US to axe Fallujah general within days of appointment

The former Republican Guards general appointed to head an Iraqi army inside besieged Fallujah is to be demoted within days of his appointment.

A general once exiled by Saddam Hussein is to replace him.

Major General Jassim Mohammed Saleh, who moved into Fallujah on Friday at the head of the new brigade, will likely take a subordinate position to Major General Mohammed Latif, a US military official said.

The change came amid signs of confusion among US officials over the identities of the generals who are forming the Fallujah Brigade, which already taken control of the cordon on the southern half of the city as Marines pull back from the siege.

US officials have acknowledged that the generals and their soldiers were not vetted to see what their ties were with Saddam’s regime.

Latif participated in meetings with Marines last week on the creation of the Brigade.

The top Marine commander, Lieutenant General James Conway, said he believed that Latif had been exiled by Saddam’s regime for several years.

“He is very well thought of, very well respected by the Iraqi general officers. You can just see the body language between them. And if I had to guess at this point, when we have this brigade fully formed, he demonstrates a level of leadership that tells me that he could become that brigade commander,” Conway said.

A US official said today the decision to make Latif in charge emerged as it became clear that he was more influential.

“General Saleh as I understand it will be working at the battalion level, not the brigade level,” he said.