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Coalition Plans to Keep Insurgents on Run

Dec- 1-2004 » Filed Under: Iraq News

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By Sgt. 1st Class Doug Sample
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Dec. 1, 2004 -- Successful military operations in Fallujah, Iraq, have put insurgents and foreign fighters on the run, and the military commander of coalition forces in Iraq said today the city is "no longer held hostage to terror."

In an interview from Baghdad with the Pentagon Channel, Army Gen. George W. Casey Jr., commander of Multinational Force Iraq, said coalition forces have taken a "major step forward" in the campaign to end the insurgent stronghold that has held the city captive. [...]

In the aftermath of Fallujah, Casey said, the coalition hopes to focus efforts on providing better security in Ramadi, capital of the Anbar province, as well as in Mosul and Baghdad.

"We believe a solution in Ramadi in now obtainable, now that Fallujah has been eliminated as a terrorist safe haven," he said. "The whole Al Anbar province is an area of difficulty for the interim government, and we will work very hard to bring the security situation there to the point where they have election in January."

Regarding Mosul, where Iraqi security and coalition forces restored control after the police collapsed in early November, Casey said, "It's still not where we need it to be for elections, and we will continue to work with the Iraqi security forces and the governor to bring a higher level of security to Mosul."

In Baghdad, where the level of violence has gone down, Casey said, the plan is to "keep the pressure on insurgents that may have left Fallujah and settled in the greater Baghdad area."

"So what you'll see in the next 60 days is a series of operations to enhance security in those three critical regions," he said.

Casey said much of that security will come from Iraqi security forces, as training and equipping those forces continues to go well. The general said that by the end of December there will 18 battalions in the new Iraqi army, and nine more will be added by the end of January.

In addition, 45 Iraqi National Guard battalions will be trained and equipment by January. "That will bring us to about 72 battalions that be available for providing election security," he said.


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