Iraqi Forces Take Control of Baghdad Security

American Forces Press Service ^ | Fred W. Baker III

[SandRat]

WASHINGTON, March 2, 2007 – Iraqi security forces for the first time have taken control of Baghdad’s security, a senior military official there said today.

Iraqi security forces took control yesterday of Operation Fard al-Qanun, or “Enforcing the Law,” a plan designed by the Iraqi government and led by Iraqi army Lt. Gen. Abboud Gambar, said Army Brig. Gen. Joseph Anderson, Multinational Corps Iraq chief of staff.

U.S. forces are working in concert with Iraqi security forces to provide a 24-hour presence in the city, but Abboud and his staff now plan and execute the strategy from a new command post established in Adnan Palace in the Green Zone.

Anderson called establishing the Iraqi-led Baghdad operations command a “monumental feat,” and said that the Iraqi security forces have come a long way in the past month as a command organization.

Both the Iraqi police and the Iraqi army are “very capable, competent, … and the ability to plan and coordinate operations with coalition forces gets better every day,” he said.

Coalition and Iraqi forces have built joint security stations and combat outposts throughout the city to begin securing the area.

This presence represents a critical shift away from operating out of forward operating bases and instead maintaining a constant presence in the city – a presence that is needed to hold areas security forces have cleared, Anderson said.

“In the past, we have been able to clear areas, but were not able to hold the areas and secure them over time,” Anderson said. “We must demonstrate our ability to maintain the security in Baghdad over a long period of time.”

Anderson said making it safe for local citizens is necessary to develop the economic and political processes needed to achieve stability in the area.

About 20,000 Iraqi security force troops will eventually operate in Baghdad, he said. Currently, the 6th and 9th Iraqi army divisions and two national police divisions patrol the city.

Up to 15 U.S. Army brigade combat teams will be stationed there. The U.S. Army’s 2nd BCT, 82nd Airborne Division, and the 4th BCT, 1st Infantry Division, have recently moved into Baghdad, he said. It is expected that the full complement of U.S. troops will be on the ground by the end of May, Anderson said.

Anderson said that the increased presence already has resulted in as many as 20 fewer daily attacks on coalition forces and the local population. Still, he said, there are typically up to 90 attacks per day in Baghdad.

Iraqi citizens also are more willing to help coalition forces with the increased presence, Anderson said. This has led to recent large weapons caches found in the area.

Even with the operation’s recent successes, Anderson acknowledged it will not be an easy road to a safe and secure Baghdad.

“We know hard days certainly lie ahead,” he said.

[SandRat]

FR WAR NEWS!

WAR News at Home and Abroad You'll Hear Nowhere Else!

All the News the MSM refuses to use!

Or if they do report it, without the anti-War Agenda Spin!

[Chgogal]

More good news! Thanks for the post. It is appreciated.

[Shocked2]

Nancy Pelosi will be very disappointed by this news.

[musicman]

More good news BTTT !!!!

[Gene Eric]

Thanks for reporting the news the MSM avoids.

[Chgogal]

Madame Speaker will be even more disappointed if she saw these pictures! ;)If you haven't seen them you will enjoy them.

Pictures of Iraq success stories here [lots o' graphics]
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1792428/posts

[RunningWolf]

Outstanding news.

[do the dhue]

I just did a google on this story

check search result here

I am not surprised at the result. You won't be either.

[do the dhue]

Yahoo search result

[do the dhue]

Ask.com search result

And all search were on the title of this thread

[do the dhue]

I don't watch the Commie News Network or any other Socialist TV channel (unless a sporting event is on NBC, CBS, or ABC).

Have you (or anyone) seen this on these channels?

[hsalaw]

Nice!

[hsalaw]

“In the past, we have been able to clear areas, but were not able to hold the areas and secure them over time,” Anderson said. “We must demonstrate our ability to maintain the security in Baghdad over a long period of time.”

Yes!

[Gene Eric]

>> Have you (or anyone) seen this on these channels?

For updates on current events, I look here first.

[do the dhue]

For updates on current events, I look here first.

That's funny. I do too. I don't even give he MSM the time of day.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

The best detail on Iraq happenings is here (FR) and here(The Fourth Rail ):

Daily Iraq Report for March 3, 2007

Although he links to The Weekly Standard

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

A related article to the Iraq Action....

From the Weekly Standard:

Eliot Cohen Heads to Foggy Bottom

*******************************************P> The Washington Post reports today on the hiring of Eliot A. Cohen, a professor at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, to fill the position left vacant by Philip D. Zelikow's departure from the State Department earlier this year. Cohen has been a harsh critic of the administration's handling of post-war Iraq, but his hiring is likely to cause little joy among those advocating a diplomatic solution to the war in Iraq. In December, Cohen authored a scathing piece on the Iraq Study Group for The Wall Street Journal. Said Cohen,

What we need in Iraq is not a New Diplomatic Offensive (capitals in the original) so much as energy and competence in fighting the fight. From the outset of the Iraq war much of our difficulty has stemmed not so much from failures to find the right strategy, as from an astounding and depressing inability to implement the strategic and operational choices we have nominally made.

Commentary, to which Cohen has been a frequent contributor, has reposted a number of Cohen's articles on their website.

Posted by Michael Goldfarb on March 2, 2007 05:23 PM | Permalink

[Chgogal]

Thank your for the link.

Just in case you don't have this link - FPM's War Blog (list of all blogs)

http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/authors.asp?ID=1492

Friday's had two interesting maps. The second was a Baghdad map. It was a must see for me. Here is the link;

http://frontpagemagazine.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=27183

[do the dhue]

Thanks for the post!