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WASHINGTON D.C. (January 9, 2008) - Coalition servicemembers are
making a difference in Iraq, and despite political rhetoric there,
the country's leaders realize they need coalition forces to remain,
the commander of coalition ground forces said yesterday.
Army Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, commander of Multinational
Corps Iraq, said that when he visits battalions and companies
throughout Iraq, he is struck by the way Iraqis deal with coalition
forces.
"It's a very interesting dynamic," the general said during a
conference call with military analysts from his headquarters in
Baghdad. "I go out about five times a week, ... and it's clear the
Iraqis' relationships with coalition forces is extremely
strong."
As part of the surge strategy, coalition units moved into the
neighborhoods. Coalition forces, in partnership with Iraqi soldiers
and police, set up joint security stations or combat outposts in
neighborhoods throughout Baghdad and in villages and cities
throughout Iraq. The U.S. and Iraqi forces eat, live and patrol
together. These forces meet the people day after day, and the
population gets to know the Americans.
"When I go out on a patrol, the Iraqis will start asking about
folks who aren't with us," Odierno said. "They'll ask 'Where's
Sergeant Z today?' And they actually ask why that person isn't out.
So the relationships are building."
On the streets, the people see the security that coalition
forces have helped bring to the neighborhoods, he said. That
security allows public works projects to move forward, shops to
reopen and markets to stock food and sundries. It allows children
to go to school and parents to earn a living. It allows the people
to walk about the streets without fear.
At the national level, the political rhetoric is different,
Odierno said.
"Some Iraqi leaders are saying, 'We really don't need coalition
forces, we only need them for a bit longer, we really want to take
(the security mission) over,'" he said.
The idea of doing the mission on their own is right, Odierno
acknowledged, but he added that even those Iraqi officials most
insistent that the coalition leave are not saying they should leave
right now.
"They all realize they want us to stay here a while longer," the
general said. "They believe in order for them to continue to
progress, the coalition forces need to be here for a period of time
longer."
Most Iraqis want the coalition to reduce its forces as
conditions dictate, he said. "They feel they need a few more years
-- three to five years, in my opinion -- of some level of
commitment here by coalition forces in order for them to work
through their problems and be ready to move forward on their own,"
he explained.
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