Iraq Fighting 'Good Sign' - Pentagon

The Pentagon says the fighting in Basra between government troops and Shiite militiamen is a good sign because it shows the Iraqi government's resolve and its newfound ability to take on its problems. Some analysts have a sharply different view, and others say it's too soon to determine whether the fighting will have a positive or negative impact on the overall security situation in Iraq. The fighting in Basra, and rocket attacks on Baghdad's Green Zone by members of the Mahdi Army militia, have led some analysts to believe the unilateral ceasefire called by the militia's powerful leader Moqtada al-Sadr is falling apart. Among those analysts is Ilan Goldenberg, policy director of the National Security Network, a critic of the Bush Administration's Iraq policy.
"It looks like it's breaking down. If it is in fact breaking down, and not just a temporary blip, then you could have a major increase in violence," he said.
That's not how the Pentagon sees it, according to Press Secretary Geoff Morrell. "I do not think at this stage, at this stage, which is mere days into this operation, anyone is prepared to stand here and tell you that they feel as though the gains we've made over the past several months are in jeopardy,".
In fact, Morrell says the Baghdad government's decision to take on extremist elements of the Mahdi Army militia is a good sign. "It's very noteworthy that the prime minister, that the government for that matter, is ready, willing and now able to take the fight to the extremists and to the criminals down there. They were not of this capacity some months ago. And what's more than that, it's a Shia'-dominated government going after Shia' extremists down there, and that's significant," he said.
Morrell says that is a sign of the success of the U.S. surge of forces last year, which he says gave the Iraqi government and security forces time to develop. He says Mahdi Army violence elsewhere in Iraq, including the deadly rocket attacks on Baghdad's Green Zone, are "sporadic incidents" in reaction to the Iraqi government's 'success'in Basra. Morrell expressed the hope that the government's action will inspire Iraqi Shiites to reject extremists in their ranks, just as many Iraqi Sunnis have done.