thedrifter
06-14-07, 07:13 AM
Petraeus says security crackdown working
By Cesar G. Soriano - USA Today
Posted : Thursday Jun 14, 2007 5:26:14 EDT
BAGHDAD — When Gen. David Petraeus drives through the streets of Iraq’s capital, he sees “astonishing signs of normalcy” in half, perhaps two-thirds of Baghdad.
“I’m talking about professional soccer leagues with real grass field stadiums, several amusement parks — big ones, markets that are very vibrant,” says Petraeus, commander of the roughly 150,000 U.S. troops in Iraq. The scenes provide a sign that the new strategy in Iraq is working, although many problems remain, he told USA Today in an interview Wednesday.
Five months after President Bush ordered an increase of 20,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, data suggest that sectarian violence in Baghdad has declined. Other tentative signs of progress have included a rise in Iraqi army enlistments and some quality-of-life improvements such as fewer electricity blackouts in the capital.
However, U.S. military casualties have jumped to record-high levels as more troops are put in harm’s way. Violence has surged in some areas outside the capital. Iraq’s government has yet to pass any of the major legislative changes that Bush said were necessary for an enduring peace between the Sunni and Shiite sects.
“If the Iraqi government does not follow through on its promises, it will lose the support of the American people — it will lose the support of the Iraqi people,” Bush said in a televised address on Jan. 10, when the new strategy was announced. “Now is the time to act.”
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has asked for patience, saying that new security plan — officially named Operation Fardh al-Qanoon, Arabic for “Enforcing the Law” — still needs time to take hold after its official launch on Feb. 14.
Meanwhile, U.S. commanders have urged the American public not to pass judgment on the plan’s effectiveness until after all U.S. troops are fully deployed. That is due to happen Friday. In September, Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker are to present a report on the plan’s effectiveness to leaders in Washington.
Petraeus did not specifically say what subjects he might address in his evaluation. Here is a look at some of the changes in Iraq since February.
Possible signs of progress
* Iraq’s army. The Iraqi army currently has 152,500 trained and equipped soldiers, nearly 20,000 more troops than were on the rosters in January, according to the U.S. State Department. Another 20,000 soldiers will be added to the ranks this year, the U.S. military says.
The Army now has its own Iraqi-run basic training and leadership schools. “The Iraqi army has, in general, done quite well in the face of some really serious challenges,” Petraeus says. “In certain areas it really is very heartening to see what it has done.”
* Anbar province. This area in the heart of the Sunni Triangle has been held up by the U.S. military as a model for Iraq. “The progress in Anbar has actually been breathtaking,” Petraeus says.
Commanders credit much of the success to the U.S. military’s decision to arm, train and organize Sunni provincial militias that have turned against al-Qaida militants operating in the area.
“If you’ve got folks who say, ‘Hey, this is my hometown, and I’m tired of the violence and if you simply train and equip me, I’ll protect my hometown.’ We ought to jump on that like a duck on a June bug,” says Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, commander of the 3rd Infantry Division.
Commanders elsewhere in Iraq are studying lessons that can be learned from Anbar, although Petraeus said that each area of Iraq has “unique circumstances.” Anbar is mostly Sunni and does not have the volatile sectarian mix that stokes violence in other parts of the country.
* Sectarian violence. The number of unidentified bodies found in Baghdad — an indicator of sectarian violence between Sunni and Shiite Muslims — dropped from a high of 1,782 in October to 411 in April, according to an Interior Ministry official who declined to be named because he is not authorized to speak to the media.
The body count spiked to 726 in May. So far this month, the numbers are again on a “downward trend,” Petraeus says. Although the bombing Wednesday of a major Shiite shrine in Samarra raises the risk of a new outbreak of sectarian violence, he says.
Areas of concern
* U.S. casualties. As U.S. forces spread deeper into insurgent-held territories, they are paying the price in blood. At least 230 soldiers were killed in April and May, the highest two-month death toll since the war began. This month, at least 32 soldiers have been killed in Iraq.
Roadside bombs — improvised explosive devices — remain the No. 1 killer of U.S. troops. Sixty-five percent of May casualties were caused by IEDs, up from 32 percent in February, according to a study by the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank.
* Iraqi police. Iraq’s 135,000-strong police force continues to be plagued with problems, U.S. commanders say. Up to 70 percent of Iraqi police leaders have been replaced because they had ties to sectarian violence, Petraeus says.
About 5,000 police deserted the force in the 18 months before January, Lt. Gen. Martin Dempsey said at a Pentagon news conference Wednesday. Another 7,000 or 8,000 police officers are unaccounted for.
“I have great concerns about the police,” Lynch says. “There are large areas in [central Iraq] where there are no police. And in areas where we do have police, we have corrupt police.”
* Political unity. Al-Maliki’s government has been unable to push any major initiatives through Iraq’s parliament, including a law on how to share the country’s oil revenues.
“I think everyone, including the government of Iraq, is impatient with the rate of progress in a variety of different areas,” Petraeus says. “They are trying to do it in a reasonably democratic way ... in a government that is comprised of representatives from ethno-sectarian interests.”
