|
Initial World View | Discussion Threads -- Read and/or Post | News Items | |
| Membership | What Is A Moral Group? | Direct Iraq Thread | Iraq News |
Poll shows many Iraqis want
coalition forces
BAGHDAD — More than half the Iraqis responding to a recent poll said they want U.S.-led coalition forces to remain in Baghdad, but many also said the coalition is doing a poor job in restoring security.
Isolated Attacks Continue on Coalition Forces in Iraq
Skepticism remains among some observers, however, who suggest that the situation is very much out of control and that the militants attacking coalition forces are not the "dead-enders" Rumsfeld has called them.
Thursday, June 26, 2003 at 06:24 JST
BAGHDAD — More than half the Iraqis
responding to a recent poll said they want U.S.-led coalition forces to remain
in Baghdad, but many also said the coalition is doing a poor job in restoring
security.
The Iraq Center for Strategic Research and Studies, an independent think tank, conducted the poll on more than 1,100 people from various social strata, according to the al-Sabah newspaper Wednesday. It said 51.6% of those polled said they wanted the Americans stay in Iraq until a permanent government is established and about 25% said they wanted the coalition to stay until an interim government was formed. (Kyodo News)
Isolated Attacks Continue on Coalition Forces in Iraq
By Stephen Dewey
Talon News
June 25, 2003
WASHINGTON (Talon News) -- Despite the isolated attacks that continue on coalition forces in Iraq, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld remains optimistic that the occupation and reconstruction of Iraq can be successful.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Richard Myers claimed Tuesday that some of the recent conflicts have been instigated by coalition forces, and that the situation is calm in the Sunni areas to the central-west and north-west of Baghdad.
Four U.S. soldiers have died in the past eight days in Iraq, three of them in grenade attacks, one while guarding a propane distribution center. Rumsfeld said their deaths were due to the War on Terror, which he said "will not be over any time soon," and will last "for the foreseeable future."
Six British troops were recently killed in two separate attacks near Basra.
Skepticism remains among some observers, however, who suggest that the situation is very much out of control and that the militants attacking coalition forces are not the "dead-enders" Rumsfeld has called them.
"Just as they were unable to stop the coalition advance in Baghdad, the death squads will not stop our commitment to create stability and security in postwar Iraq," Rumsfeld commented.
Part of that process is the creation of an Iraqi army, which will serve a number of purposes. First and perhaps most importantly, unemployed former soldiers in the Iraqi army are behind much of the turmoil in Iraq, and have rioted to demand back pay from the nation's occupiers who disbanded Saddam's troops once the nation was subdued. Finding employment for these soldiers would lower unemployment and provide a distraction for Iraq's most dangerous citizens.
Second, the creation of an Iraqi army is an important first step toward restoring Iraqi independence and self-rule, which most Iraqis prefer to American rule.
Third, a strong army is a necessary backdrop for any democratic regime that might emerge from the post-bellum chaos. If Iraq becomes democratic it is sure to face opposition from some fundamentalist Muslims, and would benefit from a strong, centralized army. The creation of an army while the American presence is still strong is important, since it decreases the possibility that regional warlords might break away from the central government, as has happened in Afghanistan.
An effort is being made by the Pentagon to diversify the Iraqi army so that it reflects all of Iraq's ethnic groups. Myers hopes that this will include not only the three largest groups (Sunni, Shiites and Kurds) but also Iraq's smaller groups, like the Assyrian Christians.
Some observers say that similar efforts in Afghanistan have failed.
34 members of the initial 55 most-wanted Iraqis have been captured (32) or killed (2).
The Pentagon has received Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri into custody after President Bush determined that he was an enemy combatant due to his association with the al Qaeda network. The move was in accordance with the administration's policy of classifying people as enemy combatants rather than civil criminals when they pose a national security threat.
Rumsfeld is also trying to play down the import of last week's brief incursion by the U.S. Task Force 20 into Syria in pursuit of a convoy believed to have been carrying officials linked to the Iraqi regime. The convoy was destroyed, and DNA evidence is currently being taken to determine whether Saddam or either of his sons was among those killed.
Perhaps more importantly, three Syrians were wounded. These plus two others were detained by U.S. forces, which plan to turn them over to the Syrian government.
Syria has not commented on the incursion, possibly in an effort to avoid further straining relations with the U.S., which has already accused Syria of attempting to hide former Iraqis and of helping the Iraqi regime with military matters.
That the U.S. actually crossed national borders in pursuit of a convoy acting only on suspicion underscores the extremely high priority U.S. forces are giving to identifying former members of the Iraqi regime. Such figures could have information about the location of Iraqi WMDs.
Rumsfeld commented that "Borders are, you know, not always distinct in life."
The convoy was acting in violation of a curfew that had been imposed on the region. Myers has said that he is confident that the intelligence that led to the attack was "very good."
In related news, Rumsfeld and Paul Bremer, the U.S. authority in Iraq, have suggested that Iraq's oil facilities ought to be privatized. Rumsfeld insists that this will improve the Iraqi economy, but offers the disclaimer that "the Iraqi people will elect their government and they will make those judgments, ultimately."
Copyright © 2003 Talon News -- All rights reserved.
| Home Page | Table Of Contents | Discussion Threads | Membership | Copyright Notice |