Thursday, September 06, 2007
U.S. troops may be sent to Basra if British troops withdraw
Security
(The Times) - The US military has drawn up contingency plans to send American troops to Basra if Gordon Brown decides to pull out the entire British force, an American general revealed yesterday. Britain still had “several missions” in southern Iraq, which the US expected it to fulfil. But if the Prime Minister withdrew all 5,000 remaining British troops, the US might have to “send some forces down there”, said Lieutenant-General Raymond Odierno, the second-most-senior US commander in Iraq.
That is the last thing the Bush Administration would want to do at a time when it faces growing domestic pressure to bring home troops, and the US military is already overstretched. A British withdrawal would be regarded in Washington as little short of betrayal. General Odierno chose his words carefully when asked about Basra, Iraq’s anarchic second city. He said he was comfortable with the British withdrawal from Basra Palace this week, noting that the Iraqi security forces had become a “bit more effective” and reinforcements would arrive within 30 days.
But questioned about the implications for the US military if British troops were withdrawn entirely from southern Iraq, General Odierno pointedly listed Britain’s continuing responsibilities there - maintaining a headquarters in the region, training Iraqi security forces, supporting the coalition’s political work, securing supply routes to the rest of Iraq and providing quick reaction forces. “There are still several missions we need them to do down there and we have laid it out for them,” he said.
“We believe right now that the British forces will stay there in some size. That’s what we have been told so far.”
But he acknowledged that a general election was looming, and disclosed that the US had drawn up contingency plans in case Mr Brown decided to withdraw the entire force: “One could be that we do allow the Iraqis to do most of it and don’t send anyone else down there. One could be that we send some forces down there.”
Basra has been unusually calm since the British withdrew from the palace on Monday. A British army spokesman said the city was quiet. Police said there had been no killings or kidnappings. Iraqi security forces are on the streets in large numbers, and the Iraqi police and Army, who usually steer clear of each other, are manning joint checkpoints. Residents said that the only gunfire heard in the city yesterday came from Iraqi soldiers celebrating their takeover of the palace.
General Odierno was speaking just days before General David Petraeus, the top US commander in Iraq, gives Congress his verdict on President Bush’s controversial “surge” strategy, which has resulted in 30,000 extra troops deployed to Iraq this year, bringing the total to 160,000. The idea of expanding US operations further in Iraq would encounter fierce resistance in Washington at a time when Democrats, and some Republicans, are demanding a timetable for withdrawing US troops from a conflict that has cost 3,700 soldiers their lives and $10 billion (£5 billion) a week.
That is the last thing the Bush Administration would want to do at a time when it faces growing domestic pressure to bring home troops, and the US military is already overstretched. A British withdrawal would be regarded in Washington as little short of betrayal. General Odierno chose his words carefully when asked about Basra, Iraq’s anarchic second city. He said he was comfortable with the British withdrawal from Basra Palace this week, noting that the Iraqi security forces had become a “bit more effective” and reinforcements would arrive within 30 days.
But questioned about the implications for the US military if British troops were withdrawn entirely from southern Iraq, General Odierno pointedly listed Britain’s continuing responsibilities there - maintaining a headquarters in the region, training Iraqi security forces, supporting the coalition’s political work, securing supply routes to the rest of Iraq and providing quick reaction forces. “There are still several missions we need them to do down there and we have laid it out for them,” he said.
“We believe right now that the British forces will stay there in some size. That’s what we have been told so far.”
But he acknowledged that a general election was looming, and disclosed that the US had drawn up contingency plans in case Mr Brown decided to withdraw the entire force: “One could be that we do allow the Iraqis to do most of it and don’t send anyone else down there. One could be that we send some forces down there.”
Basra has been unusually calm since the British withdrew from the palace on Monday. A British army spokesman said the city was quiet. Police said there had been no killings or kidnappings. Iraqi security forces are on the streets in large numbers, and the Iraqi police and Army, who usually steer clear of each other, are manning joint checkpoints. Residents said that the only gunfire heard in the city yesterday came from Iraqi soldiers celebrating their takeover of the palace.