Ellie
By Cesar G. Soriano - USA Today
Posted : Thursday Jun 14, 2007 5:26:14 EDT
BAGHDAD — When Gen. David Petraeus drives through the streets of Iraq’s capital, he sees “astonishing signs of normalcy” in half, perhaps two-thirds of Baghdad.
“I’m talking about professional soccer leagues with real grass field stadiums, several amusement parks — big ones, markets that are very vibrant,” says Petraeus, commander of the roughly 150,000 U.S. troops in Iraq. The scenes provide a sign that the new strategy in Iraq is working, although many problems remain, he told USA Today in an interview Wednesday.
Five months after President Bush ordered an increase of 20,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, data suggest that sectarian violence in Baghdad has declined. Other tentative signs of progress have included a rise in Iraqi army enlistments and some quality-of-life improvements such as fewer electricity blackouts in the capital.
However, U.S. military casualties have jumped to record-high levels as more troops are put in harm’s way. Violence has surged in some areas outside the capital. Iraq’s government has yet to pass any of the major legislative changes that Bush said were necessary for an enduring peace between the Sunni and Shiite sects.
“If the Iraqi government does not follow through on its promises, it will lose the support of the American people — it will lose the support of the Iraqi people,” Bush said in a televised address on Jan. 10, when the new strategy was announced. “Now is the time to act.”
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has asked for patience, saying that new security plan — officially named Operation Fardh al-Qanoon, Arabic for “Enforcing the Law” — still needs time to take hold after its official launch on Feb. 14.
Meanwhile, U.S. commanders have urged the American public not to pass judgment on the plan’s effectiveness until after all U.S. troops are fully deployed. That is due to happen Friday. In September, Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker are to present a report on the plan’s effectiveness to leaders in Washington.
Petraeus did not specifically say what subjects he might address in his evaluation. Here is a look at some of the changes in Iraq since February.
Possible signs of progress
* Iraq’s army. The Iraqi army currently has 152,500 trained and equipped soldiers, nearly 20,000 more troops than were on the rosters in January, according to the U.S. State Department. Another 20,000 soldiers will be added to the ranks this year, the U.S. military says.
The Army now has its own Iraqi-run basic training and leadership schools. “The Iraqi army has, in general, done quite well in the face of some really serious challenges,” Petraeus says. “In certain areas it really is very heartening to see what it has done.”
* Anbar province. This area in the heart of the Sunni Triangle has been held up by the U.S. military as a model for Iraq. “The progress in Anbar has actually been breathtaking,” Petraeus says.
Commanders credit much of the success to the U.S. military’s decision to arm, train and organize Sunni provincial militias that have turned against al-Qaida militants operating in the area.
“If you’ve got folks who say, ‘Hey, this is my hometown, and I’m tired of the violence and if you simply train and equip me, I’ll protect my hometown.’ We ought to jump on that like a duck on a June bug,” says Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, commander of the 3rd Infantry Division.
Commanders elsewhere in Iraq are studying lessons that can be learned from Anbar, although Petraeus said that each area of Iraq has “unique circumstances.” Anbar is mostly Sunni and does not have the volatile sectarian mix that stokes violence in other parts of the country.
* Sectarian violence. The number of unidentified bodies found in Baghdad — an indicator of sectarian violence between Sunni and Shiite Muslims — dropped from a high of 1,782 in October to 411 in April, according to an Interior Ministry official who declined to be named because he is not authorized to speak to the media.
The body count spiked to 726 in May. So far this month, the numbers are again on a “downward trend,” Petraeus says. Although the bombing Wednesday of a major Shiite shrine in Samarra raises the risk of a new outbreak of sectarian violence, he says.
Areas of concern
* U.S. casualties. As U.S. forces spread deeper into insurgent-held territories, they are paying the price in blood. At least 230 soldiers were killed in April and May, the highest two-month death toll since the war began. This month, at least 32 soldiers have been killed in Iraq.
Roadside bombs — improvised explosive devices — remain the No. 1 killer of U.S. troops. Sixty-five percent of May casualties were caused by IEDs, up from 32 percent in February, according to a study by the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank.
* Iraqi police. Iraq’s 135,000-strong police force continues to be plagued with problems, U.S. commanders say. Up to 70 percent of Iraqi police leaders have been replaced because they had ties to sectarian violence, Petraeus says.
About 5,000 police deserted the force in the 18 months before January, Lt. Gen. Martin Dempsey said at a Pentagon news conference Wednesday. Another 7,000 or 8,000 police officers are unaccounted for.
“I have great concerns about the police,” Lynch says. “There are large areas in [central Iraq] where there are no police. And in areas where we do have police, we have corrupt police.”
* Political unity. Al-Maliki’s government has been unable to push any major initiatives through Iraq’s parliament, including a law on how to share the country’s oil revenues.
“I think everyone, including the government of Iraq, is impatient with the rate of progress in a variety of different areas,” Petraeus says. “They are trying to do it in a reasonably democratic way ... in a government that is comprised of representatives from ethno-sectarian interests.”
Ellie