J-10
06-04-2004, 11:05 AM
June 4, 2004 — NAJAF, Iraq (*******) - U.S. forces said they would pull back from positions nearest to holy shrines in the Iraqi city of Najaf on Friday to help shore up a shaky truce with fighters loyal to a radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.
Colonel Brad May told a CNN correspondent U.S. troops would be on hand to support Iraqi police forces taking control of key sites as part of the truce deal, but said there had been a "breakthrough" toward ending weeks of fighting.
"In the meantime the U.S. forces will pull back from the sensitive areas themselves, but we will still be in a position where we can provide the necessary response force in the event that the police should need it."
Shi'ite politicians said earlier on Friday that Sadr had agreed to withdraw his fighters from the city of Najaf within two days, as long as U.S. forces also withdrew.
Sadr also proposed that neutral observers monitor the truce, the Shi'ite politicians said after hours of talks with the firebrand preacher in Najaf, 160 km (100 miles) south of Baghdad.
A truce attempt last week failed to take hold and there have been frequent skirmishes around Najaf.
From (http://abcnews.go.com/wire/US/*******20040604_197.html)
Let Iraqi police forces try to control Najaf city, the U.S. forces pull back and still support the Iraqi police, I think it's a good idea.
Colonel Brad May told a CNN correspondent U.S. troops would be on hand to support Iraqi police forces taking control of key sites as part of the truce deal, but said there had been a "breakthrough" toward ending weeks of fighting.
"In the meantime the U.S. forces will pull back from the sensitive areas themselves, but we will still be in a position where we can provide the necessary response force in the event that the police should need it."
Shi'ite politicians said earlier on Friday that Sadr had agreed to withdraw his fighters from the city of Najaf within two days, as long as U.S. forces also withdrew.
Sadr also proposed that neutral observers monitor the truce, the Shi'ite politicians said after hours of talks with the firebrand preacher in Najaf, 160 km (100 miles) south of Baghdad.
A truce attempt last week failed to take hold and there have been frequent skirmishes around Najaf.
From (http://abcnews.go.com/wire/US/*******20040604_197.html)
Let Iraqi police forces try to control Najaf city, the U.S. forces pull back and still support the Iraqi police, I think it's a good idea.