1st Armor Division CG makes New Year's resolution
Army News Service
Release Date: 12/31/2003
By Andrew Stamer
WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Dec. 31, 2003) - The commanding general of the 1st Armor Division has a New Year's resolution, "to provide a safe and secure environment for the Iraqi people."
Brig. Gen. Martin Dempsey, 1st Armor Division commanding general briefed the Pentagon Press Corps on recent developments in his divisions area of operations, which includes Baghdad and some points west of the city.
As part of Operation Iron Grip, Dempsey said he had a New Year's resolution,
The first step to making this resolution possible has come from the intelligence that is being given, said Dempsey. This intelligence is coming from the many "Iraqi friends" in Baghdad who have been helping coalition forces identify possible threats.
The success has been marked by the feigned attacks against Soldiers over the Christmas holiday. On Christmas Eve, Soldiers conducted 13 raids, which yielded nine Fedayeen figures and a bomb maker. Though there were nine separate attacks on Christmas day, Dempsey believes the intelligence that allowed the raids to be successful also made these attacks less successful.
The belief was that insurgents "wanted to attack across the city" using more than 100 people to perform these attacks, said Dempsey. But the intelligence that led to the raids and capture of 185 meant only an estimated 20 to 25 insurgents were trying to conduct these attacks.
After the capture of Saddam Hussein attacks have decreased while intelligence from local Iraqis has gone up, said Dempsey.
"If someone's shooting a mortar, it's likely Iraqi's will turn that person in," said Dempsey.
And more and more, Dempsey said, anytime they get intelligence from any source they can compare and corroborate the information with other sources. "This allows us to go into a deliberate targeting process."
Soldiers in Baghdad are continuing to do combat operations and reconnaissance missions which is also helping intelligence gains, which helps them "to act appropriately" to reduce the risk of Soldiers and Iraqis being injured, said Dempsey.
Soldiers are also firing into what seems as open fields. The reason for this is because these places have been identified as possible threats where enemies shooting rockets or mortars may want to shoot from, said Dempsey.
These fields are being kept under surveillance for two reasons. So, they can target any threat and so no innocent Iraqis are killed.
"We have not injured or killed an innocent person by targeting areas that may have been used by attackers," said Dempsey.
The existence of improvised explosive devices, known as IEDs, remains the weapon of choice for attackers, said Dempsey.
Dempsey said he believes that IEDs are more than just a weapon used to cause physical harm, but are also a psychological weapon. They are also indiscriminate to who they injure or kill, whether it be an Iraqi or a Soldier, and are anonymous, he said.
"[IEDs are] truly a weapon of terror," said Dempsey, "but it makes our Soldiers all the more eager to want to find them."
And so far, Dempsey said they have been successful at attacking these bomb makers.
IEDs, however, are still being placed. "Some get thrown out of cars . some are put together over time, and some are buried," Dempsey said.
The belief is that planning, training and supply of IEDs is centralized, and forensic skills will eventually help to capture those responsible. Fortunately, many Iraqis are giving intelligence on where these devices may be located, said Dempsey.
"Fifty percent of (IEDs) are identified by the Iraqi populace," said Dempsey.
Dempsey said that he's eager for the New Year and what it will bring for the Iraqi people.
"[There's] a lot of potential in Iraq," Dempsey said of the Democratic union that is being set up there.
Iraqi Governing Council is set to take over control of Iraq on July 1 and Dempsey said he believes is an accurate timetable to keep. When the IGC does take over the 1st Armor Div. plans to stay on Baghdad's perimeter, in case the council needs the division's help.
But the plan is to have well trained Iraqi Civil Defense Corps and police officers, said Dempsey.
Currently they are training in several places throughout Iraq, and even in Jordan, but there is also a plan to soon open a police academy in Baghdad, said Dempsey.
"We are the best in the world at what it does," said Dempsey, who wants to train the Iraqis to the same standards.
"Are we perfect? No. Are they perfect? No. But we are pretty good," said Dempsey.
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