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PRESS CONFERENCE: Lt. Gen. Lloyd Austin, MNC-I, April 1, 2009

Multi-National Force-Iraq

Lt. Gen. Lloyd J. Austin, commanding general, Multi-National Corps – Iraq, provides an operational update.

PRESS CONFERENCE:
Lieutenant General Lloyd J. Austin, Commanding General,
Multi-National Corps – Iraq

DATE: April 1, 2009

TRANSCRIBED BY: SOS INTERNATIONAL LTD.

PARTICIPANTS:
Lieutenant General Lloyd Austin

REPORTERS:
John Figna[ph] from Fox News
[Unintelligible] Uzaid[ph] from Free Iraqi Media
Do[ph] Asadi[ph] from Kuwait TV
Ahad[ph] Al Nassari[ph] from USA Today-Baghdad
Youssef[ph] Zmein[ph] from [Unintelligible]
Holud[ph] Uzari[ph] from Malafa[ph] Press
Abdura[ph] [Unintelligible] from [Unintelligible] Newspaper
REPORTERS 1-9

*REP1 = REPORTER 1
*INT = INTERPRETER

LTG AUSTIN: As-Salāmu `Alaykum and good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. And thanks to all of you for joining us today.

Our Corps team has been in Iraq for more than 14 months now and I can say that it has been a remarkable time for all of us. The security environment has improved significantly and our partnership with the Iraqi Security Forces has developed and strengthened over time. And the quality of life for Iraqis is improving. And the country has just recently completed its own safe and secure provincial elections. And although our work is not yet finished, I am very confident that this next year can be just as successful as the past year was.

It has truly been an honor for me to serve side by side with the Iraqi Security Forces to provide security for the Iraqi people. But now, as our time here as a Multi-National Corps – Iraq headquarters draws to a close, I’d like to take this opportunity to reflect on the past 14 months. And following that, I’ll entertain some of your questions.

When our Corps arrived here in February of 2008, the country was experiencing over...nearly 400 attacks per week nationwide. And the Coalition was reducing its force structure from 20 Brigade Combat Teams to 15 Brigade Combat Teams. And we had nearly 100,000 Abna Al-Iraq fighting for their country alongside us. And although the security trends were moving in a positive direction, we knew that to significantly improve security for the Iraqi people, we had to aggressively seize emerging opportunities. And so coming in, the 18th Airborne Corps immediately focused on holding the security gains in Baghdad and Anbar. And we were determined to defeat al-Qaida in the northern parts of the country. And we also wanted to help the Iraqis improve their ability to extend security and build civil capacity in the south.

And it has truly been a year of capitalizing on opportunities. Last March, when the prime minister made the decision to move into Basra to combat criminals and extremists during the Charge of the Knights Operation, the Corps had its first opportunity to gain the initiative in the south. And we didn’t hesitate in partnering with the Iraqi Security Forces. And while it was an Iraqi-conceived and an Iraqi-planned operation, we took the opportunity to provide our combat enablers through our Military Transition Teams with the Iraqi units.

The operation in Basra was a decisive point for the entire country for three reasons: First, it was the first large-scale deployment of the Iraqi Army by order of the prime minister. And second, it was a clear signal to all extremists and criminals – whether Sunni or Shi’a – that they do not have a future in this great country. And third, the Government of Iraq demonstrated that it is a government for all Iraqis. And the results could have turned out very differently, and the consequences of that would have sparked a chain of events that would have unraveled our hard-fought gains. And due to some really tremendous partnering and our skilled use of our enablers, Basra became a real turning point for the country and for the Iraqi Security Forces. And so in Basra, levels of violence are at six-year lows. The local economy is improving and the Port of Um-Qasr is developing. And this progress is all possible because of the defeat of the criminals and the extremists that once dominated the south.

At the same time we were fighting against Shi’a extremists in the south, we were also maneuvering our Corps forces in the Jazeera Desert and in Mosul in the north to challenge Sunni extremists and foreign fighters that were coming across the border. And it was very important for us to remove the sanctuaries that the extremists were using and to deny staging areas for attacks and to apply constant pressure on al-Qaida. And over the course of our operations in the north, we had some absolutely remarkable impacts on the extremist networks and we were able to substantially reduce the flow of foreign extremists coming into the country. This offensive action resulted in a steep reduction of high-profile attacks against the people in Mosul and in Baghdad. Each foreign fighter removed was another potential suicide attack prevented. Our efforts along the border in the Jazeera Desert and in Mosul greatly reduced the Sunni insurgency’s ability to quickly reseed their ranks.

