Attacks in Iraq down considerably

Maj.Gen. Rick Lynch:

...

Attack trends over the last week are down 40 percent. We experienced 386 attacks across Iraq. Specifically yesterday, we experienced 48 attacks; of those attacks, seven were effective against multinational force units, four were effective against Iraqi security force units, and two were effective against Iraqi civilians.

And a reminder: Effective is defined as an attack that resulted in a casualty. So as you can see from those figures, the trend of about 25 percent of the attacks being effective is still in place, and the number of attacks - 48 attacks yesterday - is significantly lower than what we experienced in average. As I say, it's been a 40 percent reduction of attacks from the previous week. And in Baghdad specifically, there was an 80 percent reduction in the numbers of attacks.

But all that has to be taken in context. As you're well aware, significant attack levels the first week in January - number of suicide attacks in the first week in January were 16, seven of which were suicide vest attacks. In November and December, we only averaged six suicide attacks per week. So you can see that was a significant spike in suicide attacks the first week in January.

What that highlights for you is the fact that Zarqawi and the terrorists and foreign fighters, to which we attribute all the suicide attacks, still has a significant capability to surge acts of violence, and that's what he did the first week in January. And we expect that he will do the same thing on or about the time that the election results are released. So even though we've seen a significant reduction in attacks - only 48 yesterday, 40 percent less than last week - we know terrorists and foreign fighters are still out there. They still have a capability, and they do have a capability to surge their precision munition, which is suicide attacks.

If you look across Baghdad and Iraq writ large, a significant difference is the number of trained and equipped Iraqi security force members - a year ago, 127,000; today over 227,000, a 78 percent increase in numbers of trained and equipped Iraqi security forces. And look into the future: Today the Iraqi police force stands at about 120,000, and over the course of this year, there will be a - there will be an additional (plus-up ?) of 70,000 members of the Iraqi police force. Of interest, in June, in terms of Iraqi security forces being in the lead, in June four battalions - correction, four brigades and 11 battalions were in the lead in counterinsurgency operations in their respective areas. And I've defined that before in terms of what that means of being the lead. They are in the lead in that they planned and executed counterinsurgency operations with minimal coalition support.

So in June, it was four brigades and 11 battalions; today, it's one division, eight brigades and 37 battalions. And if we look into the future, we believe that based on current projections, by the summertime, 75 percent of the Iraqi Army brigades will be in the lead in counterinsurgency operations, and by the fall, 80 percent of the Iraqi Army divisions in the lead. So you can see, based on past performance and future projections, significant increase in the ability of the Iraqi security force to assume the lead in counterinsurgency operations. We believe that trend is on target.

...

A significant point that I've made before that I'd like to reiterate is the advantage of working side by side with the Iraqi security force in these operations is they bring a significant capability to the battlefield, primarily in the area of human intelligence, where the people of Iraq, who've lost all patience with the terrorists and foreign fighters, turned to the Iraqi security force, much like they did in Barwana, and identified locations for weapons caches so those weapons could be taken off the battlefield before they are transformed into IEDs or VBIEDs that would result in significant casualties here in Iraq.

...

... This is the letter from the mayor of Tall Afar, Najim Abdullah al-Jubouri, and he talks to General Casey specifically. And you'll get a copy of the letter, but I'd like to read a couple of excerpts.

He wrote to General Casey that "our city was overrun by heartless terrorists, Zarqawi and his followers, who unloaded their bloodthirsty and voracious action of evil on this city for several months by indiscriminately killing men, women and children. Tall Afar was a human slaughterhouse. Simple services were not possible, causing the people to suffer, till the day you dispatched your troops, who were our lion-hearted saviors. Your troops came to rescue Tall Afar led by our heroes, whom Tall Afar will never forget. After the major operation, your wonderful soldiers started nursing the wounds of this city by rebuilding the damaged lives and buildings with great compassion and speed. These soldiers have done more than their original mission required of them. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts." (Emphasis added.)

...

... we as part of our operations with the Iraqi security forces work to drive a wedge between the Iraqi population and specifically the terrorists and foreign fighters. We've seen recently, specifically in Ramadi, indications that the locals in Ramadi are taking actions themselves against the terrorists and foreign fighters, and they're doing that in a variety of means. They are providing information to the coalition forces and the Iraqi security forces and saying, "Here are where the foreign fighters are," or "Here is where their munitions are being kept," or they're taking actions themselves. And we're seeing that in Al Anbar, but we're also seeing that in Salahuddin and in Diyala.

So in general terms, the idea of driving a wedge between the Iraqi population and the terrorists and foreign fighters is indeed progressing. And the people of Iraq are saying we're not going to accept terrorists in our midst, because they realize that the terrorists and foreign fighters have no appreciation for the lives of the people of Iraq. They are here based on instructions from their leadership - Zawahiri - to establish an Islamic caliphate inside of Iraq that could spread across the region. So we're seeing much, much more indications that the people of Iraq - to include the Iraqi rejectionists. We've talked all along about the insurgency is three groups: it's terrorists and foreign fighters, it's Iraqi rejectionists and then Saddamists. We're finding indications where the Iraqi rejectionists are taking up arms and personally providing information against terrorists and foreign fighters.

...

While this is a long post, there is even more material in the transcript.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Should Republicans go ahead and add Supreme Court Justices to head off Democrats

29 % of companies say they are unlikely to keep insurance after Obamacare

Bin Laden's concern about Zarqawi's remains