The Pentagon on Thursday adopted a wait-and-see approach to the news that radical Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr is freezing the activities of his militia, including attacks on U.S.-led forces.Sadr on Wednesday announced a six-month halt to all activities of his 60,000-strong militia, known as the Mahdi Army or Jaish Al Mahdi (JAM). The suspension came after JAM was blamed for incidents of violence in the Shi'ite shrine city of Karbala that left 52 people dead.“We have to wait and see. We need to see actions that correspond to that as opposed to just calls for calm,” said Brigadier General Richard Sherlock, deputy director for operational planning at the Department of Defense.But Sherlock added: “If JAM forces cease their operations and start to participate with the government of Iraq to improve security, then we would certainly welcome that.”Several other Shi'ite groups have also appealed for calm following the bloodshed in Karbala, but Sherlock said they too would be judged by their actions.He added that he had no information that the U.S. military had taken part in any negotiations to bring about the freeze on militia activities.
