09 December 2003
U.S. Developing Iraqi Task Force to Use Against Terrorists
Defense Department Report, December 9: Iraq, Afghan operations
The United States is developing a task force of Iraqis drawn from existing militias to fight terrorists in Iraq, according to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
The secretary was asked to explain the thinking behind the creation of the task force at a Pentagon briefing December 9. Rumsfeld said individuals "from a number of existing militias" have been gathered in Baghdad in order to form a single military unit. "They speak the language. They know the neighborhood," he said.
Air Force General Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was also present at the briefing and said that because the Iraqis know the territory, the language, and the culture they'll be extremely helpful in operations and in interpreting intelligence.
Both Rumsfeld and Myers were asked about a rumor that U.S. forces were planning to increase attacks on insurgents, perhaps dressed as Arabs. Rumsfeld said, "I have heard nothing like that." Myers added "U.S. soldiers will be dressed up as U.S. soldiers when we do our business."
Rumsfeld was also asked whether the United States has been consulting with Israel about possible counterinsurgency tactics in Iraq. "Not to my knowledge," he answered. Myers also indicated that he was unaware of any such discussions
Asked about "targeted killings", Myers said coalition forces "go after the high-value targets of interest." Rumsfeld added that the terrorists who are trying to kill innocent Iraqis and coalition forces are not "targets," but must be stopped. " We would be happy to capture them, we'd be happy to have them surrender, and if they don't, we'd be happy to kill them," he said.
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
This page printed from: http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2003&m=December&x=20031209192330ynnedd0.6530573&t=usinfo/wf-latest.html
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