Wednesday, 16 August 2006
Story courtesy of American Forces Press Service
BAGHDAD – The ongoing operation to secure this city of more than 6 million is an evolution and solutions must be long-term, the spokesman for Multi-National Force - Iraq told reporters here Monday.
“Abating the extremists in the capital will neither be easy nor rapid,” Army Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said of progress in Operation Together Forward, a joint Coalition-Iraqi operation to quell sectarian and insurgent violence in the capital.
“Challenges will ensue, but efforts will march forward block by block.” Some 3,000 buildings have been searched thus far, the general said. Twenty suspects have been detained and more than 50 weapons and eight cars have been seized. He said 330 otherwise legal weapons, those used for home and mosque protection, have been registered during the operation.
Soldiers of the 4th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, aka the Desert Lion Brigade, stand in a pass in review ceremony at Forward Operating Base Mahmudiyah South Monday. The unit is now in control of battlespace in south Baghdad. Department of Defense photo by SGT Trevor Snyder, 124th MPAD
While Caldwell noted the operation’s security accomplishments, he said the operation’s focus on quality-of-life improvements for the city’s residents is most important.
“What really matters is the number of businesses that reopened and will remain open,” he said.
“The drainage has improved. The rubbish is removed. And of course, like we’d all like to see, the number of children that you can see during their summer break out riding their bikes and playing in the streets.”
Caldwell said U.S. troops he met over the weekend in the Al-Doura neighborhood district of the city said they were impressed by the caliber of their Iraqi counterparts.
“I was immediately informed Iraqis are inherently better at search operations than Coalition forces,” he said.
“They know what to look for. They have a sense when something is askew, based not only on their training and experience, but based on their innate knowledge of the language and the people.”Caldwell said Iraqis recognize military power alone isn’t enough to restore security in the city.
“The military forces, the Iraqi security forces (and) the Coalition support can help set the stage for peace to occur, but they cannot achieve peace,” he said.
“It’s going to take all the other factors. It’s going to take the economics, it’s going to take the governance and, most importantly, it’s going to take the will of the Iraqi people to make this both work and sustain itself.”He said the operation would end only when security is achieved.
During a separate press conference Tuesday in Baghdad, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and Jordanian Prime Minister Marouf al-Bakhit discussed security issues affecting both countries.
“Our discussions focused on economic and political cooperation, though we realize that the security arena is very important for both countries and the region as whole,” said al-Maliki.
Al-Maliki said the two leaders spoke about security cooperation to counter terrorism, radicalism and cultural distortion among other subjects.
“We found great understanding and full readiness to cooperate in the security field, and that Jordan will hold meetings on Iraq in its territories for common concerns,” al-Maliki said.
The Jordanian prime minister said his visit was a confirmation of Jordan’s support for Iraq and its political process in the face of violence and extremism.
“We discussed a set of issues and it was a truly successful business visit,” said al-Bakhit.
“We talked about borders, security and providing facilities to the Iraqi community in Jordan. We also touched upon economic and trade ties and means of promoting them.”
“I’d like to confirm that we are together in one trench to denounce acts of violence and terrorism. We will work together to fight the extremist ideology through counter ideology and we will besiege the extremist ideology which kidnaps the real Islam,” the Jordanian prime minister said.
U.S. Central Command
Public Affairs
1Lt. Anthony Deiss
Spc. Patrick Ziegler
Spc. Chris Erickson
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