Press Conference: Rear Adm. Mark I. Fox, BGen. Joseph Anderson, September 16, 2007
Multi-National Force-Iraq
PRESS CONFERENCE
DATE: SEPTEMBER 16, 2007
TRANSCRIBED BY: MARTIN VALENCIA - SOSi
PARTICIPANTS: BG JOSEPH ANDERSON, RADML MARK FOX
REPORTERS: STEVE NEGUS, JAY LNU (Last Name Unknown)
*REP1 = First Reporter (Interviewer)
*REP2 = Second Reporter
*INT = Interpreter
*UM = Unknown Male
*UF = Unknown Female
UM: Good afternoon and Asalamalakum. I’m joined today by the Chief of Staff of the Multinational Corps-Iraq Brigadier General Joe Anderson. Thanks for joining me today Joe.
RADML FOX: Thanks. As you know, a key ally in the fight against Al-Qaida in Iraq Sheik Abdul Sattar Abu Risha was murdered near his farm in Anbar province on Thursday. As the principal founder and chairman of the Anbar Awakening Council. Sheik Sattar was a brave Iraqi who fearlessly worked to bring security and stability to the province. We stand in solidarity with all Iraqis in expressing our sorrow at this barbaric and senseless killing. We honor Sheik Sattar’s courage and sacrifice. He was martyr in the cause of peace in Iraq and we offer our sincerest condolences to his family. I would like to announce that yesterday Coalition Forces captured the suspected murderer of Sheik Sattar west of Balad. Investigative and intelligence reports indicate Falla Khalifa Hiyas Fayyas also known as Abu Khamis was involved in the planning and execution of the plot to kill the Sheik and was also plotting to kill other leaders of the Anbar Awakening Council as well. Abu Khamis was also involved in organized activity, creating car bombs and suicide vest attacks in all Anbar provinces. At the beginning of the summer, the village of Tarmiyah just north of Baghdad was an Al-Qaida strong hold. Earlier this month Iraqi Security and Coalition Forces conducted operations in the area discovering two (2) large weapons caches and detaining two (2) Al-Qaida terrorists. Among the material found in the caches were ten (10) tons of ammonium nitrate mixed with fuel oil, eleven (11) fifty-five (55) gallon drums of fuel oil and various other explosives such as artillery rounds, rocket propelled grenades, as well as fully assembled improvised explosive devices. One of the individuals detained was Mu'ayyad 'Ali Husayn Sulayman al-Bayyati, who helped establish terrorist cells in the village. Allegedly, murdered citizens in the main intersection of Tarmiyah and tortured young men in the area. Al-Bayyati also known, as Abu Wathiq and the “executioner” will face now…will now face justice. In an impressive local response to the improved security conditions in Tarmiyah, more than twelve hundred (1,200) men have volunteered to join the Iraqi Security Force. Another concrete example of Iraqis rejecting Al-Qaida and taking steps to support the government of Iraq. On September 6 in Al Harithiya just south of Baghdad in another example of citizens fighting back against Al-Qaida. Concerned Iraqis broadcast a message to the terrorist, “Move to the Mosque and you will be given amnesty and there will peace in Al Harithiya”. In response, Al Qaida attacked the citizens who were subsequently joined by elements of the Iraqi Security Force and a battle ensued for nearly twenty-four (24) hours. When the battle ended, the residents and Iraqi Security Force with Coalition air support repulsed the attack, held their ground and retain control of the village. Thirty-six (36) Al-Qaida terrorists were killed or captured during the fighting. On September 9 Coalition Forces destroyed a car bomb factory in Diyalá province. This video shows the air strike conducted by Air Force F-16’s delivering precision-guided munitions on target. Of note, the strike destroyed thirteen (13) car bombs and the materials used in their manufacture. The secondary explosions in the video clearly indicate the presence of large quantities of explosives in that factory. We will continue to target criminal elements and terrorists networks in Iraq, car bomb manufactures and explosive factories. These actions are producing results and saving lives as General Patreus mentioned in his testimony last week. The number of car bombings and suicide attacks has declined in each of the past five (5) months. From a high of some one hundred and seventy-five (175) in March to ninety (90) in August. That’s still too high! Iraq remains a violent place and there are many challenges ahead. The situation in Iraq will require a long-term effort. There is no easy answers or quick solutions and though we do believe this effort can succeed. It will take determination and time. With that said, this concluded my portion of my prepared Rear Admiral Fox I’d like to turn it over to General Anderson.
