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| Iraq |
| Will the Shi'a Militia Truce Last? |
| 2007-12-01 |
| When Capt. Ron Sprang assumed command of a company of U.S. soldiers operating on the outskirts of the Shi'ite militia stronghold Sadr City, he was walking into a street fight. This spring and summer the area was a battleground for the American Army and Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia. Sprang's men deployed by the dozens to conduct raids; in retaliation, local militiamen salted the roads with powerful bombs that crippled the heavily armored Bradley Fighting Vehicles used by the Americans. The result was the opposite of what the American troop surge was supposed to accomplish: instead of reassuring residents and improving their security, the neighborhood turned into a battlefield. But late in the summer, the relationship between the U.S. and the militia changed. Members of the militia had grown weary of the destruction; and the Americans began reaching out to them. Bolstered by a national militia cease-fire declared by Sadr, the resulting cooperation has seen violence decline and a sense of normalcy return to the area. The question now is whether the militia's more conciliatory approach will last, especially when American troop levels begin to drop next year. For now, at least, war weariness seems to be working in the Americans' favor. "The violence between us and the militia was hurting the residents around us," Sprang said. The last straw, he believes, came in August, when the militia blew up a police station just before it was scheduled to open. The blast killed a little boy and injured his mother. The incident, Sprang said, made residents even more eager for an end to the fighting. |
| Posted by:GolfBravoUSMC |
| #2 I think the peace will hold as long as oil stays above eighty bucks a barrel. These guys must see what the Gulf Arabs are raking in each week. Besides, they need to remember that the next time it won't be a six way free for all. The sides are more well defined, and we will have another year of technology improvements. |
| Posted by: Penguin 2007-12-01 09:42 |
| #1 twas a dark and stormy night underneath the bright and happy surface lurked a vast darkness I'll get fired if I don't keep to the narrative my edioters gave me. These pieces are as funny as the economic news blurbs that they run on the radio on the half-hour. They are so over-eager to promote bad news that they just make people laugh out when they put their obligatory doom and gloom statements in. |
| Posted by: Whomong Guelph4611 2007-12-01 09:41 |