Iraq Makes Security, Economic, Political Gains, Officials Say

American Forces Press Service ^ | Gerry J. Gilmore

[SandRat]

WASHINGTON, Aug. 1, 2007 – Ongoing, tangible progress is being made in Iraq across security, economic and political fronts, U.S. officials said in Baghdad today. (Video)

Ongoing anti-insurgent operations conducted by U.S. and Iraqi security forces and Iraqi citizens’ growing rejection of insurgent-instigated violence are producing gains against al Qaeda and other extremists, Army Brig. Gen. Kevin Bergner, a spokesman for Multinational Force Iraq, told reporters at a Baghdad news conference.

“We are now in the sixth week of the surge in operations, and we’re seeing some tactical momentum,” Bergner said.

Operations by Iraqi and U.S. forces “have made progress against the extremists on a number of fronts,” Bergner reported.

“We continue to target the networks and leaders of al Qaeda in Iraq and the special groups and are steadily chipping away at both sets of extremists,” the general said.

Progress in security is evident through increased numbers of terrorist leaders being captured or killed, he said.

Tips from Iraqi citizens that produce insurgent-leader seizures and the discovery of enemy weapons caches reached some 23,000 in July, about four times the amount experienced a year ago at this time, Bergner said. The tips are now coming in countrywide, he said, noting the situation is similar to that in Anbar province, where local tribal leaders have turned against al Qaeda.

In the past three weeks, four different Iraqi communities north and west of Baghdad have joined other municipalities in declaring their opposition to al Qaeda and pledged to help end insurgent-generated violence, Bergner said.

In addition, record numbers of weapons caches are being found, he added.

“In the first six months of this year, we have already captured more stockpiles of weapons than we did in all of last year,” the general said.

The current anti-insurgent progress is being achieved “through the breadth of our operations because of our focus on extremist sanctuaries and operating bases and, most importantly, because of the precise information from Iraqi citizens,” Bergner explained.

He saluted the courage and commitment displayed by U.S. and Iraqi security forces, noting that Iraqi forces recently seized large weapons stockpiles in Nasiriyah and Kirkuk.

Along with security gains, economic and political advances also are being made in Iraq, said Bergner, who was accompanied at the news conference by Paul A. Brinkley, deputy undersecretary of defense for business transformation, and Philip T. Reeker, a U.S. State Department spokesman assigned in Baghdad.

A special U.S. economic-revitalization team has been working in Iraq since fall, Brinkley said. Its mission, he said, is to restore basic economic activity across Iraq. Some of the team’s efforts are geared toward renewing production operations at large and formerly state-managed industries, he said.

Industrial, clothing, ceramics and leather factories have reopened across Iraq since the team took up its work, Brinkley reported. “Over the next two weeks we’ll be announcing several additional reopened factories across areas of Iraq,” said he added.

Congress earmarked $50 million in funding to be used to accelerate economic development across Iraq. “We have defined a detailed plan as to how those funds will be allocated,” Brinkley reported, noting that some of the money will be employed to restart two formerly state-run factories as well as other smaller, firms

U.S. economic-assistance efforts in Iraq are designed “to enable the most skilled workforce in the Middle East to return to a normalcy and a life of economic opportunity that they’ve all been waiting for,” Brinkley explained. In fact, a U.S. firm has just made the first order for clothing manufactured in Iraq, he announced.

“This is the beginning of what I anticipate to be significant international interest in acquiring goods made in Iraq,” he said.

Much political progress also is being made across Iraq, Reeker pointed out, noting that there are now 25 provincial reconstruction teams operating across the country.

PRTs are small civilian-military units that assist provincial and local governments in Iraq to govern effectively and deliver essential services, Reeker explained. The teams are designed to bolster moderate politics, promote reconciliation, support counterinsurgency operations, foster development and build the capacity of Iraqi government officials to perform their duties.

“The emphasis we’ve had is on shaping the political environment, rather than on building infrastructure,” Reeker explained. The PRTs, he said, operate as a unified team under the guidance of U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan C. Crocker and Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, commanding general of Multinational Force Iraq.