G -ANDERSON: Thanks RADML FOX. Good afternoon and Salamalakum to all of you and thanks for the opportunity to speak to you today. Obviously much it’s changed in the last three (3) to four (4) months. The surge in forces that began in spring led to an ongoing increase in offensive operations. As Rear Admiral Fox has indicated, General Patreus and ambassador Crocker have presented their collective assessments to both houses of congress and the President has spoken to the nation. Our operational focus is to maintain the momentum that General Patreus mentioned during his testimony. Over the past few months we’ve gained the initiative. Attacks are down, car bombings and truck bombings have decreased and the Iraqi people are choosing to reject extremism and violence. We’ve now had several weeks of improved security by most of our measures both in Baghdad and throughout the country. We’ve seen a pledge by Muqtada Al-Sadr to suspend operations against the government of Iraq and Coalition Forces. We will watch these developments closely. We will also maintain an active posture in stopping criminal activities from whatever source. We will also continue to pressure Al-Qaida throughout the country. Operations in Baghdad and Diyalá in particular has caused Al-Qaida to move constantly and they are now off-balance. We’re in pursuit and we will not allow the enemy to create new sanctuaries nor allow them to regain territory. The most powerful element at work against Al-Qaida is the Iraqi people themselves. Throughout the country citizens are rejecting the violence and control Al-Qaida wants to impose upon them. Many locals are joining with the government of Iraq and have formed civilian groups supporting the Iraqi Security Forces. Many people in these groups will have the opportunity to eventually join the process leading to membership in the Iraqi Security Forces. Let’s be cleared though, we’re not arming these groups. We’re facilitating their desire to reject Al-Qaida and become part of the governmental process. While those developments are positive, we know much work remains to be done. We know that extremist militants remain intent on disrupting the growth and development of the government of Iraq. Al-Qaida remains dangerous and remains capable of significant attacks. Civilian death tolls are too high and lastly there are many political objectives remaining that are necessary for the long-term stability of this country. Many of you undoubtedly focused on last week’s testimony. General Patreus presented his recommendations to the president and explained his recommendation during his visit to the states. National leaders and the Legislative and Executive branches will make decisions on the way ahead. Following the assessment testimony we continue to build on the momentum of the past few months. As the government of Iraq moves forward, we will assist in expanding progress to the local level. We will also assist the government as it…seeks to achieve its constitutional objectives. Lieutenant General Odierno, the Multinational Corp-Iraq Commander continues to develop operational plans that meet the national objectives as articulated by General Patreus. He will continually evaluate the situation and make recommendations based on operational requirements as he sees the situation develop. With that said, Admiral Fox and I will be glad to take your questions.
REP1: Arabic reporter asks question in Arabic…
INT: Question from Hora TV. I have two (2) questions, uh, concerning the number of the, uh, detainees that have been released by the American Forces until this moment and how…how much do you intend the average of the detainees that are being released everyday regarding…the activities also by…of the Armed Forces you’ve mentioned; that’s the second (2nd) question. Joe Anderson, you mentioned that Al-Qaida is capable of launching operations and attacks, how far do you think Al-Qaida is dangerous after you said that there’s a good progress and after General Patreus said that there, uh, progress. So how far do you think Al-Qaida is dangerous?
RADML FOX: To answer your question regarding the detainee release to date, uh, there have been a hundred and nine (109) detainees that have been released, uh, as part of the initiative of the, uh, of the Ra…of the Ramadan, uh, release initiative. This is a government of Iraq, uh, coordinated and, uh, uh, driven evolution and in fact just to review a little bit of the vetting process, all of the people who are being, uh, all of the detainees who are being released are…have sworn allegiance. They’ve gone through a vetting process in which they have, uh, a guarantor program where they’re being sponsored by, uh, someone in their community or their family who will, will, uh, vouch essentially for their behavior and the most important part of this is the, uh, participation and the interaction with the Iraqi judicial system as well, so, uh, we see this as a positive step in, uh, recon…reconciliatory, uh, measure and to date there been a, a hundred and nine (109) detainees that have been released.
