[link|http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/06/international/middleeast/06IRAQ.html?ex=1401854400&en=64702f8e45b39da7&ei=5007&partner=USERLAND|Fifteen minutes of `Nam are just about up in Najaf]

Excerpt:

Fighters loyal to Moktada al-Sadr, the Shiite radical who fashioned an army from the discontented of Iraq's slums, began to withdraw Saturday from the centers of Najaf and Kufa, where they have been battling American forces since April.

At the same time, Mr. Sadr met with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq's most revered Shiite cleric, according to widespread reports. The meeting suggested that Mr. Sadr was being given a face-saving gesture by appearing with Ayatollah Sistani, whose prestige across Iraq far exceeds that of Mr. Sadr.

Shiite leaders and American officials said the armed followers of Mr. Sadr, known as the Mahdi Army, had cleared out of many parts of Najaf, and seemed to be getting ready to leave altogether. The Shiite leaders said American forces, who encircled the city in recent weeks, had also cleared out of the city center and areas near the Imam Ali Shrine, one of the holiest sites in Shiite Islam.

The withdrawal, coupled with the reported meeting of the rival clerics, gave rise to hopes that Mr. Sadr's two-month-long rebellion may be ending. At one point in early April, Mr. Sadr's forces controlled government buildings in at least six cities in southern Iraq. His fighters in Najaf and Kufa, cities where the young cleric often gives his fiery sermons, held out the longest. Hundreds of Iraqis, including scores of civilians, have been killed since the rebellion began, and shrines in Najaf and Karbala sustained damage.

"The people of Najaf are walking the streets, the cars are moving on every avenue and the Iraqi police have moved back in," said Adnan Ali, a senior official with the Dawa Party, whose leaders took part in the negotiations. "This is a good step forward."

Iraq's new prime minister, Iyad Allawi, declared in an interview that the fighting was over. "The armed presence in Najaf and Kufa has ended," he told Associated Press Television News.

I say:

That's one big one down.


There's still Sadr City, but probably not for long. More importantly, there are still insurgents under seige in Fallujah. I hear we're [link|http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,9766186%255E1702,00.html|finally cutting off aid to them]. Should've been done long ago. The noncombatants are long gone; there's only enemy in that quarter. Starve the bastards out at our leisure.

They regime didn't have their act together in time to make their [link|http://z.iwethey.org/forums/render/content/show?contentid=73369|last stand at Baghdad]. So they're doing it in Fallujah, with insurgent's help. As soon as we get serious, it's over for them. Only a matter of time. But first we have to get serious and do a proper siege.

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