Iraqi Cleric's Militia Say Najaf Withdrawal on Hold

NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - An offer by Iraqi militiamen loyal to rebel cleric Moqtada al-Sadr to withdraw from the holy city of Najaf is on hold until the U.S. military agrees to truce terms, an aide to Sadr said on Thursday.


"We have not received any U.S. agreement to our initiative. Any withdrawal of the Mehdi Army remains on hold until the other side agrees to our initiative," Qais al-Khazali told Reuters.


Earlier, Sadr's militiamen said they had been told by their leaders to pull back from the city.


Iraq (news - web sites)'s national security adviser Mowaffaq al-Rubaie, quoting a statement signed by Sadr, said the cleric was willing to pull members of his Mehdi Army who are not from Najaf out of the city and had demanded in return that a murder case for which he is wanted be suspended.


"To end the tragic situation in Najaf and the violation... of the holy places, I announce my agreement to the following: an end to all armed demonstrations, the evacuation of government buildings...and the withdrawal of all Mehdi Army fighters," the statement said.

~snip~
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=564&ncid=716&e=11&u=/nm/20040527/ts_nm/iraq_wrap_dc

~snip~
Al-Sadr, whose militiamen have been battling coalition troops for nearly two months, also demanded the Americans pull back and a murder case against him be postponed.


The Wednesday offer was conveyed in an announcement by National Security Adviser Mouwafak al-Rubaie, himself a Shiite. Al-Sadr could not be reached to confirm it directly.


Al-Sadr aides said they had instructed their fighters to avoid displaying weapons in the city Thursday as a "sign of respect" for the visiting Governing Council members. The aides denied any order to vacate the city, however.


Ahmed al-Shibani, an al-Sadr aide, said there was "no truth" that a final agreement had been struck and that al-Rubaie "is talking on his own."
~snip~
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=535&ncid=535&e=2&u=/ap/20040527/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq

Rumsfeld has plenty of experience cutting deals with Saddam. Should have sent him back over there again before our soldiers and the Iraqis had taken thousands of casualties and Chimpy blew 200 Billion dollars of our tax dollars. But no...

Don

but a far more reliable stooge than any of these new fellows
is likely to be. Some of them even seem uninterested in money.