General Odierno was speaking just days before General David Petraeus, the top US commander in Iraq, gives Congress his verdict on President Bush’s controversial “surge” strategy, which has resulted in 30,000 extra troops deployed to Iraq this year, bringing the total to 160,000. The idea of expanding US operations further in Iraq would encounter fierce resistance in Washington at a time when Democrats, and some Republicans, are demanding a timetable for withdrawing US troops from a conflict that has cost 3,700 soldiers their lives and $10 billion (£5 billion) a week.
COMMENT: The major players in the power struggle in the south are the Mahdi Army militia loyal to anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and the Supreme Islamic Council of Iraq, the country's largest Shiite political party and the patron of the Badr militia. Security forces in the region are known to be dominated by supporters of the Supreme Council, led by Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, whose family has been locked in a long-running competition with al-Sadr's family over leadership of Iraq's Shiites. Al-Sadr's supporters are primarily poor Shiites who gain from the services offered by the group and obtain a sense of empowerment through membership of the Mahdi Army. In contrast, the Supreme Council is perceived as a magnet of middle- and upper-class Shiites and enjoying the endorsement of the wealthy and traditional clerical leadership. Additionally there is the Shiite Fadhela Party, an Iranian presence and tribal rivalries. Not to mention the vast amounts of money made through theft and smuggling of oil and corrupt dealings. COMMENT ENDS.
Labels: Basra, Britain, Lieutenant General Raymond Odierno, U.S. troops
Monday, June 04, 2007
U.S. open to granting amnesty to former Al Qaeda insurgents
Security, Politics
(AFP) - Washington's ambassador to Iraq hinted Sunday that the United States was open to granting amnesty to former Al-Qaeda insurgents who fought against it in the blood-soaked country. "As part of a political reconciliation process, amnesty can be very important," Ambassador Ryan Crocker told Fox News television, speaking from Baghdad.
"It can also be important in this particular context as we seek to draw as many elements as we can away from the fight ... against us and into the fight against a common enemy, Al-Qaeda. "In terms of individual cases involving people who have American blood on their hands, that is something we have to consider very carefully."
The number two head of US forces in Iraq, Raymond Odierno, said on Thursday that the US was discussing cease-fires with some Iraqi insurgent groups in an effort to reduce attacks on US and Iraqi government forces.
May was the third most deadly month for US forces in Iraq since they led the invasion in 2003 that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein. Scores of civilians have been dying each week in insurgent attacks.
The man who led coalition forces in Iraq during the first year of the occupation, the retired Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, said recently that the United States could forget about winning the war in Iraq, and could hope only to "stave off defeat." Sanchez was the highest-ranking former military leader yet to suggest the Bush administration fell short in Iraq.
"It can also be important in this particular context as we seek to draw as many elements as we can away from the fight ... against us and into the fight against a common enemy, Al-Qaeda. "In terms of individual cases involving people who have American blood on their hands, that is something we have to consider very carefully."
The number two head of US forces in Iraq, Raymond Odierno, said on Thursday that the US was discussing cease-fires with some Iraqi insurgent groups in an effort to reduce attacks on US and Iraqi government forces.
May was the third most deadly month for US forces in Iraq since they led the invasion in 2003 that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein. Scores of civilians have been dying each week in insurgent attacks.
The man who led coalition forces in Iraq during the first year of the occupation, the retired Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, said recently that the United States could forget about winning the war in Iraq, and could hope only to "stave off defeat." Sanchez was the highest-ranking former military leader yet to suggest the Bush administration fell short in Iraq.
Iraq's President Jalal Talabani meanwhile Sunday confirmed the Iraqi government was negotiating with "national resistance" members to whom he was prepared to give amnesty. "Then only al-Qaeda will remain as the main criminal terrorist group and it will be easy to eradicate it," he told ABC news.
"People are ready now to fight against -- to cooperate, against terrorism, and to cooperate with Iraqi armed forces ... when this Iraqi so-called national resistance movement will be convinced to come to the political process, the task of eradicating Al-Qaeda terrorist group will be easier." Talabani expressed optimism about Muqtada al-Sadr, the radical Iraqi Shiite cleric and head of the Mahdi Army, Iraq's biggest militia, accused of carrying out sectarian attacks against Sunnis.
Sadr's movement "announced that they will ... support political process, very peaceful, and he asked his followers not to fight against Iraqi soldiers," Talabani said, though he warned that Sadr had "lost control of some of his militia." He also insisted Iraq's government had made "good steps forward for national reconciliation," including resistance fighters who were joining the political process.