G-ANDERSON: And with respect to Al-Qaida, we think they have clearly been neutralized here inside of Baghdad proper and we always knew with the surge of forces by the increased presence of boots on the ground and in the tense security districts that we will be successful in pushing them out. So the question that relates to what you’re talking about is really how much do we expect attacks to continue in the belts as we call them and the Diyalá province up towards At-Taji, Tarmiya in that area and further north in the Ninawa, al-Tamim, uh, Salah ad Din and some of the expansion of, but our assessment is right now they are very fractured. It’s very localized and the ability for them to conduct large-scale sensational attacks it’s been greatly decreased.
REP1: Reporter asks a follow up question in Arabic.
INT: Just to follow up, General Patreus and, uh, President Bush…Bush, uh, they recommended, uh, uh, pulling some brigades in Iraq. Do you think this will influence the Al-Qaida activity or will they bring Al…Al-Qaida activity back?
G-ANDERSON: Uh, we think the structure based on what happens here and the flow when those decision points are made to draw down forces, uh, what…both General Patreus, General Odierno, uh, and all the leaders here have said it’s still going to be a conditions based draw down, uh, and of course the other piece of that is the enhanced capability of the Iraqi Security Forces, so when you look at those two in parallel, uh, the answer to your question is, no, we don’t think they’ll be a greater threat…based on concerned local citizens, Iraqi Security Forces and the Coalition Force present…presence throughout the country.
RADML FOX: Yes sir?
JAY: This is Jay from AFP. Uh, could you give some more details about the suspect captured for Sheik Abu Reesha’s killing?
RADML FOX: Uh, really all I have to share is what I gave in the opening statement, uh, we do not assess that he was operating alone. That…there’s an investigation and continuing operations that are focused on, uh, ensuring that all people who were involved in this, uh, in this attack or in this murder, uh, will be, uh, detained.
JAY: Can you just give us the name again and his nationality. He’s and Iraqi?
RADML FOX: Yeah, he’s an Iraqi, uh, he’s known as, uh, we just released a press release on this, but I’ll…I’ll, uh, read through the name again Fallah Khalifa Hiya Fayyas also known as Abu Khamis.
JAY: [I/A] Khamis, [I/A]?
RADML FOX: Khamis. Forgive me for my fractured named pronunciation. Yes ma’am?
UF: I’m interested in your thoughts in your thoughts on, uh, on the statement from AQI talking about this Ramadan offensive and stepped up operations during the holy month, uh, have you…in these couple of days has there been any evidence of that stepping up and do you expect that over the next twenty-six (26), twenty-seven (27) days?
RADML FOX: We have been prepared all along. If you look at historic trends, uh, over the Ramadan periods, we have seen marked increases in the levels of violence and so, in fact, much of the initiatives that you just heard General Anderson talk about in keeping Al-Qaida off balance and pressuring them are precisely, uh, one of the reasons that we assess that the levels of violence have not risen in historic patterns, but that doesn’t mean that, uh, as we saw on Thursday that they’re not still capable of conducting attacks, uh, more localized and less coordinated, but still dangerous. And I defer to you to any other…
G-ANDERSON: I agree exactly, and the…the trends have always shown Ramadan is a very intense high attack periods, so far it is not proven that way, but again as Admiral Fox has said, it doesn’t mean things can’t change. But it goes back to what I said a little while ago; I think their capability to do that has been greatly decreased.
STEVEN: Steve Negus, Financial Times. Without wanting you to get into future operations, what’s to prevent Al-Qaida from, uh, I mean, the elements that were previously active in Baghdad from re-establishing themselves in places you mentioned like Ninawa 15:52, uh, Salah ad Din, probably western Al-Tamim, how each of that area, I mean, troop density I think is fairly…is lower in those areas than it is in some of the…some of the other zones. Uh, so why can they…why the can the wack-a-mole syndrome sort of repeat itself?
