<<<<A curfew remained in effect in the Baghdad Mahdi Army strongholds of Sadr City, Kadhemiya and Shoala. U.S. and Iraqi troops continued to surround Sadr City.
Few people saw the end of the fighting as a victory for Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who had said repeatedly he would not negotiate with militants. Many saw the role of an Iranian general in brokering the cease-fire that Muqtada alSadr declared on Sunday as a clear sign that al-Maliki had badly miscalculated.
The Iraqi government looks silly in the face of their ardent statements,” said Joost Hiltermann, the deputy program director for the Middle East and North Africa at the International Crisis Group, a private group that studies international conflicts. He said the outcome shows “the Iraqi military doesn’t have the ability to do much of anything.”
Many said the militia had bested the Iraqi forces at nearly every confrontation.
“The national army did not win the battle,” said Hussein Mohammed, who lives in the Mahdi stronghold of al-Hayaniyah, which government forces failed to penetrate.>>>>>>
Relative calm returns to Iraq after cease-fire begins
By LEILA FADEL
McClatchy Newspapers
Monsoor
BAGHDAD | Relative calm settled over Basra, neighboring provinces and Baghdad on Monday as a cease-fire took hold after nearly a week of pitched fighting between militias and government forces.
In Basra, people began to venture out of their homes again as Iraqi soldiers and police resumed street patrols and Mahdi Army militants hid their weapons and went home. Tankers of water and trucks of food were allowed into the city as people slowly ventured to the market to restock their cupboards.
In Baghdad, the government lifted a curfew that had been imposed in much of the city, traffic returned to the city’s streets, and there were few reports of actual fighting.
But the situation appeared unsettled. Mortar and rocket fire continued to rain down on the heavily fortified Green Zone, where American officials remained under orders not to travel except in armored vehicles or sleep anywhere but hardened buildings.
A curfew remained in effect in the Baghdad Mahdi Army strongholds of Sadr City, Kadhemiya and Shoala. U.S. and Iraqi troops continued to surround Sadr City.
Few people saw the end of the fighting as a victory for Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who had said repeatedly he would not negotiate with militants. Many saw the role of an Iranian general in brokering the cease-fire that Muqtada alSadr declared on Sunday as a clear sign that al-Maliki had badly miscalculated.
“The Iraqi government looks silly in the face of their ardent statements,” said Joost Hiltermann, the deputy program director for the Middle East and North Africa at the International Crisis Group, a private group that studies international conflicts. He said the outcome shows “the Iraqi military doesn’t have the ability to do much of anything.”
Many said the militia had bested the Iraqi forces at nearly every confrontation.
“The national army did not win the battle,” said Hussein Mohammed, who lives in the Mahdi stronghold of al-Hayaniyah, which government forces failed to penetrate.
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Developments
•President Bush will posthumously award the Medal of Honor to Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael A. Monsoor, who threw himself on a grenade to save his comrades.
The Navy Seal’s family will receive the medal at a White House ceremony on April 8.
•Defense Secretary Robert Gates offered a mildly upbeat assessment of the Iraqi government’s military intervention in Basra.Gates said the violence had yet to alter U.S. plans to withdraw more combat forces this spring.
Of the five extra brigades that Bush ordered to Iraq last year, two have departed and the other three are scheduled to go home between April and the end of July. There are 158,000 U.S. troops in Iraq. By the end of July that number would fall to 140,000.
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