Secret Squirrel
05-31-2004, 10:12 PM
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- An American adviser said the U.S. Army "dropped the ball" by providing inadequate accommodations for Iraqi police officers who were to begin joint patrols with coalition troops in Najaf on Sunday.
About 100 police officers arrived in Najaf on Saturday to help calm the Shiite Muslim holy city, which has been besieged by fighting between U.S. forces and a militia loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
But when coalition troops arrived the next day to begin the joint patrols, the Iraqis were gone.
The Iraqis left their posts because they felt they received second-class treatment when they arrived from Baghdad, the American adviser said Monday.
The U.S. adviser said no sleeping arrangements had been made for the Iraqis, they had no personal gear for their duties or changes of clothes, and they were given military rations for meals that included pork. Muslims are forbidden to eat pork.
"They were not even given a mattress to sleep on," the adviser said. "The U.S. Army really dropped the ball here."
U.S. military spokesman Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt acknowledged what he called "logistics problems," saying those would be straightened out quickly.
"We expect that over the next day or two after those arrangements are made they'll be down there," he said. "To suggest that they deserted is just not consistent with the facts."
Coalition officials said they eventually hope to turn over security in Najaf to Iraqi police, a measure called for by an agreement reached between al-Sadr and other Shiite leaders.
That agreement called for U.S. forces and al-Sadr's Mehdi Army to withdraw from the area -- a provision the coalition military rejected because they said it would create a "security vacuum."
Instead, they halted offensive operations in the region and made plans to bring in the Iraqi police, training with them extensively last week.
Despite the declared truce in the Najaf area, a firefight erupted over the weekend in nearby Kufa when U.S. troops clashed with insurgents loyal to al-Sadr, the U.S. forces' commanding officer said.
Two U.S. soldiers and about 45 insurgents were killed in the fighting Sunday evening, according to the U.S. military.
South of Baghdad, a U.S. soldier was killed and two others wounded Sunday when a makeshift bomb struck a vehicle, the coalition said.
http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/05/31/iraq.main/index.html
About 100 police officers arrived in Najaf on Saturday to help calm the Shiite Muslim holy city, which has been besieged by fighting between U.S. forces and a militia loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
But when coalition troops arrived the next day to begin the joint patrols, the Iraqis were gone.
The Iraqis left their posts because they felt they received second-class treatment when they arrived from Baghdad, the American adviser said Monday.
The U.S. adviser said no sleeping arrangements had been made for the Iraqis, they had no personal gear for their duties or changes of clothes, and they were given military rations for meals that included pork. Muslims are forbidden to eat pork.
"They were not even given a mattress to sleep on," the adviser said. "The U.S. Army really dropped the ball here."
U.S. military spokesman Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt acknowledged what he called "logistics problems," saying those would be straightened out quickly.
"We expect that over the next day or two after those arrangements are made they'll be down there," he said. "To suggest that they deserted is just not consistent with the facts."
Coalition officials said they eventually hope to turn over security in Najaf to Iraqi police, a measure called for by an agreement reached between al-Sadr and other Shiite leaders.
That agreement called for U.S. forces and al-Sadr's Mehdi Army to withdraw from the area -- a provision the coalition military rejected because they said it would create a "security vacuum."
Instead, they halted offensive operations in the region and made plans to bring in the Iraqi police, training with them extensively last week.
Despite the declared truce in the Najaf area, a firefight erupted over the weekend in nearby Kufa when U.S. troops clashed with insurgents loyal to al-Sadr, the U.S. forces' commanding officer said.
Two U.S. soldiers and about 45 insurgents were killed in the fighting Sunday evening, according to the U.S. military.
South of Baghdad, a U.S. soldier was killed and two others wounded Sunday when a makeshift bomb struck a vehicle, the coalition said.
http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/05/31/iraq.main/index.html