RADML FOX: Uh, actually the…troop saturation there is the highest it’s ever been, so the…the beauty of the surge is and one of the great benefits to the surge was pushing out into the belts. It was two (2) part piece. We knew we had to get the tense security districts well enforced. A combination again of ISF with Coalition Forces, but the beauty of the surge allowed us to push even further, Diyalá a classic example. Uh, and as you migrate even to the north, uh, a little less admittedly in those…some of those provinces, but the Iraqi Security Forces in those areas have demonstrated very good resolve, very good capabilities and that’s made another huge difference as you work end of it down. So the issue becomes again with all the capabilities we have, not just boots on the ground to monitor, and you know what else al…is also a big piece here is the tips information piece. The…the feedback, information we get from the local populous is the highest it’s ever been. So when you have locals telling you, “Hey, that house, that curve is where the IED is, that building is where the factory is”, that makes a huge difference in our ability to find these guys. Okay…
REP2: Admiral, uh, question for either of you, uh, you mentioned that the draw down of troop next year is conditioned bias, do those conditions include the ISF being ready and in fact do you think the ISF is ready to hold on to gains that have been made?
RADML FOX: I would, I would say, yes, to both. It’s, uh, conditions are all encompassing and so, uh, we’re certainly are not interested in surrendering the hard fought gains that our troops have fought so hard, uh, to attain. And, uh, as the…the level of forces plays out, uh, it will be a conditions based assessment as…as we go along. You…you think…
G-ANDERSON: Again, he spat on and, uh; to answer directly is, yes! Uh, as you assess the capability of the Iraqi Security Forces by province, by district, yes, that would be a big consideration based on leadership, logistics, sectarianism involved, uh, and again, their equipping, manning, training, so…all which is going in the right direction as evidenced everyday.
RADML FOX: Sir.
REP3: I just wanted to follow up on the, uh, Sheik Sattr Abu Risha, uh, the killer. Eh, I mean, can you tell us how, I mean, is this guy affiliated with Al-Qaida? Do you know his affiliation and…and how did you actually find him so quickly in Balad? Uhm, you must be able to….
RADML FOX: He is affiliated with Al-Qaida and as I mentioned that we had some very discrete, uh, intelligence and, uh, investigative, uh, information that was used to conduct the precision raid.
REP3: He was an informant or someone from the Al-Qaida…?
[VOICES OVERLAP]
RADML FOX: No, we had precise, uh; we had the information that was needed to conduct the precise raid.
UM REP2: He’s a member of Al-Qaida in Iraq?
RADML FOX: He…he is.
REP2: Yeah, but what…what was his level or ranking?
RADML FOX: I…I don’t have that information right now.
REP3: Okay.
RADML FOX: But he was involved in, uh, suicide vests, car bombs, in Al-Anbar and also was involved in, uh, plotting to kill other leaders of the, uh, of the wakening movement.
REP3: Was he actually…was he…was he perhaps a secret member of Al-Qaida in Iraq inside the Anbar council?
RADML FOX: I, I…I can’t go any further than what I’ve already told you right now…
[VOICES OVERLAP]
REP3: Is that, is that possible though, I mean is that possible…
[VOICES OVERLAP]
RADML FOX: I…I won’t speculate…
REP3: …he’s like [I/A] with them.
RADML FOX: …on that.
REP3: Okay.
REP4: Reporter asks a question in Arabic.
INT: Could you give…could describe to us the, uh, the way that you’ve released the detainees. We have two things that, that, the American Forces, eh, called the…one of the detainees families and they hand it over the detainees and another thing happened in front of me, that the American Forces released two detainees in the street and they were…they were naked. So what’s the proper way do you think that…to release the detainees?
