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Two Commanders in Basra Are Sent Back to Baghdad
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| Contributor | ArmyDem |
| Last Edited | ArmyDem Apr 17, 2008 08:44am |
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| Category | News |
| Media | Newspaper - New York Times |
| News Date | Thursday, April 17, 2008 02:00:00 PM UTC0:0 |
| Description | By ALISSA J. RUBIN
Published: April 17, 2008
BAGHDAD — The Iraqi government recalled to Baghdad on Wednesday the two security commanders who led the recent troubled operation in the southern city of Basra that set off fighting across the south and in Baghdad’s Shiite neighborhoods.
The commanders, Lt. Gen. Mohan al-Fraiji, who led the Iraqi Army’s operations against Shiite militiamen, and Gen. Jaleel Khalaf, who led the police, were asked to return to high-level positions they had held previously at the Ministry of Defense.
Although some people close to the generals saw the government move as a rebuff, officials took pains to paint their action as part of the normal sequence of events.
“Both these commanders were in Basra for temporary missions,” said Gen. Mohammed al-Askeri, the spokesman for the Iraqi Defense Ministry.
Ali Adeeb, a member of Parliament from Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki’s Dawa Party, said the government was not unhappy with the outcome in Basra.
“There are still assassinations and clashes and confrontation in Basra with some of the fighters in central Basra and some in the outskirts,” Mr. Adeeb said. “But the government succeeded in controlling the city and stopped the activity of the militias.”
But American military commanders, including Gen. David H. Petraeus, have described the operation, which Mr. Maliki oversaw, as poorly planned. The Americans were not informed until shortly before the assault began. |
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