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WASHINGTON D.C. (March 21, 2008) - Al Qaeda terrorists and other
Iraqi insurgents are "off balance" in Iraq, an Army
counterinsurgency expert said yesterday.
In a teleconference with online journalists and "bloggers," Army
Col. Daniel S. Roper, director of the U.S. Army and Marine Corps
Counterinsurgency Center at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., said he
welcomed the opportunity to explain that counterinsurgency isn't
just a military strategy.
"It is not just done by soldiers and Marines," he said.
"Counterinsurgency is part of a broader effort and, therefore, we
think it's extremely important to have opportunities like this to
discuss counterinsurgency, so maybe we reach some audiences that
may believe this is just a military operation."
Roper said coalition forces need to follow six lines of effort
to be successful fighting insurgents:
-- Integrating various counterinsurgency initiatives;
-- Researching best practices to prepare for the future;
-- Improving doctrine;
-- Working on professional military education for soldiers and
Marines;
-- Advising leaders and organizations; and
-- Conducting outreach to other military and civilian
entities.
Roper, one of the Army's top counterinsurgency experts, recently
made two trips to Iraq to assess the situation on the ground.
"In August and September, I was over in Iraq, primarily looking
at operational level integration, … meaning looking at different
headquarters that have some responsibility with respect to the
counterinsurgency effort," he said. "When I went back in the months
of October and November, the focus was more on the tactical
application of the counterinsurgency."
Al Qaeda is now off balance due to the implementation of the
counterinsurgency initiatives and the surge of troops, Roper
said.
"There was a noticeable, marked increase in momentum in
coalition operations across the force," Roper said. "And it was due
partially to the increase in forces that were on the ground." Iraqi
security forces and local citizens stepping up to fight terrorism
and secure their neighborhoods also contributed to the shift in
momentum, he added.
"The general Iraqi population was tired of the guys that would
come into the neighborhood and cause bad things to happen," he
said. "They knew they couldn't trust them."
The bottom line, he said, is that collectively, coalition
forces, Iraqi security forces and concerned local citizens were
working together to secure Iraq.
While he was in Iraq, Roper said, the most astonishing
development he noticed was how increasingly focused on success
coalition forces were.
"They weren't saying 'winning'; they were saying 'succeeding,'
because ultimately, winning or losing is a political decision of
all parties involved," he explained.
Roper said he also was impressed with how junior leaders would
go from one end of the operation spectrum to the other, depending
on the needs and requirements of the mission.
"Guys who had been kicking in doors a month prior to me getting
in their particular neighborhood were describing how they had
evolved to get into the soft-knock scenario, and spent more time
passing out candy and playing with the kids in the street than they
did firing their weapons," Roper said.
While the military part of the counterinsurgency effort is
helping to bring about progress, more needs to happen in other
aspects, the colonel said.
"The full integration of all elements of our national power and
our capability hasn't made its way to the ground to the degree
that's necessary to fight and succeed, in a sustained manner, a
comprehensive (counterinsurgency) operation," Roper said.
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