By JIM KRANE, Associated Press Writer
The fight with renegade Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr is not over and the U.S. military must retake his stronghold in Baghdad's Sadr City slum, a top U.S. commander said Thursday. Maj. Gen. Peter Chiarelli, commander of the Army's 1st Cavalry Division, said action is necessary before the volatile cleric has a chance to rebuild his Mahdi militia, which was devastated in recent fighting. "He's decided the best thing for him to do is to go underground and regroup," Chiarelli told The Associated Press. "We're not going to allow that to happen."
In many respects, this is good news in that by continuing his resistance al-Sadr is not integrating with Iraq's political structure. Far better that we manage to cap this dirtbag in some dustup than he becomes a driving political force for any Iraqi theocracy.
The Mahdi Army hasn't launched a significant attack on U.S. troops in two days, Chiarelli said. The rebel leader has not made a public appearance since the remnants of his militia departed Najaf's Imam Ali Shrine after a peace agreement last week. U.S. military officials believe thousands of al-Sadr's inexperienced fighters were killed in two bouts of battles in Shiite cities in south-central Iraq, as well as in streets of Sadr City in east Baghdad, a district named after the cleric's father. That fighting began in April and flared again last month. But militiamen remain heavily armed and in control of the northern half of Sadr City, a densely populated district of small alleys filled with booby traps and hidden bombs, he said. |