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WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 23, 2008) - The number of weekly attacks
in Iraq has dropped from about 1,200 a week in June 2007 to about
200 a week now, the commander of the tactical unit responsible for
command and control of operations in Iraq said today.
Mirroring this reduction in violence has been a 70 percent
decrease in roadside-bomb attacks and an 85 percent spike in the
number of weapons caches coalition forces have found over the past
year, Army Lt. Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, commander of Multinational
Corps Iraq, told reporters via satellite from Baghdad at a Pentagon
news conference.
"I attribute most of these hard-fought gains in security to a
few key factors: our coalition forces aggressively pursuing the
enemy, the improving capability of the Iraqi security forces, and
the Iraqi people participating in the rebuilding process of Iraq,"
he said.
But the general tempered his optimism, characterizing security
improvements as fragile gains that coalition troops are attempting
to solidify as they build the capabilities of their Iraqi
counterparts.
"While the improved security is a great achievement, we clearly
understand that our progress is fragile, and we continue to work to
make this progress irreversible," he said.
The general praised coalition troops for having al-Qaida "on its
heels," yet he identified the organization as the "primary threat"
remaining in Iraq. The terrorist group yesterday launched an attack
in Baqouba that killed at least 15 people, including several police
officers, and wounded dozens of others.
"Even though we assess that they are on the run, they are still
capable of launching spectacular attacks," Austin said, noting
yesterday's bombing in the Diyala province city. "As a result, our
operations in the north are focused on defeating their capability
to perform these attacks."
Austin cited recent operations in Mosul, Iraq's second-largest
city, as examples of the increasing capabilities and effectiveness
of Iraq's security forces. Combined forces in the Ninevah province
city over the past four days detained 16 suspects, including four
high-ranking al-Qaida operatives.
"We continue to aggressively pursue al-Qaida and to take away
their safe havens and to close off all their escape routes when
they try to flee," he said.
Austin, who assumed command of Multinational Corps Iraq in
February, said coalition forces will continue helping to develop
Iraq's national security operators under his leadership.
"I'm absolutely confident, based on the indicators from the last
few months, that they'll continue to make significant improvements,
and we will be with them, side by side, as they progress," he
said.
Though they have made significant progress, Iraqi security
forces in many instances are not yet prepared to take over
day-to-day operations, thereby allowing coalition troops to assume
an overwatch role, the general said.
Before Iraqi forces become autonomous, he said, they need to
develop "combat enablers" with the capability of calling in and
integrating fire support into formation. They also be capable of
supporting themselves logistically, and begin using their own
surveillance and reconnaissance to cull intelligence, then plan
their own operations, the general said.
"We are working hand in hand with our coalition partners in all
parts of the country," he said. "They have improved significantly,
but we've been clear about saying that they're not there yet."
As Iraqi security forces mature in the midst of combating
al-Qaida and Iranian-backed "special groups," they meanwhile are
gaining the support and confidence of Iraqi citizens, the general
said. The majority of Iraqis have rescinded allegiance to
extremism, he added, praising the efforts of civilian security
groups like the "Sons of Iraq."
"Now the overwhelming majority of the population has turned
against the insurgents and the criminals," Austin said. "Iraqis
understand that al-Qaida and outside influences are not in the best
interest of their country."
Dovetailing with Iraqi security forces' rise in public status
has been a reduction in the number of people being held in
detention. A coalition-led detainee release program has freed
roughly 4,000 people who combined forces have deemed
nonthreatening.
"[It] demonstrates that the coalition is committed to the
welfare of the Iraqi population and to reconciliation," he
said.
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