RADML FOX: I don’t have any specific information about the two individuals that you mentioned. The…the way that it’s worked is the detainees have gone through a vetting process, they have been identified and gone through, uh, essentially a process by which they are…they swear allegiance and they’ve had their case thoroughly reviewed and then interactions with the Iraqi judicial system and the Iraqi government in such a way so that the, uh, families or members of the neighborhood, or local people are there to account for and vouch for their future behavior. And so there’s a guarantor program or a guarantor process by which, uh, these people now are vouched for, if you will. So, in that process when they are, uh, turned over and they are released they will be…they’re tracked and they are, we know…we know who they are and if the, uh, if they misbehave or if they conduct themselves outside the law, then they’re now a part, they’re subject to the Iraqi judicial system. Because the…the Iraqi as I mentioned before, that was the strength of this process. That this empowers, uh, the Iraqi judicial system and so any recidivism or any falling back to, uh, illegal behavior that would be dealt by, dealt by the Iraqi judicial system. Back there in the back.
REP5: Reporter asks question in Arabic.
INT: Uh, what’s the secret of, uh, statements by Nancy Pelosi that the…the, that the President, that President Bush will face…will, uh, put the American Forces in danger within the next ten (10) years. And is it true that the American Forces will stay in Iraq for the next ten (10) year?
RADML FOX Well, I think that the focus that we have right now as you heard General Patreus talk last week, uh, he was unwilling to make any projections beyond next summer. And so we’re focused on the near term problem that from the Multinational Force-Iraq, uh, there’s certainly larger policy issues and policy discussions that go on, uh, but we all understand the complex nature of, uh, this environment from a security point of view and the progress that we’ve made and then we also see the amount of progress that still needs to be made. We’ve just eluded to the fact that the Iraqi Security Forces need, uh, additional logistics capability. They need additional leadership, growth and, uh, the loyalty aspects to avoid the sectarian behavior that we’ve seen in the past and that takes time. So, uh, at this point we’re focused on the near term fight. There are certainly larger policy issues that will be debated and that’s one of the reason that you see in a…a free and democratic society a lot of discussion and a lot of debate that goes back and forth between, uh, the different parties in that. So I wouldn’t go beyond I think General Patreus’s, uh, projection of next summer. That’s where our focus is.
STEVE: Thank you. On the numbers you gave out for…there is a hundred and seventy (170) something in March and ninety (90) in August. What was that for? For, for…
[VOICES OVERLAP]
RADML FOX Those were car bombs.
STEVE: Just car bombs. Okay. And do you know how ninety (90) compares to like a year ago?
RADML FOX I would have to get those…the specific numbers. That was the one that we…that actually General Patreus had used, but it was a… What I was trying to do in this, uh, discussion here was we’ve talked before about the Karkh, uh, DB network, so we’ve taken down the people that were involved in, uh, car bombs and then I talked about this enormous, I mean, we’re talking ten (10) tons of…of, uh, of ammonium nitrate with fuel oil. So the production of the homemade explosive, uh, piece of it and then I…I showed you the video of the car bomb factory where thirteen (13) cars had already been assembled and were ready for use as car bombs. So the thing I was trying to demonstrate in the, uh, illustrive examples that I used today is this…it’s a multifaceted approached to eliminating or to diminishing the car bomb threat.
G-ANDERSON: I can add on there. The car bomb, uh, incident numbers is the lowest since August of 06. I’m not sure how much further back you want to go, but attacks in general are the lowest since January 06. That’s all types. Vehicles type, car bomb type, were the lowest since August 06.
STEVE: Just another clarifying thing. The detainees who are being released, are they being released from American detention, coalition detention facilities or from Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Justice?
RADML FOX: No, these detainee releases are from the coalition. That’s correct. Yes sir?
REP6: Reporter asks question in Arabic.
INT: Admiral Fox, question to Admiral Fox, uh, there are some accusations by the Iraqi parliament to the Human Rights and the American Forces that they released some detainees…of Sunni detainees without even releasing Shiite detainees. How would you comment about this?
RADML FOX: That’s not true. Uh, it’s a matter of fact some of the detainees and I don’t have the specific number, but there were, uh, there were detainees that were released this week of…of different sects. They were not all a single sect, uh, that had been released. So each case was, uh, conducted and, uh, the review was conducted on its own merits, but it was not a single sectarian kind of gesture. It was…it was… There were more than one, uh, sect of detainees involved and released.
REP7: Reporter asks questions in Arabic.
