Spokesman says al-Sadr must still meet imposed conditions

By Jacquelyn S. Porth
Washington File Security Affairs Writer

Washington -- A U.S. military spokesman based in Baghdad says the coalition would like to see the heavy weapons taken out of commission in Iraq.

Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt, deputy director of operations for the Multinational Force in Iraq, told reporters May 28 that some 50,000 leaflets were dropped over Karbala spreading the news about the weapons buy-back program that has worked well in parts of Baghdad.

Now that Muqtada al-Sadr's forces have relinquished control of Karbala, Kimmitt said, it is important to implement follow-up actions such as reducing the number of weapons in circulation. The point, he said, is to get the weapons "off the streets to reduce the amount of violence," thereby, reducing instability there.

When the program was implemented recently in the Sadr City neighborhood of Baghdad recently, Kimmitt said, weapons were being bought back at higher price than on the black market. There, he said, the coalition paid out more than $2 million and took in some 4,000 AK-47 rifles.

Coalition Provisional Administration (CPA) spokesman Dan Senor answered questions about al-Sadr's plans to adhere to a letter he signed May 27. The spokesman voiced continued cautious optimism, while saying it may take "some time" for the Muslim cleric's commitments to be fulfilled.

The coalition has not changed its position that al-Sadr must disarm and disband his illegal Mahdi militia and meet the conditions of the arrest warrant issued against him by an Iraqi investigative judge, Senor said.

Asked about the May 27 attack on Iraqi Governing Council member Salama Khufaji, Kimmitt said he didn't have much solid information to share. She was returning from Najaf when her car was attacked in Yusifya, he said, and it is not clear whether it was an assassination attempt or highway robbery. Khufaji was unhurt, but two unidentified bodies have been recovered, the officer said, and the status of Khufaji's son -- who was traveling with his mother -- is unknown.

Kimmitt also reported that another 600 Iraqis have been released from the Abu Gharib prison. Asked about the status of various U.S. investigations into Iraqi prisoner abuse, he said the criminal investigation has already resulted in the special court-martial of one soldier. General court-martial proceedings for another six soldiers will begin in June, he said.

In addition, Kimmitt said an administrative investigation has resulted in actions being taken against some members in the military chain of command.

The investigation into military intelligence practices and procedures is under way, according to Kimmitt, but he could not predict when it might conclude.

The briefers were also asked about a May 28 New York Times report that radioactive metal from Iraq has been found in scrap metal salvage yards in Jordan. The new report said some of the metal bore numbered identification tags affixed by weapons inspectors assigned to the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission. Senor said whenever the coalition or Iraqi Ministries learn about contaminated sites they move in quickly to try to protect them from looters.

In Washington, meanwhile, a military officer with the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) was asked by reporters at the Pentagon May 28 for details about an artillery shell that was found in Iraq registering traces of sarin nerve gas. Army Major General John Sattler, who is the deputy director of operations at CENTCOM, said that a single, aged round was found. "It was one that was probably buried for some time," he said, "and it was pretty much in disarray."

Sattler -- who was providing a May 28 update on U.S. military activities in Afghanistan, the Horn of Africa and Iraq -- was also questioned about the coalition investigation into an alleged attack earlier in the month on wedding party near Iraq's border with Syria. He identified the site of the coalition ground and air assault as a safe house being used to bring foreign fighters into Iraq. Based on intelligence, he said, "we are very comfortable that what we struck" was a safe house used to harbor individuals seeking to discredit and derail Iraq's sovereignty process.

On the al-Sadr situation, Sattler said coalition forces continue monitoring his militia forces, but "we are ... honoring the request (of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani) to stay clear of the holy ... shrines" in Najaf.

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)