He said he expected that the Iraq army would be ready to defend the country by the end of 2008, but that US forces would continue to have "a long-term presence" there.
Crocker also stressed that progress would take time.
"People are ready now to fight against -- to cooperate, against terrorism, and to cooperate with Iraqi armed forces ... when this Iraqi so-called national resistance movement will be convinced to come to the political process, the task of eradicating Al-Qaeda terrorist group will be easier." Talabani expressed optimism about Muqtada al-Sadr, the radical Iraqi Shiite cleric and head of the Mahdi Army, Iraq's biggest militia, accused of carrying out sectarian attacks against Sunnis.
Sadr's movement "announced that they will ... support political process, very peaceful, and he asked his followers not to fight against Iraqi soldiers," Talabani said, though he warned that Sadr had "lost control of some of his militia." He also insisted Iraq's government had made "good steps forward for national reconciliation," including resistance fighters who were joining the political process.
He said he expected that the Iraq army would be ready to defend the country by the end of 2008, but that US forces would continue to have "a long-term presence" there.
Crocker also stressed that progress would take time.
Labels: amnesty, cease-fire, insurgents, Jalal Talabani, Lieutenant General Raymond Odierno, Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, Ryan Crocker, U.S.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Mahdi Army Commander Killed In Basrah, al-Sadr pledges to protect Sunnis, Christians
Politics, Security
(Asharq Al Awsat Newspaper AR.) - 26 MAY - IP sources announced that the Mahdi Army leader in Basrah has been killed by a joint Iraqi-British operation in northern Basrah. British Army spokesman, Major David Gale, told the French Press Agency, “A special Iraqi unit supported by 100 British soldiers, killed the Basrah Mahdi Army leader.” A Mahdi Army source in Najaf said, “The British forces raided the Hayaniya area in northern Basrah and surrounded the vehicle of Usama Abu Qadr, the Basrah Mahdi Army leader, and killed him. They also wounded the four people with him.” The source also confirmed that Abu Qadr is one of the Mahdi Army’s founders in Basrah. Muqtada Al Sadr had decided to dismiss him because of the clashes that took place between Mahdi Army and Fadhila Party. An IP source said that two other people were killed with Abu Qadr during the clashes with the British. Eyewitnesses said that Mahdi Army members deployed throughout Basrah’s streets after Abu Qadr’s death.
COMMENT: This is likely to exacerbate the factional violence and attacks on the coalition in Basrah. COMMENT ENDS.
On Friday in Kufa the same newspaper reports that al-Sadr Al Sadr told his supporters, “I again demand that the occupiers must leave or must schedule their withdrawal. I demand that the Iraqi government not extend the occupation’s presence for even one day because the government is not authorized, especially after the collection of many Parliament members’ signatures and the one million man demonstration that both called for the occupation’s withdrawal.”
He added, “I hear from time to time that there are clashes between the Mahdi Army and Iraqi IPs and IA members (…) according to my point of view the one behind these clashes is the occupier to have an excuse for its presence. I am telling you not to be the instigator of this fighting and I am telling you fighting between the brothers in the Mahdi Army with IPs and IA members is forbidden and I advise the dear brothers in the Mahdi Army to use peaceful means if they are attacked by those with weak spirits by having peaceful protests and demonstrations.”
On the other side, Al Sadr stated, “I have received many complaints from Sunni brothers and some Christians of what has been done to them by (Sunni extremists). Therefore, I would say I am completely ready to defend them and I will be their shield to protect them although the occupier will not accept that. Our houses and our cities are ready to host them. Shedding Sunni and Iraqi Christian blood is forbidden and we are ready to defend them. What has been committed by the Sunni extremists to force Christians to convert is unacceptable.”
He also rejected the return of Baathists when he said, “The Iraqi government is working with some forces for the return of the Baathists (…) We will not allow Baathists to return and I will prevent that.” The US general in charge of their operations in Baghdad told the Washington Post, “Al Sadr has remained calm since his return from Iran.” Deputy US Commander in Iraq, General Odierno said, “It is not clear what Al Sadr has planned.” But he believes that Al Sadr is ready to conduct negotiations with the US and its Iraqi allies.
