Iraq violence casts pall on key US Congress report
©AFP - Ali Yussef
WASHINGTON - US lawmakers Tuesday grilled the top US general in Iraq amid fierce fighting on the ground as Shiite radical leader Moqtada al-Sadr threatened to end a truce which has helped quell the bloodshed.
Sadr's threat hung over the key hearing in the US Congress, as General David Petraeus urged the troop withdrawals to be frozen for at least 45 days after July to allow military commanders to review security in the ground.
"I recommend to my chain of command that we continue the drawdown of the surge combat forces and that, upon the withdrawal of the last surge brigade combat team in July, we undertake a 45-day period of consolidation and evaluation," Petraeus told Congress.
His concerns came as Sadr threatened to end the truce agreed in August which helped lead to a sharp drop in violence in Iraq in the second half of last year.
©AFP/GETTY IMAGES - Chip Somodevilla
As fighting between Sadr's Mahdi Army militia and US and Iraqi forces raged for a third day, the radical leader also cancelled a massive anti-US demonstration set for Baghdad for Wednesday, the fifth anniversary of the toppling of late dictator Saddam Hussein.
"The Jaish al-Mahdi (Mahdi Army) is hand in hand with the Iraqi people to achieve security, stability and liberation. If it is of interest to lift the ceasefire to achieve the aims and goals, it will be announced in a separate statement," Sadr said in a communique.
Sadr's threat to end the eight-month-old truce came after Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki ordered a major crackdown on militias in southern Basra sparking deadly clashes between the Mahdi Army and government troops.
Iraqi and US forces have clashed with Sadr's militia in Baghdad and Basra since Maliki ordered a crackdown on the Shiite militiamen in the southern city on March 25.
©AFP/File - David Furst
The fighting died down after Sadr called his fighters off the streets on March 30, but continued sporadically in Basra and Baghdad before erupting again in the militia's Baghdad stronghold of Sadr City on Sunday.
Petraeus, who was accompanied by the US Ambassador to Baghdad, Ryan Crocker, told the Senate Armed Services Tuesday that the Iraqi government offensive was "not adequately planned and prepared."
And he accused Iran of meddling in Iraq saying the upsurge in violence "highlighted the destructive role Iran has played in funding, training, arming and directing the so-called special groups."
Tuesday and Wednesday's Congress testimony will shape the coming months of Iraq policy, and US President George W. Bush was to address the nation on Thursday.
White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Bush would make a 15 to 20 minute long speech, but she refused to indicate what he might announce.
The US military is currently withdrawing five combat brigades sent into Iraq early last year -- to be completed by July. That would bring troop levels down from about 158,000 to 140,000.
©AFP/File - Qassem Zein
Republicans have supported a pause in troop withdrawls, but Democrats argue Iraqi politicians have failed to use the improved security conditions to forge political reconciliation and want troops home as soon as possible.
A freeze in bringing US troops home is likely to be unpopular in the US, which has seen more than 4,000 soldiers killed in the conflict, now stretching into its sixth year.
The number of Iraqis killed in March climbed to 1,082, most of them civilians, the highest monthly figure reported by government ministries since August, confirming a resurgence in violence in recent months.
Nine US soldiers have been killed in Iraq in the past three days, eight of them in Baghdad where American and Iraqi forces have been battling heavily armed Shiite militiamen in their Sadr City bastion since Sunday.
More than 30 Iraqis have been killed in the clashes and scores wounded, Iraqi security officials said.
Witnesses said fierce clashes erupted again soon after midnight (2100 GMT Monday) as US tanks attempted to push into Sadr City and were met with rocket, mortar and rocket-propelled grenade fire from militiamen of Sadr's Mahdi Army.
US helicopters could be seen hovering above the vast neighborhood, and loud explosions were heard sporadically during the day. Thick palls of smoke drifted across the skyline.
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