The Guardian reports that the U.S. has dropped its demand for the turnover of those responsible for the death and mutilation of the four Americans that sparked the "onslaught." The source of the news is Mohammed Ubayd al-Kubaisi, the dean of Islamic studies at Baghdad University and the vice-president of the Association of Muslim Scholars. He was among a group of five who met with local leaders in Fallujah this past weekend.

Their mission had the approval of the US authorities, who declared a ceasefire at the weekend and allowed the convoy of negotiators through their checkpoints....Professor Kubaisi said local leaders were demanding an American withdrawal from all the roads into town, the restoration of basic services including water and electricity, and the repair of the main hospital which the marines occupied. In return, local Iraqi police would handle security.

The Guardian also quotes a U.S. official's statement yesterday: