Posted on 03/04/2007 12:29:02 AM PST by jmc1969
The U.S. military has reached an agreement with representatives of the Shiite community in Baghdad's Sadr City enclave that will allow American forces to maintain a permanent presence in the militia stronghold for the first time since 2004, U.S. and Iraqi officials said Saturday.
Under the agreement, the U.S. will open one of the joint security stations that are a prominent feature of the new Baghdad security plan, living alongside Iraqi forces in a police station just inside the impoverished neighborhood, said Rahim al-Daraji, one of Sadr City's two mayors.
But there is still some uncertainty about the degree to which U.S. forces at the combat outpost will be welcome to move freely around the neighborhood, the scene of two fierce battles in 2004 between the U.S. and the Mahdi Army militia headed by anti-American cleric al-Sadr.
Al-Daraji said the deal means U.S. forces will man checkpoints, conduct raids and mount patrols in conjunction with Iraqi forces throughout Sadr City, just as they are doing elsewhere in Baghdad. It is expected they will move into the station by mid-March, said al-Daraji, an independent politician who has been negotiating with U.S. officials on ways to secure the entry of American forces into the neighborhood since late January.
Maj. Steven Lamb, a military spokesman in Baghdad, declined to discuss details of the upcoming deployment and said there are still some specifics to be worked out.
"Things are looking very favorable," he said. "I can say that the Sadr City people are very welcoming to us at this time."
He wouldn't say how many soldiers will eventually move into Sadr City, but according to a U.S. military statement, troops are preparing for a "significantly increased presence" in the 6-square-mile district of 2 million people.
(Excerpt) Read more at kansascity.com ...
Mighty white of 'em.
Regards.
They are going to try to do what they did to us in 2004. Wait until we draw down below a certain point and then attack. That is why we should move Kurdish and Sunni troops in large numbers into the city by the Summer.
Perhaps the agreement was "You let us in and we won't have to blast our way in."
While I agree with your post, I still believe the surge is working.
Which is why the media isn't covering it.
And why Murtha is incessantly attacking it.
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