Word: najaf
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...latest cease-fire in Najaf may be a telling measure of the political balance of forces in the new Iraq. Having launched an armored offensive into the Shiite holy city after vowing to destroy Moqtada Sadr's Mehdi militia, U.S. commanders abruptly called a halt to offensive operations on Friday as truce negotiations between Sadr and the interim government of Prime Minister Iyad Allawi continued. But a new truce wasn't exactly what Allawi and the Americans had in mind when they vowed earlier in the week to finish the fight and break the back of Sadr's forces...
...anything, the stakes riding on the showdown in Najaf may be even greater than they were in Fallujah. Although Sadr does not represent the majority of Iraqi Shiites, his support and sympathy in Iraq's largest community has grown substantially as a result of his clashes with the Americans. The majority of Shiites may not identify with Sadr's rabblerousing populism, but opinion surveys show they are considerably more resentful of the U.S. presence in their country regardless of the new government's dependence on American military support. That only adds to the difficulties facing U.S. forces now that they...
...fight began when the governor of Najaf sought to have his own security forces eject the Sadrists from the large cemetery adjacent to the Imam Ali shrine, which they'd occupied since a cease-fire was brokered in June. The governor charged that the Sadrist presence, and their stockpiling of weapons, violated the terms of the cease-fire; the Sadrists claimed it was the governor's men who were violating the cease-fire and responded by occupying police stations and taking hostages. As soon as the confrontation turned violent, the Iraqi security forces were forced to call in the Marines...
...ordinary Shiites will likely play to Moqtada's advantage in his political challenge to the Allawi government. Particularly with Sistani absent to restrain Sadr and other moderate Shiites questioning U.S. tactics, it's a safe bet that the U.S. - and its Iraqi prot?g?, Allawi - will be blamed for turning Najaf into a bloodbath...
...worth remembering that even as Sadr makes blood-and-fire speeches about fighting to the death in Najaf, his militia in the holy city is pretty much an expeditionary force. Although they have a presence in every Shiite urban community, the Sadrists' organizational base is in the Sadr City slums of East Baghdad, where their capacity for challenging the authority of the U.S.-backed government may be even greater. Following new attacks by Sadr supporters on U.S. and government targets in the capital late last week, the government declared a curfew in Sadr City - but reports suggest it has been...