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For U.S. and Sadr, Wary Cooperation
Soldiers from the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division in Baghdad's Shiite enclave of Sadr City, where militiamen have followed a radical cleric's order to stand down.
(By Adil Al-khazali -- Associated Press)
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U.S. intelligence officials say he is competing for authority with extremist figures inside the Mahdi Army who oppose his decision to join mainstream politics. By allowing U.S. forces to enter his stronghold and arrest his militiamen, Sadr appears to be ridding his army of rogue fighters. In the past six months, nearly 700 of the "real extremist elements" of the Mahdi Army have been taken into custody and detained, including those who have committed death squad killings, Caldwell said.
Petraeus offered another reason for why the Mahdi Army has stood down so far. Many of Sadr's advisers and Mahdi Army leaders have fled Sadr City to evade arrest, leaving rank-and-file fighters rudderless.
Despite the positive signs, U.S. generals remain skeptical.
"We have to be very cautious and expect there may be some setbacks," Fil said, acknowledging that the Mahdi Army may be waiting for an opportunity to attack.
U.S. military officials are keeping a close eye on Sadr's whereabouts. They say he is in neighboring Iran, but his followers insist he is in Iraq.
Any success in Sadr City, and other parts of Baghdad, hinges on not provoking Sadr and his loyalists. That is why, Petraeus said, it was important for Iraqi soldiers and police the other day to stop a suicide bomber from entering Sadr City.
Sunni insurgents, he said, "will continue to try to create sensational attacks that could cause people to say, 'See, we need to have the Sadr militia to protect us again.' "
But the collaboration remains controversial. The U.S. military is building a garrison inside a police station to house U.S. and Iraqi troops on the fringes of Sadr City. It will become part of a constellation of neighborhood security outposts -- the linchpin of the new plan to regain control of the streets.
"It's a wrong idea. Sadr City has faced a lot of violations by the American forces," said Falah Shanshal, a member of parliament in Sadr's bloc. "There is no reason for the existence of such a base or the existence of Americans in the city."
Haider, the Mahdi Army commander, said: "We always keep our eyes on the occupiers. We are never away from our duty."