On the other side, Al Sadr stated, “I have received many complaints from Sunni brothers and some Christians of what has been done to them by (Sunni extremists). Therefore, I would say I am completely ready to defend them and I will be their shield to protect them although the occupier will not accept that. Our houses and our cities are ready to host them. Shedding Sunni and Iraqi Christian blood is forbidden and we are ready to defend them. What has been committed by the Sunni extremists to force Christians to convert is unacceptable.”
He also rejected the return of Baathists when he said, “The Iraqi government is working with some forces for the return of the Baathists (…) We will not allow Baathists to return and I will prevent that.” The US general in charge of their operations in Baghdad told the Washington Post, “Al Sadr has remained calm since his return from Iran.” Deputy US Commander in Iraq, General Odierno said, “It is not clear what Al Sadr has planned.” But he believes that Al Sadr is ready to conduct negotiations with the US and its Iraqi allies.
Labels: Baathists, Basrah, Christians, Hayaniyah district, Lieutenant General Raymond Odierno, Mahdi Army, Moqtada Al-Sadr, Sunnis, Usama Abu Qadr
U.S. may cut troop numbers in Iraq by 50 per cent next year
Security
(Middle East Online) - The White House is working on what officials describe as several "concepts" for reducing the number of US combat troops in Iraq by as much as 50 percent next year, The New York Times reported on its website late Friday. Citing unnamed senior administration officials, the newspaper said the concepts could lower US troop levels in Iraq to roughly 100,000 by the time the 2008 US presidential election moves into high gear.
They would also greatly scale back the mission that President George W. Bush set for the US military when he ordered it in January to win back control of Baghdad and Anbar Province, the report said. The mission would instead focus on the training of Iraqi troops and fighting Al-Qaeda while removing Americans from many of the counter-insurgency efforts inside Baghdad.
But there is no indication that Bush is preparing to call an early end to the current troop increase, The Times said. And one reason officials are talking about their long-range strategy may be to blunt pressure from members of Congress, including some Republicans, who are pushing for a more rapid troop reduction, according to the report.
Proponents of reducing the troops and scaling back their mission next year appear to include Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, it said. They have been joined by generals at the Pentagon and elsewhere who have long been skeptical that the Iraqi government would use the opportunity created by the troop increase to reach genuine political accommodations.
The concepts have been developed without the involvement of the top commanders in Iraq, General David Petraeus and Lieutenant General Raymond Odierno, both of whom have been enthusiastic supporters of the troop increase, the paper said. In an interview in Baghdad on Thursday, General Odierno said any withdrawal of American troops was not advisable until December, "at a minimum," The Times said.
Even then, he said, redeployments should be carried out slowly, to avoid jeopardizing security gains. One of the ideas, according to officials cited in the report, would be to reduce the current 20 US combat brigades to about 10, a move which would be completed between the spring of 2008 and the end of the year.
They would also greatly scale back the mission that President George W. Bush set for the US military when he ordered it in January to win back control of Baghdad and Anbar Province, the report said. The mission would instead focus on the training of Iraqi troops and fighting Al-Qaeda while removing Americans from many of the counter-insurgency efforts inside Baghdad.
But there is no indication that Bush is preparing to call an early end to the current troop increase, The Times said. And one reason officials are talking about their long-range strategy may be to blunt pressure from members of Congress, including some Republicans, who are pushing for a more rapid troop reduction, according to the report.
Proponents of reducing the troops and scaling back their mission next year appear to include Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, it said. They have been joined by generals at the Pentagon and elsewhere who have long been skeptical that the Iraqi government would use the opportunity created by the troop increase to reach genuine political accommodations.
The concepts have been developed without the involvement of the top commanders in Iraq, General David Petraeus and Lieutenant General Raymond Odierno, both of whom have been enthusiastic supporters of the troop increase, the paper said. In an interview in Baghdad on Thursday, General Odierno said any withdrawal of American troops was not advisable until December, "at a minimum," The Times said.
Even then, he said, redeployments should be carried out slowly, to avoid jeopardizing security gains. One of the ideas, according to officials cited in the report, would be to reduce the current 20 US combat brigades to about 10, a move which would be completed between the spring of 2008 and the end of the year.
Labels: General David Petraeus, Lieutenant General Raymond Odierno, U.S. troop withdrawal
