce resistance, the Iraqis were forced to call in the Americans. The U.S.—without substantial ground troops in southern Iraq—could commit only special forces but also substantial air power to support the attack. In response, the Mahdi forces broke Sadr’s self-proclaimed truce and attacked in the northern and central cities of Karbala, Najaf, Kut, Abu Dasheer, Shulla, Diwaniyah, Kafa, three towns near Nasiriyah, towns near Babel, and especially in Baghdad and its Sadr City headquarters. According to the Interior Ministry, 1,100 were killed in Basra and Baghdad alone.

Three days later Premier Maliki admitted he did not appreciate how widespread and fierce would be the resistance—he apparently thought Sadr would wait for him to mop up one area at a time—and went into negotiations. Representatives of his legislative coalition and Sadr’s met in, of all places, the holy city of Qom in Iran! Sadr agreed to tell his supporters to cease fire and Maliki agreed that arrests and detentions would stop and that releases of captured militiaman would be discussed. In other words, the militias broke the joint Iraqi and U.S. operation. It truly was a defining moment.

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