Iraq's prime minister has told Shiite militiamen to surrender their weapons or face an all-out assault, part of a commitment U.S. President George W. Bush outlined to bring violence under control with a more aggressive Iraqi Army and 21,500 additional US soldiers.
Senior Iraqi officials have said that Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, under pressure from the U.S., had agreed to crack down on the fighters even though they are loyal to his most powerful political ally, Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Previously, al-Maliki had resisted the move.
The Iraqi government welcomed Bush's new strategy and promised it was committed to succeeding in quelling the violence. "The failure in Iraq will not only affect this country only, but the rest of the region and the world, including the United States," said Sadiq al-Rikabi, an adviser to al-Maliki.
"The current situation is not acceptable — not only for the American people but also for the Iraqis and their government. As Iraqis and as an elected government we welcome the American commitment for success," he added, according to the AP. "The Iraqi government also is committed to succeed."
Sunni lawmaker Hussein al-Falluji rejected the US plan to increase the number of American troops and warned that it would only increase the violence. "Bush's plan could be the last attempt to fix the chaos created after the invasion of Iraq. Yet, sending more troops will not end the problem, on the contrary, there will be more bloodshed," he said. "I think that the solution would be to set an objective timetable for the withdrawal of the American forces and start direct negotiations with the Iraqi resistance."
Meanwhile, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini on Thursday said US President George W Bush's new strategy for Iraq declared Wednesday was intended to continue the US occupation of that country.
Condemning the new strategy, he said Bush's decision to increase the number of its troops in Iraq comes as "an unpleasant present to the American people for the new Christian year."
Bush's decision to raise the number of US soldiers in Iraq will only result in further insecurity and tension in that occupied country, he said, according to IRNA.
He said an immediate withdrawal of US troops from Iraq would be the only way of solving the US' numerous problems in that country. He said Washington's decision to deploy Patriot missiles over Iraq is intended to bolster its support for Israel purportedly to protect the Islamic state. "We and all world Muslims condemn such a move," Hosseini added.