And while we had some great effects against al-Qaida’s enemy in the south and in the north, we knew coming in that the key to long-term security in Iraq was the Iraqi Security Forces. We also knew that it was important for us to further develop our partnership with the Iraqi Security Forces. And since our Corps headquarters assumed command in early 2008, we have reduced the size of our force – both U.S. and Coalition – by 25% all while providing security to 25% more of Iraq’s populated areas. And so with a smaller force structure and a larger area of operations, security has continued to improve and that is because of our strong partnership.

Our partnering efforts have evolved over the past year from de-conflicting individual operations to synchronizing combined operations. And this strengthened partnership led to many accomplishments, to include a smooth transition to the security agreement and the safe and secure provincial elections.

And so what we have seen from Basra to Amara to Sadr City in Baghdad to Mosul in Diyala is that we have expanded our ability to extend security throughout all of the country. And that is why the results of this past year have been so extraordinary. We have driven down the levels of attacks by the violent extremists and the terrorists and they are at the lowest levels in six years. And there have been many other areas of progress as well. And for example, we were able to successfully transfer the Sons of Iraq Program to the Iraqi government. And the work of the Sons of Iraq is far from finished, but the government has demonstrated that it is committed to supporting these Iraqis through skills training and job placement. And our border security strategy has greatly reduced the number of foreign fighters coming into the country, illegal weapons and explosives that made their way into Iraq. And while essential services are not yet where they need to be, they are improving as well. We’ve also assisted in developing Iraqi governance at the provincial and local level as well as implementing the rule of law.

And so the past 14 months has been a period of tremendous opportunity that led to significant progress for the country of Iraq. It has been a decisive year and we could not have done it without the professionalism and the fortitude and the courage of our brave Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and civilians. And we will never forget the 188 men and women from our ranks that willingly gave their lives so that we could help the Iraqi people. They made an incredible difference for this country.

The next two years will be a time of new opportunities, opportunities to achieve lasting security. And during this time, the Corps will remain focused on the work that remains because the Coalition is absolutely committed to ridding Iraq of violent extremists. The Coalition is also committed to enabling Iraq to provide safe and secure...provide for safe and secure national elections at the end of the year so that Iraqi people can live peacefully and have prosperous lives.

The continued signs of progress are remarkable and I remain very optimistic about the future. The country has achieved much in the way of progress and I know that much more will be achieved in the next year.

Shukran jaziilan and I will take your questions now. Yes, sir.

REP1: General, John Figna[ph] with Fox News. You talked briefly about the Sons of Iraq, the Awakening Councils. As you leave, looking forward, are you satisfied that there is enough progress to bring the Sons of Iraq along. The government has promised 20% of them will join the security forces; now it appears only a quarter of that number has been met. The interior ministry has indicated there is a hiring freeze. Other jobs in the government haven’t been met. In light of what happened this past weekend, where you went into one of the neighborhoods—or the Iraqi Security Forces went into one of the neighborhoods and met some resistance there and had street battles, does the government have to do a lot more to make this work? Are you concerned that the Sons of Iraq could turn and go elsewhere? And where else would they go?

LTG AUSTIN: Well, I am confident that the government will remain committed to helping the people that have helped the country of Iraq. To put things in perspective for you, this program is about helping people and helping people to find jobs eventually. The size of the program—it includes...the program includes about 100,000...almost 100,000 Sons of Iraq. Now, when you consider the size of that group of people, it’s an enormous task to begin with. If you just think about the numbers of forces that I have fielded for the Coalition, we only have a little less than 140,000. So this is a big group of people.

And you know we started this a year ago and I...we were told by everybody that could comment on it that it would never work and that the government would never take responsibility for this program. It is an important program. And the government has taken responsibility for the program. They have met all of their objectives to date. We had somewhat of a hiccup in terms of some budget issues this month that have been resolved, and that effected the prompt payment of the Sons of Iraq. But we’ve resolved those. And I’m confident that we’ll continue to move forward. Again, this is about finding people jobs or helping people to find jobs, meaningful jobs that will...that they can be proud of, that they can provide for their families with, and that sort of business.

Every step of the way, we’ve been challenged and told by, you know, a number of people that it won’t work, can’t possibly succeed. But I think the government...the prime minister has proven those people wrong, and they continue to do so on a daily basis. Again, this will not be easy. It is a large number of people. But having said that, I think that the government, the Coalition Forces continue to work hard to do the right things. And I’m confident that we’ll continue to move in the right direction.

Sir.

REP2: [Asks question in Arabic.]

INT: [Unintelligible] Uzaid[ph] from Free Iraqi Media. Regarding the last situation in Al Fadhil area in Baghdad, we saw that there is a great difference between the IGOI and ISF on one side and the Sons of Iraq or the Sahwas on the other side. We see that there is excessive trust from the Coalition...from the American side while the GOI, in more than one announcement, indicates that amongst these people, the Sahwas, there are terrorists and wanted for justice. What is your vision for this? Where did you get this trust in these people from?