INT: Admiral Fox my question is regarding the, uh, the air strike conducted by the American Forces in Bakuba which resulted in the…which you detained, uh, women and children. Do you any details about this? Could you give us more details about this operation?
RADML FOX: I’m not sure I know which one you’re referring to. Could you elaborate just a little bit?
REP7: Reporter replies in Arabic.
INT: This information came from the, uh, association of Muslim Scholars, they demanded the release of one of the detainees who is one of the members in Bakuba. And who is one of the associate…association and, uh, this information came from people leaving in Bakuba.
RADML FOX: Actually the, uh, the information from an operation… I wanted to confirm that you were talking about Bakuba. It was not an air strike. There was actually a case where during…during operations that were being conducted, uh, in Bakuba. There was, uh, a woman who attempted to draw a weapon from a belt that she was wearing and in responding to the, the actions of this woman of drawing a weapon, uh, she was killed in self defense by the Coalition Forces and then there was another woman in Bakuba in operations who had a grenade who fell out of her clothing and she attempted to recover the grenade and again in a self defense posture the Coalition Forces killed her. So the…the women that were killed, uh, in Bakuba were actually involved in, uh, activities that constituted a threat to the troops that were operating. There were no children involved in that, uh, and the two women that the Muslim Scholar’s statement talked about actually were involved in, uh, carrying grenades and weapons.
REP8: Reporter asks question in Arabic.
INT: Question to Admiral Fox. Until this moment you’re accused of not being serious in eliminating the armed groups or the terrorist groups in the hot areas like in Dora, but there are information that Iraqi Forces are presenting plans for these areas, but you reject these plans. So when do you intend to be serious? When do the American Forces intend to be serious about these areas?
RADML FOX: Well, I will submit… I don’t think I completely agree with your characterization that I’m not taking threats seriously because one of the very reasons that we’re here is to, uh, we’re here to protect the Iraqi people and the key in counterinsurgency campaign is to protect the people. And, uh, that’s why you see the tactics evolve and the strategy change in terms of permanent joint security stations. That’s why you’ve seen, uh, the changes of our operational, uh, approach fairly significant. So, uh, I don’t agree with your characterization that we’re not taking this seriously. Each neighborhood has its own unique challenge and, uh, each neighborhood is, uh, handled differently and each region of Iraq is handled different as well. So, uh, I…I would also defer to you in terms of any insight that you might have Joe.
G-ANDERSON: And I agree Mark, and the issue really becomes which area…[STUTTERS]… you’re talking about. When you’re talking Baghdad proper, uh, targeting is ultimately under the decision making of General Abud who is the Baghdad Operational Command Commander. And that…this is all taken, all very seriously. I agreed with everything Admiral Fox said. It’s a very deliberate, you know that collateral damage concerns. How much precise information we have. How timely, accurate, but based on Rusafa Area Command, east of the Tigris. Karkh Area Command, west of the Tigris and now you have the integration of all these PM directed operational commands started off in Diyala, so there’s Samara, Al-Karbala, Al-Basrah, so the growth of those has gone exponencially here lately and those are all designed to better coordinate, better integrate all the information and make sure the actions of Iraqi Security Forces and Coalition Forces are coordinated, integrated in that that decision making process. I have to tell you is more…it’s very deliberate, but it’s been very successful because of all that increased coordination. But it’s not a hesitancy to not target.
RADML FOX: Follow up one…
REP8: Question asked in Arabic.
INT: According to some sources by the Commanding Operation in, uh, Baghdad from General Abud, he said that…they said that they presented plans for these areas, but you responded that it is still not early to start operations in Dora. The Al…Al-Qaida is still moving freely in that neighborhood, so how would you comment again?
G-ANDERSON: I…I’ll take it. I don’t agree. I think the issue is sharing the information to make the appropriate decisions, but I don’t think anybody is moving freely. Uh, the question becomes what…what’s the source of the information, what act…what action manifest the types of things you’re talking about, but that process again is very deliberate and I don’t think anything is going on unchecked. It’s just a matter of making sure we have the right information, we have the assets and it’s a coordinated, synchronized event. But I don’t…I disagree with that assessment.
