Tuesday, March 06, 2007
U.S. commanders move troops out of bases
Security
(Reuters) U.S. commanders are moving troops from the relative safety of their sprawling bases and stationing them in small outposts in Baghdad's most violent districts in a pivotal tactical shift. More than a dozen joint security stations have opened in a fresh approach designed by General David Petraeus, the new U.S. commander in Iraq, a counter-insurgency expert who warns troops to be ready to be "greeted with a handshake or a hand grenade."
The effort, one of the main components of a Baghdad security plan seen as the last chance to avert all-out civil war, aims to break the militants' grip on neighborhoods by expanding troop presence and building on local intelligence. Rather than launching incursions into strongholds and pulling troops back into their bases, the goal now is to set up 24-hour neighborhood garrisons, where U.S. troops live with their Iraqi counterparts, U.S. commanders said.
The U.S. military will establish around 30 outposts, including one in the Shi'ite militia bastion of Sadr City. So far, the plan has met little resistance, but it has placed hundreds of U.S. soldiers at greater risk, leaving them more vulnerable to insurgent attacks and in danger of being caught up in the middle of sectarian fighting. American commanders credit a decline in sectarian murders in Baghdad to the "clear, hold and build" approach of the outposts but have warned that militants could be waiting them out. General Abdul Hamid, police chief for eastern Baghdad, said gunmen will probably sit tight until the Americans leave.
The effort, one of the main components of a Baghdad security plan seen as the last chance to avert all-out civil war, aims to break the militants' grip on neighborhoods by expanding troop presence and building on local intelligence. Rather than launching incursions into strongholds and pulling troops back into their bases, the goal now is to set up 24-hour neighborhood garrisons, where U.S. troops live with their Iraqi counterparts, U.S. commanders said.
The U.S. military will establish around 30 outposts, including one in the Shi'ite militia bastion of Sadr City. So far, the plan has met little resistance, but it has placed hundreds of U.S. soldiers at greater risk, leaving them more vulnerable to insurgent attacks and in danger of being caught up in the middle of sectarian fighting. American commanders credit a decline in sectarian murders in Baghdad to the "clear, hold and build" approach of the outposts but have warned that militants could be waiting them out. General Abdul Hamid, police chief for eastern Baghdad, said gunmen will probably sit tight until the Americans leave.
Labels: Baghdad, General David Petraeus, security stations
