Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, left, steps from an office building in Najaf, Iraq Saturday June 5, 2004. Iraq's most powerful Shiite militia leader is turning to his commanders who distinguished themselves fighting U.S. troops in 2004 to screen fighters, weed out criminals and assume key positions in an effort to build a more disciplined force, two of his key lieutenants say. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed, File)
A handout photograph from the Ministry of Defence, shows a convoy of British armoured vehicles pulling out from Basra Palace, 3 September 2007. Britain's military commander in Iraq said that British soldiers were prepared to withdraw its forces from the southern Iraqi city of Basra in April, but held off for five months after the United States asked it to stay.(AFP/MoD/File)