World Tribune.com

Iraq forces downplay violence, mount subdued response

SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Monday, February 27, 2006

BAGHDAD — Iraq's military and security forces have taken a low profile amid the unprecedented sectarian violence in the country.

Officials said the Iraqi Defense Ministry and Interior Ministry have not ordered the military and police forces to operate against Shi'ite and Sunni militias. They said the ministries, despite threats of intervention, remain concerned that Sunni and Shi'ite soldiers would either refuse the orders or join the ethnic militias.

More than 150 people have been killed since Feb. 22 when Al Qaida bombed the Shi'ite Askariya mosque in Samara, Middle East Newsline reported. The attack sparked Shi'ite retaliation against Sunnis throughout Iraq. The Mahdi Army, led by cleric Muqtada Sadr, was said to have been the most active militia in the Shi'ite backlash.

"Nobody will profit from civil war and those who think they will, I tell them they will be the first to lose out," Defense Minister Saadun Al Dulaimi said on Saturday. "We are ready to fill the streets with armored vehicles."

So far, the Iraqi security forces have been deployed at roadblocks across Baghdad. Officials said that in some cases ethnic militias, particularly the Iranian-backed Mahdi Army, have attacked military and police positions.

"I think the danger of civil war has diminished, although I believe we are not completely out of danger," U.S. ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad said. "The terrorists wanted to provoke a civil war. But the way the Iraqi leadership responded was encouraging and they responded in a way to avoid going to a civil war."

On Saturday, Iraqi militias ignored the daytime curfew as sectarian battles erupted throughout the country. Officials said at least 25 people were killed.

"We think that by and large the Iraqi security forces have performed well under a very severe test," U.S. Assistant Defense Secretary Peter Rodman told a Pentagon briefing on Feb. 24.

Air Force Lt. Gen. Victor Renuart, head of international security affairs at the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the United States was closely monitoring the performance of Iraq's military and security forces. Renuart said this was the most complex security challenge for Iraq's security forces.

"Is there some sense that the regular army units are leaving? There's none," Renuart said. "And the security in the Samara area is all Iraqi."

U.S. military officials said Iraqi security forces have established roadblocks throughout the Baghdad area. They said that over the weekend Iraqi security forces increased patrols to enforce the day-time curfew and reduce sectarian tensions.

"They are supported by the vast majority of Iraqis and are the great hope of the people in their area of responsibility as they work diligently to bring peace to the Iraqi street," U.S. Army Col. Jeffrey Snow, commander of the 1st Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, said.

So far, Snow said, Iraqi security forces have taken the lead in quelling the violence, with U.S. troops ready to help. He said his 1st Brigade was working with two brigades of the Iraq Army Sixth Infantry Divisions.

"Iraqis have the required tools to succeed," Snow said on Feb. 24. "If they need assistance responding to a particular situation, then we would coordinate for the integration of those combat multipliers, which is what we've done throughout the time we have been here. But they are clearly in the lead."


Copyright © 2006 East West Services, Inc.

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