Mahdi Army to disarm if US sets withdrawal timetable
Published: Friday, August 08, 2008
11:58GMT—7:58AM/EST
SADR – DISARM – IRAQ – US – WITHDRAWAL
Washington, 8 August (IranVNC)—Influential Iraqi Shiite cleric, Moqtada al-Sadr, will disarm his Mahdi Army militia if the United States begins withdrawing troops from Iraq based on a mutually agreed upon timetable, which, reports say, is nearly set.
A spokesperson for al-Sadr announced that if the talks between the US and Iraqi officials result in a set timetable for a US withdrawal, the militia would transform itself into a social services organization, Reuters reports. These talks are currently aimed at working out a security pact to provide US troops a legal basis to remain in Iraq when a UN mandate expires at the end of this year.
“It should not be considered an end to the Mahdi Army, but it’s a halfway step to dissolving the Mahdi Army. If the U.S. began to implement a withdrawal timetable we shall complete the path to dissolution,” said al-Sadr’s spokesperson Salah al-Ubaidi.
Iraqi officials told AP today that Iraq and the U.S. are near an agreement, according to which, all US combat troops would withdraw from Iraq by October 2010, but US officials have said no date has been agreed upon yet.
“We feel there’s a serious intention by the American forces for a withdrawal timetable at the very least,” said al-Ubaidi ahead of the Friday sermons.
The proposed agreement would require the U.S. to return parts of the Green Zones in Baghdad, which is where the US embassy is located, by the end of 2008, and remove troops from Iraqi streets by June 30, 2009, said the Iraqi officials, according to AP.
President George W. Bush has consistently refused to set a firm timetable for a pullout of the 144,000 American troops in Iraq, but last month he discussed a “time horizon” for a withdrawal, reports Reuters.
White House spokesperson, Dana Perino, told reporters it was too early to announce any kind of agreement on a timetable.
“It’s premature to say what the aspirational goals and time horizons are going to be. But we are continuing to work with them on our negotiations, on those issues,” said Perino, while in Beijing with the President.
Al-Sadr imposed a ceasefire on his militia last year, which helped the level of violence in Iraq drop to its lowest in four years.
The Wall Street Journal has reported al-Sadr spends a significant amount of time in Iran. The U.S. has accused Iran of interfering and inciting violence in Iraq.
Sources: Reuters, Associated Press, White House website, The Wall Street Journal
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