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Revue de Presse-Press Reviezv-Berhevoka ęape-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basin Ozeti

U.S. forces put off Najaf offensive

Reversal follows a day of ultimatums to Sadr’s militiamen

By A!ex Berenson

NAJAF, lraq: After spending Wednes-day preparing for a major attack against insurgents loyal to the rebel Shiite cler-ic Moktada al-Sadr, U.S. forces called off the assault, at least for now.

Officers said the delay sprang from a need to extend planning, and added the attack could still be carried out at any time. The abrupt reversal came after a day of hawkish announcements by U.S. officers here.

U.S. forces have been close to captur-ing or killing Sadr before but have re-peatedly backed off. This time the U.S. commanders had vowed to crush his guerrillas, the Mahdi Army.

The delay came after a day of intense preparation for the attack, with a convoy of tanks and armored vehicles leaving a base. Officers declined to discuss why they did not go ahead with the attack.

“Preparations to do the offensive are taking longer than initially anticipat-ed,” said Major David Holahan, second ui command of the Marinę battalion in Najaf. “We never said what time we would do it."

But a known concem of the U.S. mil-itary is that fighting in NajaPs old city, where many of Sadr’s guerrillas are hid-ing, could damage the Imam Ali Shrine, one of the holiest sites in Shiite Islam.

Damage to the mosque by either side could provoke immense anger among Iraq’s 15 million Shiites, and troops have been told that the consequences could be catastrophic.

Any attack must still be approved by Ayad Allawi, Iraq’s prime minister. Officers said they could not disclose whether Allawi had delayed the attaclc Until now, the old city has been off-lim-its to U.S. troops. Since Tuesday, U.S. patrols have urged most residents of Najaf to evacuate and have warned Sadr’s guerrillas to leave the city or be killed.

The congestion of the old city reduces U.S. advantages in firepower, air sup-port and technology. Much of the fight-. ing would need to be conducted on foot.

Before the delay, Colonel Anthony Hasiam, commanding officer of the llth Marinę Expeditionary Unit in Najaf said in a statement: “Iraqi and U.S.. forces are making finał preparations as we get ready to finish this fight that the

Moktada militia started.

“The desired end State is one of sta-bility and security, where the citizens of Najaf do not live in fear of violence or kidnappings, and where the city of Najaf can once again return to peace and prosperity.”

The U.S. military suspended most of its patrols and operations as it prepared for the broader assault, and senior officers planned the details of the attack in a series of meetings. U.S. forces havt/ roughly 5,000 troops in the area, includ-ing 2,000 whose primary duties are support and logistics.

Tliere was light fighting here Wed-nesday moming, but the city then be-came esscnf ially quiet.

Violence continued elsewhere in Iraq when a bomb exploded in a market just north of Baghdad, killing at least six Iraqis and wounding 10, according to news reports.

Tl;e blast occurred in the village of Khan Bani Saad, hospital workers told Reuters. Officials had no further details on the ezplosion.

Sadr’s guerrillas have battled the Iraqi police and U.S. forces for morę than a year, and last year an Iraqi judge issued a secret warrant for Sadr’s arrest on charges of murdering a moderate Shiite cleric.

After the warrant was disclosed in April, Sadr’s forces fought the U.S. military for two months in a nationwide uprising before the two sides reached a truce when the United States agreed not

to try to capture or kill Sadr.

U.S. commanders have worried that any direct move against Sadr might in-crease his strength among Iraq’s Shiites, who make up the majority of Iraqis.

But over the last week, most Shiites in Najaf have remained on the sidelines as American and British troops have fought Sadris militia.

In a statement Wednesday, Sadr urged his militia to keep fighting even if he is killed.

In weighing an attack, Allawi and U.S. commanders must consider the risks of damage to the Shiite shrine against the opportunity to break the Mahdi Army without provoking a wider rebellion.

Since becoming prime minister in June, Allawi has taken several steps to strengthen his control over Iraq, includ-ing reinstating the death penalty last week.

Meanwhile, U.S. commanders are anxious to win a high-profile victory after their efforts this spring to oust Sadr from Najafs old city and take control of Falluja ended in truces that did not achieve U.S. goals.

At their base this aftemoon, marines said they were ready for an attack.

“With the amount of firepower and amount of marines and army we have going in there, I think it’s going to be overwhelming,” Gunnery Sergeant Jef-frey Godfredson said. “I think they’re going to break.”

The New York Times

American soldlers on Wednesday fired on followers of Moktada al-Sadr in the cemetery near the Imam Ali Shrine in Najaf, Iraq.