- America's top commander in Iraq called yesterday for
10,000 more troops to put down the uprising there, describing the new Iraqi
army's performance as "a great disappointment".
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- As the hostage crisis deepened with reports of the capture
of 14 more foreigners and the disappearance of nine others, Gen John Abizaid
said he had asked for the equivalent of two more mobile combat brigades.
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- Raising American troop numbers from the present level
of 132,000 is an extremely sensitive issue in the countdown to November's
presidential election.
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- Lt Gen Ricardo Sanchez, the commander of US ground forces,
raised the stakes by saying that they intended to "kill or capture"
Moqtada al-Sadr, the radical cleric leading the Shi'ite rebellion.
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- Last night militiamen were pulled out of police stations
and government facilities in Najaf, Kufa and Karbala, centres of the Sadr
rebellion, partially meeting US demands.
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- Police were back on the streets and in their stations
for the first time in days and few gunmen were seen.
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- The apparent success for the Americans followed the bloodiest
10 days in Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein last April as they tried
to negotiate an end to the Sadr revolt and the Sunni insurgency in the
city of Fallujah.
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- The Americans have issued a warning that, if the talks
fail, they are concentrating forces to renew operations at Fallujah, Najaf
and Karbala.
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- At least 700 Iraqis and more than 70 coalition soldiers
have been killed in the 10 days, representing a serious political reverse
for President George W Bush.
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- In an attempt to regain the initiative, he is to hold
a press conference to be broadcast live tonight.
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- Mr Bush has shied away from lengthy encounters with the
media and is facing growing criticism from the Democrats over his low profile
during the troubles in Iraq.
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- In a sombre reflection of the scale of the challenge,
Gen Abizaid gave a damning assessment of the Iraqi security forces, conceding
that many had failed to fight and some had helped the rebels.
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- "Some did very well and some did not," he said.
"In the south, a number of units in the police force and the ICDC
[Iraqi army] did not stand up to Sadr's militia and that was a great disappointment."
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- Gen Abizaid, the head of central command, said that around
Fallujah the new Iraqi forces had shown "good strong performances
by several units and we are satisfied with that". But he said that
much needed to be done.
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- "The truth of the matter is that until we have well-formed
Iraqi chains of command, all the way in the police service, from the minister
of interior to the lowest patrolman on the beat in whatever city it may
be, and the same for the army, from private to minister of defence, that
it is going to be tough to get them to perform at the level we want."
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- He also said that Syria and Iran had both been involved
in "unhelpful actions".
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- His remarks effectively conceded that the Pentagon's
hopes of a steady withdrawal and handover to the Iraqis were in deep trouble.
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- Gen Abizaid would not be drawn on where the new troops
would come from but he suggested that in the short term troop rotations
would have to be delayed. New units arriving as replacements would become
reinforcements.
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- Until last week the Pentagon had insisted that it had
enough forces in Iraq.
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- Yesterday's talks, mediated by Iraqi politicians, took
place as more foreigners were kidnapped. At least 40 foreigners are thought
to be held captive or missing.
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- Seven Chinese men, aged between 18 and 49, were abducted
as they travelled along the main highway linking Baghdad with Amman in
Jordan, although they were later reported to have been freed.
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- Three Czech journalists disappeared on the same road
after being held up at a roadblock in the town of al-Taji, six miles outside
Baghdad. There were also reports of 11 Russians being kidnapped in the
capital.
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- Seven contractors working for the American construction
firm Kellogg, Brown and Root were also unaccounted for after their convoy
was attacked at the weekend. Two American soldiers with them were also
missing.
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- There was no word on the fate of three Japanese hostages,
although an Iraqi mediator said that their captors had agreed not to murder
them. Nor was there news of Thomas Hamill, an American hostage kidnapped
on Friday.
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- Iraq's Association of Muslim Clerics has issued a fatwa
banning hostage taking.
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