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WASHINGTON D.C. (January 30, 2008) - As the security situation
has improved in the southern belts of Baghdad, coalition officials
find themselves more involved with building local governance
capacity and creating jobs.
Army Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, commander of Multinational Division
Center, said that when his unit arrived in March, there were 25
attacks a day on coalition and Iraqi troops. Now that number has
dropped to an average of three a day. This has allowed him to spend
more time working with local tribal and city leaders in building
their governance capabilities.
"As a division commander, I spend roughly 30 percent of my day
on combat operations - the kinetic side - and 70 percent on
capacity building," Lynch said during a phone interview with
military analysts today.
This does not mean that combat operations are ignored. The
southern belts were particularly deadly areas for American troops
before the division arrived. And while Multinational Division
Center has made progress, there are still areas of concern.
The division recently launched Operation Marne Thunderbolt in
the southern portion of Arab Jabour. The enemy has had roughly
three years to plant improvised explosive devices and to rig houses
with explosives in that area, and the division took those forces
on.
On Jan. 10, the division called on the U.S. Air Force to help
with shaping operations - Air Force jets dropped about 40,000
pounds of munitions in about 10 minutes on 37 targets, Lynch said.
"Of those, about half had significant secondary explosions that led
us to believe there was an IED or cache there," he said.
On Jan. 22, the division launched major operations with ground
forces. As the forces attacked, 40 Iraqi concerned local citizens
came out and led the combat forces into the area to show them where
the IEDs were, Lynch said.
The general attributed the division's success to the presence of
surge forces, which gave him the combat power needed to clear and
hold areas. He also pointed to the change in tactics, techniques
and procedures. There are 20,000 U.S. forces in the division, and
75 percent of them live with the Iraqi population on 53 patrol
bases.
The bases give local citizens a sense of security, and that
presence gives them the courage needed to turn against the enemy.
About 32,000 concerned local citizens are in the division's area.
They man about 1,500 checkpoints in the area and have turned in 600
IEDs and 500 arms caches, Lynch said. "They have also turned over a
number of high-value targets," he said.
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