Planned US operations abortednote

An Iraqi Defence Ministry source says the US military command in Iraq is now seeking to abort its planned large-scale operations in Sunni-populated cities that should have followed that of Tal Afar. According to this source, this may have to do with efforts to expand dialogue with moderate Sunni factions and tribal leaders in these cities. In this respect, the source alleges that US Army officers and CIA officials recently held several meetings in Samarra’, Ba’quba, Takrit and Hit with leading members of the Baath Party.