Brigade combat teams provide security and transportation, so that PRT leaders can attend to political, reconstruction and economic issues, Reeker said. Italy, the United Kingdom and South Korea also operate PRTs in Iraq, he added.

“By helping to provide provincial governments’ abilities to deliver these essential services to Iraqi citizens, the provincial reconstruction teams help extend the reach of the Iraqi government in key provinces and help build the stability necessary to complete the transition to full Iraqi control,” Reeker said.

Biographies:
Ryan C. Crocker
Paul A. Brinkley
Gen. David H. Petraeus, USA

Related Sites:
Multinational Force Iraq

[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!

[spinestein]

[Ongoing, tangible progress is being made in Iraq across security, economic and political fronts, U.S. officials said in Baghdad today.]

Nope. Can’t be true. Iraq is still a quagmire. Bush lied. (sticking fingers in my ears) LAAAAA-LAAAAA-LAAAAA-LAAAAA........

[Popocatapetl]

While I appreciate finally hearing an upbeat drumbeat coming from Iraq, I note that it is accompanied by far more positivism than hard data.

Ironically, in this stage of the occupation, we need maps of Iraq, Baghdad, and the other major cities, showing where the progress is, where the action is, and importantly, where the action isn’t.

A national incident map showing what is going on is worth far more than overall assessments. To start with, color code the big regions: green, yellow and red. The borders should be yellow at best if there is any traffic across them that brings problems.

Baghdad is a big city, and while there have been city maps showing the sectors of the city, it needs to be subdivided and labeled as well. Pinpoints showing incidents would really help us to see what parts of the city still need to be cooled.

It is long past the time when this was for the most part operational information of use to the enemy. Today it is essential to get the message across to the home front.

Much of the public enjoys the upbeat positivism, so keep it up. But for us data fiends who have been watching Iraq from the beginning with a microscope, we need to see the end game.

[SandRat]

Pinpoints showing incidents would really help us to see what parts of the city still need to be cooled.

Somtimes too much detail in "open source" is a bad thing.

[Popocatapetl]

It is always operationally difficult to determine when a conflict has migrated from primarily a military campaign to a police action.

ROEs are a good indicator. The more restrictions placed on soldiers by their commanders as to the use of force, the more it is an operational indicator that the area has lost its tactical significance to the enemy.

Many parts of Iraq are in “permanent green” status, in which not only are there no incidents, but such little interest to the US military that it has been wholly turned over to Iraqi control.

“Permanent yellow” areas are like large, undefended border where enemy may cross, but not in great enough number to be defended in force all the time. Again they are static to the point where they will only change status when larger issues are taken care of.

“Red areas” in Iraq are known to be Diyala, Anbar and Baghdad.

Anbar is rapidly transitioning to yellow, but still needs serious application of force up the Euphrates River Valley, to insure it is stabilized, and that the Syrian flow of enemy has been curtailed. Neither of these could be depicted on a map in any way that would jeopardize ongoing operations.

Diyala and Baghdad are the most problematic to depict in the broad sense, Diyala more as a percentage of the region that has come under control. But Baghdad can be looked at as its parts, districts with wide variation in character, and it is commonly shown as such in maps.

Some Baghdad districts have more incidents, but this may not be indicative of where the attacks originated. A seemingly peaceful district may be a nest of vipers, with a more violent one just the victim. And this needs to be depicted and explained.

But again, operationally it has little meaning. If you were on the street in Baghdad, talking to someone familiar with the city, he could possibly tell you which of the districts are where the troublemakers are based, who is attacked most often, and where most of the military activity is concentrated—where the current push is.

While normally, this last would be the most operationally important, in this case, the clearing of Baghdad is being done in a methodical manner. It is no great secret to anyone who is there, except as to the exact times and places. Its impulse cannot be stopped or tempered, and its gains are fairly permanent.

So each day, the situation becomes more and more a police action, with appropriate changes in the ROEs to reflect the new reality. And while certainly there will always remain operational information not to be published, there is a lot more that should be out there, to back up the enthusiasm and optimism with facts, as much as some would like to ignore them.