From USA Today:
Let's all take a deep breath and let the President and the military work towards victory, shall we? I am sick of people in this country being worthless and weak! We can win this if we keep at it, not give up. People, a fight is not over until it is over. The USA can win any war, if "we the people" let them win it! Just get out of their way people and they will learn from their mistakes and adjust until we are victorious; it is that simple.Coalition forces have detained about 700 members of the Mahdi Army, the largest Shiite militia in Baghdad, the top U.S. commander in Iraq said Monday.
The militia, which is loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and has clashed with U.S. troops in the past, has mostly avoided a direct confrontation with U.S. and Iraqi government forces, Gen. David Petraeus said in an interview with USA TODAY.
Some of the militia's top leaders have left the capital, and Iraqi government officials are negotiating with al-Sadr's political organization in an effort to disband the militia, Petraeus said.
"I think, in part, one reason that al-Sadr's militia has been lying low … is due to some of the discussions being held," Petraeus said in a telephone interview from Iraq. "It's also in part due to some of the leaders leaving Baghdad" and others being arrested, he said.
U.S. and allied troops have arrested top-ranking and rank-and-file militia members during operations over the past several months, Petraeus said. Coalition forces are engaged in a major plan, devised in part by Petraeus, to limit sectarian and insurgent violence in Baghdad.
