A Defense Department report said the Sunni insurgency would continue
despite the referendum for an Iraqi constitution, which took place on
Saturday. Iraqis were also scheduled to vote for a National Assembly in
December 2005.
"The main threat to achieving Iraqi control of and responsibility for
security in provinces is, in the near and medium term, terrorists and
foreign fighters because of the psychological impact on the population of
their terror campaign, which appears to target Iraqi civilians
indiscriminately," a new U.S. government report said.
"Successful elections will not likely change the foreign fighters'
strategy," the Pentagon report to Congress, entitled "Measuring Stability
and Security in Iraq," said. "The Iraqi rejectionists —
particularly those who are Sunni — may, nonetheless, lose some of their
support base as the
political process advances."
[On Saturday, Iraq reported a 61 percent turnout for the referendum amid
scattered insurgency attacks, Middle East Newsline reported. In one strike, insurgents fired mortars toward
a polling station in southern Baghdad.]
The Pentagon report, released last week, envisioned continued attacks by
Al Qaida and loyalists of Saddam Hussein. The Pentagon said Saddam agents
would seek to torpedo any newly-elected government in Baghdad.
"Saddam loyalists may present a longer-term threat to building
democratic, prosperous Iraq because they remain focused on creating
conditions in which they can disrupt and subvert the government," the report
said.
The report said insurgents have failed to derail the political process
or foment widespread
ethnic unrest. But they have been capable of sustaining the campaign against
the U.S.-led coalition and the Baghdad government.
"Insurgent groups continue, however, to demonstrate an ability to adapt,
relocate, regenerate, and
sustain a campaign of intimidation against Iraqi officials, professionals,
'collaborators with the
coalition' and religious figures," the report said.
The report said the insurgency remains concentrated in Baghdad, Ninevah,
Anbar, and Salah
Eddin provinces. The violence has prevented U.S.-sponsored reconstruction
programs in these areas.
The Pentagon said the insurgency remains a Sunni Arab phenomenon rather
than a national
movement. The report said most of the insurgents have been connected through
tribes or families.
