"Our effort here has to be more than a physical one," said Brig. Gen.
Vincent Brooks,
the deputy commanding general for support with MND-B.
"[We have ]to not only find ways
to improve those systems physically, but also to work back through that
governance effort to ensure that people who are in positions of
responsibility in government are not sectarian and are not
biased in the delivery of essential services to all people."
"In all these areas, not only security, but in governance, it may be
that the first, best way for people to come together is because an American
soldier encouraged a district council member to sit in the same room with
another," Brooks said. "And governance begins, then, with the passion and
the heart of the soldier in this country."
"What we're trying to do here is stabilize the security situation,
particularly in Baghdad, to allow a political process some time and space to
work," U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, said.
Still, even the most optimistic of U.S. commanders believe that Iraq
needs a lot more than U.S. handouts. They acknowledge that Iraq needs
national reconciliation as well as a modern system of governance that the
Arab world has never known.
The U.S. projects have included the erection of walls around Baghdad
neighborhoods to
prevent the infiltration of insurgents. Officials said the barriers have
kept out suicide car bombers while enabling commerce.
As a result, the U.S. military has moved slowly in the
counter-insurgency operation in Baghdad. In late May, three months after the
launch of Operation Law and Order, the joint Iraqi-U.S. mission succeeded in
controlling 146 of Baghdad's 457 neighborhoods.
Despite a surge in troops, the U.S. military continues to
struggle to contain the Sunni insurgency in Iraq.
Officials said Sunni insurgents, and particularly Al Qaida, have become
increasingly bold in their strikes despite the massive security operation in
Baghdad. They said the insurgents have been using suicide car-bombs,
including chlorine gas, in attacks on civilian and military targets.
On Monday, the U.S. military was investigating a suspected poison gas
attack on a military base in the Diyala province northeast of Baghdad. The
army said a car bomb was detonated on June 3 outside the base near Baquba,
one of the largest cities in the province, and soldiers were complaining of
breathing difficulties.
"Something made them feel ill," Garver said. "What it is specifically, we haven't figured that
out yet."
In most neighborhoods, U.S. and Iraqi troops continue to face
significant resistance by Sunni and Shi'ite insurgents. Officials cite the
absence of Iraq Army and police units, which have failed to participate in
the mission. Without a sustained troop presence, insurgents quickly returned
to their neighborhoods.
"I think if we do the right things politically and economically with the
right Iraqi leadership we could still salvage at least a stalemate, if you
will — not a stalemate but at least stave off defeat," former U.S. military
commander in Iraq, Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, said.
