In contrast, Mahdi Army and other Shi'ite militias, trained and equipped
by Iran, mobilized up to 15,000 fighters. They said this was about the same
number as that of government troops.
Officials said Iraqi forces in Basra would have been defeated without
the significant help provided by the U.S. and British militaries. Britain
and the United States, who contributed air and intelligence support, did not
deploy ground troops in Basra.
"Gains are fragile," U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, said. "This
episode demonstrates it."
The Baghdad government has agreed to a ceasefire in Basra, ending
fighting
that began on March 25 in an operation supervised personally by Prime
Minister Nouri Al Maliki. Al Maliki has also offered amnesty to the
insurgents.
"To give space and an opportunity for those who are remorseful and are
willing to give up their weapons, all pursuits and raids in all areas will
be stopped," Al Maliki said on April 4. "Those who take up arms will face
the law."
Officials said Al Maliki planned the offensive in Basra without U.S.
military help. But the operation failed to defeat the Iranian-backed
Shi'ites, and Teheran was
summoned to help arrange a ceasefire. More than 600 casualties were reported
in Basra and Baghdad.
"Everyone who was not on the side of the security forces will go into
the military courts," Al Maliki, who acknowledged the defections, said.
"Joining the army or police is not a trip or a picnic. There is something
that they have to pay back to commit to the interests of the state and not
the party or the sect."
The Iraqi government had planned anti-militia operations in Baghdad's
Ameriya, Sadr
City and Shuala. But officials said the failure in Basra would lead to a
reassessment of military and security units.
U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Michael Jones, director-general for interior affairs
in Baghdad, acknowledged setbacks by the Iraqi police force in the Basra
operation. Jones said the National Police fought well while local police
abandoned their stations rather than confront Shi'ite militias.
"They realized they weren't equipped or trained for the operation,"
Jones said. "They moved out of the stations and fought elsewhere."