REP4: Just returning to the detainees, briefly. The statement I read from CPIC last week I think said between fifty (50) and eighty (80) would be released today. Uhm, I was terrible at math at school, but, uh, that’s not quite fifty (50) or eighty (80) a day so far, why?
RADML FOX: I remind you that Friday is holy day and there were no detainees that were released. Uh, the Justice Department or the, uh, Ministry of Justice, uh, was not operating on Friday, so the detainee release program began on the fourteenth (14th) today is the sixteenth (16th) and there is been a hundred and nine (109), so…with a holy day in the middle of it. That’s my public math. [LAUGHS] Sir?
STEVE: The number you said earlier with the… Sorry, the number you said earlier of attacks in general are the lowest since January two thousand and six (2006). That’s, uh, insurgent and militia attacks nationwide?
G-ANDERSON: Yes.
STEVE: And you…and you actually have any, like, uh, numbers we can put that?
G-ANDERSON: I do.
STEVE: Uhm, like…
G-ANDERSON: You want me to recite them?
STEVE: Sure.
G-ANDERSON: We can share it with you later. Okay.
UM: We’ve all like to [I/A]…
G-ANDERSON: You…you all like to share?
RADML FOX: Huhm, yeah. [LAUGHS]
UF: [LAUGHS]
G-ANDERSON: You all play well together? Okay.
RADML FOX: Was it a numbers question?
[BACKGROUND: SEVERAL REPORTERS ASK QUESTIONS – AUDIO INAUDIBLE]
RADML FOX: Oh, yeah, I got a guy who will help you out when we get done.
REP9: [U/I]…but, uh, I just wanted to check anyway. With…with the Sheik Sattr Abu Risha, what security was actually being provided still by the Americans at the time of his death? What was the arrangement? And I know originally there was a tank by his house. What were the actual arrangement for protecting him at the time that…of his, of his death?
G-ANDERSON: Uh, the primacy for that was the Iraqi Security Forces. There’s an actual Police Station right adjacent to his compound, which was…their manning level at the time of his death was about five hundred (500) police. Now that…obviously not all there at the same time, but that was the size of that station that was responsible for the area around his compound. Uh, Coalition Forces Patrolled through, operate with and obviously were involved with many things that he was doing out there to make sure and provide for his safety, but at the time of his movement from the compound it was an ISF-IP (Iraqi Police) led security.
REP9: Because I’ve been hearing, I mean another question that, you know, comes to mind is here in Baghdad you’ll have the key or primary Iraqi government officials will have U.S. or private contractors provided by Coalition For…to guard them. Why wasn’t that, uhm, the case for Sheik Sattr?
G-ANDERSON: Well, he has his own private security as well.
REP9: Uhm-huh. American…
[VOICES OVERLAP]
G-ANDERSON: No, no…
REP9: …or western?
[VOICES OVERLAP]
G-ANDERSON: …no, Iraqi.
REP9: Okay. Did he not want that? Because I know that was… That’s provided in Baghdad, right, for...
G-ANDERSON: Well, it depends who you’re talking about, but based on which level of authority here in the government, which ones have exact coalition or contract security and then which leaders here in the country have their own…their own personal security detachment. He had in essence his own PSD Iraqi Security, which has his primary, uh, immediate inner circle if you will protection.
REP9: Uhm-huh. Do you think it was…was it sort of an inside job from that?
G-ANDERSON: Oh, again, we’ve got…we’re sorting out the intelligence based on what we found, based on who we… What the connections are of the detainee and we’ll figure all that out based on who shared what information, time of travel, mode of travel, route of travel, etc. How all that information was passed, which led to his ultimate death.
STEVE: Was it, was it a sort of a road side bomb or what did it involved? I hear stories about the, uh, [U/I] by the side of the road.
G-ANDERSON: Well we’re…once again, the investigation continues. Until we have all the facts it’s…we can’t speculate.
UM: No more questions, please.
RADML FOX: Okay, well, I appreciate your time this afternoon. Joe thank you for joining us today. It’s been a real pleasure. Thank you. Thanks very much.
G-ANDERSON: Thank you.
[END OF PRESS CONFERENCE]
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