Sadr will dissolve Mehdi Army militia if U.S. troops withdraw to a set timetable

Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr’s spokesman said they will dissolve the Mehdi Army militia when the U.S. withdraws troops according to a planned timetable.

The United Nations mandate that provides a legal basis for U.S. troops to be in Iraq expires at the end of the year. The U.S. needs agreement with the Iraqi government if the troops plan to stay longer. Even though they are a minority, Sadr’s group holds 10 per cent of the total seats in the government and so their approval is necessary for the U.S. government. Sadr’s Mehdi Army agreed to disarm if the United States agrees to withdraw in a set timetable. U.S. President George W. Bush, however, has refused to set a firm timetable to withdraw nearly 144,000 troops from Iraq. Recently, however, he talked about a general “time horizon” without giving specific dates. The Iraqi government wants U.S. troops to leave the country by Oct. 2010, but the U.S. Government has not agreed to that proposal. If a timetable is agreed upon by both sides then it would mean the Bush administration is effectively adopting a schedule very close to that proposed by Barack Obama. His opponent John McCain, however, doesn’t agree with this date. McCain wants to keep it open as long as possible. Previously, in a TV conversation he said he would like to stay in Iraq for another 100 years. Sadr and his militia agreed to a ceasefire a year ago and this has been a major factor in the drop of violence in Iraq. Sadr’s spokesman Salah al-Ubaidi said in a press conference:

"We feel there's a serious intention by the American forces for a withdrawal timetable at the very least…It should not be considered an end to the Mehdi army, but it's a halfway step to dissolving the Mehdi Army. If the U.S. began to implement a withdrawal timetable we shall complete the path to dissolution."

Mehdi Army members welcome this new development. Mehdi Army Commander Abu Sadeq told Reuters:

"It is a good step to repair our mistakes, especially sectarianism and sectarian killings. We are very sorry about these sectarian killings, because some parties supported this violence for their own advantage."

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino, who is in Beijing accompanying Bush, said no agreement is imminent about pullout dates. She insisted Bush always wanted a pullout that is "conditions-based" in Iraq. If the U.S. doesn’t pullout, the Mehdi Army will take up arms again and will lead to further violence. Sadr's spokesman added that if the U.S. troops don’t pull out:

If we find (this does not happen) and the U.S. forces change their stance over the timetable, we can change direction also…This will not mean ending the ceasefire, it will depend on what's going on the ground."

The next presidential elections will decide whether problems will linger in Iraq or whether they will be solved. Here are some videos posted by an Iraqi journalist about the actual conditions in Iraq after 5 years of Saddam’s removal from power.