American and Iraqi officials had been casting around for some sort of political solution to end the violence since Sadr's forces fended off an assault by Iraqi government troops last month. Those clashes were sparked after a failed campaign by Iraqi security forces against the Mahdi Army in Basra. During the fighting in Basra an estimated 1,000 men from Iraqi security forces either refused to fight or outright switched sides and joined the Mahdi Army, leading the Iraqi government on Sunday to announce the dismissal of some 1,300 soldiers and policemen.