Siege of Fallujah polarizing Iraqis

"Over the last several decades, we've seen that any concession or retreat on our part will only embolden this enemy and invite more bloodshed," President Bush said.

"No one can predict all the hazards that lie ahead or the cost that they will bring. Yet, in this conflict, there is no safe alternative to resolute action."

To be sure, there are behind the scenes negotiations. Preachers like Awadi have been working every backchannel they know to insurgents and US administrators.

Members of the Governing Council have traveled to Fallujah to mediate, and the shaky cease-fire there was extended for another 24 hours by the US Wednesday.

The US has been hoping that Grand Ayatollah Ali Al Sistani, probably the country's most respected cleric, will serve as a mediator to the Sadr standoff and convince his men to stand down.

Aids to Sadr said Wednesday that they've made proposals to the US to solve the crisis, but the content of those proposals are not yet clear.

A Sadr aide said at a press conference in Najaf Wednesday that Sadr is willing to drop conditions he had set for meeting with mediators - most importantly a demand that US troops immediately move away from Iraq - and that he will accept what top Shiite leaders led by Sistani recommend.

While that looks like a key concession, it's not clear if Sistani will deliver what the US wants. Imam Jawad al-Khalasi, a Shiite cleric close to Sistani, says the cleric has told him that he's opposed to the arrest of Sadr, but that he's also opposed to more violence by Sadr's men.

"The only options are to lift the encirclement of Fallujah, to pull troops out from around Najaf, and to cancel the arrest warrant for Sadr,'' says Mr. Khalasi. "Otherwise the occupation will continue down this road."

Khalasi spoke after a meeting between Sunni and Shiite clerics at Baghdad's Abu Hanifa mosque in the Sunni Adhamiya district, the main collection point for emergency medical and food aid being sent to Fallujah.

A year ago the mosque was a symbol of the split between Iraq's majority Shiites and minority Sunnis, who for over 100 years have held domestic political power. Hussein made his last public appearance outside the mosque, and when the US moved into the area, it was the sight of ferocious gun battles between Iraqis and US forces, with a tank taking out the mosque's main minaret.

At the same time, just across the river in the Shiite Khadimiya district, residents danced in the streets and scrawled graffiti denouncing Hussein. Today, it's a symbol of an unexpected alliance being forged between the two groups by their shared enmity for the US. "What happened in Fallujah made every Iraqi think that the same could happen to their town, and it united us," says Khalasi.

The Marines and coalition officials say they doubt many civilians have been killed in Fallujah and promise that their rules of engagement limit civilian casualties. "My solution is change the channel," Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt said earlier this week, after being asked about TV images of dead Iraqi civilians.

"The stations that are showing Americans intentionally killing women and children are not legitimate news sources, that is propaganda, and that is lies."

While the fog of battle makes it difficult to get to the bottom of their differing accounts, the political impact of the television images and of what most Iraqis deeply believe can't be denied.

"You can't remove the picture of graves from the soccer field in Fallujah,'' says the CPA adviser. "But we can trying to start shifting the environment in a positive direction by focusing on economic improvements that might win people over."

Awadi says he's not entirely without hope. He acknowledges the uncompromising rhetoric from both sides, but says he has faith that big compromises will be made, particularly by the US, in the interest of peace.

"Don't believe what they say," he says. "Inside of me, I feel they'll make compromises, and my insides never lie to me."

Page: 1 | 2