Saturday, April 21, 2007
Security stations in Baghdad to increase
Security
(Gulf News) - As part of the Baghdad security crackdown, 54 "security stations" have been set up across the city, each receiving between 10 and 15 calls per day from the local communities, Maj Gen Caldwell, the US Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Effects, explained. The number of stations is set to increase to 76 in the coming weeks, as more people report incidents in their areas. "What we are trying to do is find a balance between providing security and not impeding people's lives," said Maj Gen Caldwell.
Labels: Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, security crackdown, security stations
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