LTG AUSTIN: Just to make sure I understood your question, sir; you stated that there were criminal elements and terrorists in the ranks of the Sons of Iraq and your concern is what we are doing about those?

REP2: [Speaks in Arabic.]

INT: No. My question exactly is that the Sons of Iraq or the Sahwas dealt with American side, U.S. forces, before dealing with the GOI. And now you’re asking GOI to include these infidels to the ranks of the Iraqi Army and ISF. How is it that the GOI will deal with those especially that if it has proof and evidence that there are criminals in the ranks?

LTG AUSTIN: Again, in terms of the total number of Sons of Iraq, it’s well over 90,000 people. We don’t expect that we’ll employ all 90,000 of those people into the Iraqi Security Forces. As a matter of fact, we stated early on that only about 20% of those people would go into the Iraqi Security Forces. And those people would obviously have to be vetted just like any other person applying for a job in the Iraqi Security Forces.

So to answer your question and, you know, how we ensure that we don’t get the wrong people into the Iraqi Security Forces, we’ll follow the normal processes that have been outlined for anyone that wants to join up with the Iraqi Security Forces. And I think that vetting process is thorough and accurate; and so far, it’s worked pretty well.

All the way in the back, please.

REP3: [Asks question in Arabic.]

INT: Do[ph] Asadi[ph] from Kuwait TV. In the past three weeks, there was an increase in the level of violence. Do you believe that this had affected the level of the stability of the security situation? And what’s the level of the security situation now? Number two, there are governmental announcement about a month or two ago referring to the possibility of keeping the combat forces of the American forces even after the security agreement date. Are you prepared to assist the Iraqi forces and assisting them to keep the security stability even past the security agreement date?

LTG AUSTIN: Well, I’ll answer your last question first. We are here to assist the Government of Iraq. And we’ve made that clear about every day that we’ve been a part of this coalition. We will continue to do so the entire time that we’re here. And so whatever the government needs in terms of support for its forces, we stand ready to provide that support. I think that we’ve demonstrated that over time.

The first part of the question I think was in reference to the increased numbers of attacks or the increased level of violence. You know I think there are some misperceptions about the overall level of violence in the country right now. If you take a look at the numbers of attacks, the numbers of IEDs and those sorts of things, you’ll find that in raw numbers, we are at one of the lowest levels that we’ve been since back in 2003—our numbers really kind of reflect those that we were seeing in 2003. In terms of the numbers of troops that I’ve had killed in action, it is...I think the month of March was the lowest number ever. And so there are a lot of positive indicators that continue to tell us that good things are happening.

What we’ve witnessed here in the last several weeks is a number of high-profile attacks. We’ve seen some car bombings, a couple of suicide vests. And, you know, we’ve been clear all along, throughout, that al-Qaida and associated movements and other elements maintain a capability to conduct high-profile attacks. And that’s really their focus: To conduct high-profile attacks that could possibly erode the confidence of the people. But it won’t, they won’t. And so I think security overall is...continues to improve on a daily basis. Again, the enemy will continue to focus on conducting high-profile attacks that can be played out in the media and other places. So we stand ready to help the Government of Iraq as we always have, and I think, again, the security situation continues to improve.

We’re looking to create sustainable security though. And sustainable security to me means that a number of things happen, you know, we...indicators continue to improve. But it also means that the Iraqi Security Forces have the ability to do this—when we’re no longer here—on their own. And we have a ways to go before we’re confident that we’ve done all the things, that we have all the things in place before we can say that can happen, but we’re working towards that each and every day.

Sir.

REP4: [Asks question in Arabic.]

INT: Ahad[ph] Al Nassari[ph], [Unintelligible]. I have two questions. The first, according to your announcement in last March, you assured the Government of Iraq in the Charge of Knights. But the Government of Iraq announced by Dr. Ali D’Beldi[ph], a spokesperson, said the Charge of the Knights was absolutely Iraqi with the participation of no other than the Iraqi forces from MOD and MOI. So how was it your participation and your support? Was it logistical support or on the ground combat? The second question is about the events in Al Fadhil lately and the detention of Adel Mashadani. If there is an insurgency by the Sons of...of the Sahwas in Baghdad, some of them have threatened to resurge if they continue detaining the commanders of the Sahwa. What is the position of the American Army regarding this? Thank you.

LTG AUSTIN: First of all, in re-...regarding the Charge of the Knights Operation. Again, as I stated earlier, that operation was Iraqi conceived and Iraqi planned. We provided some combat enablers and some logistics as we always have to support the Iraqi Security Forces. And so I don’t think there are any surprises or changes of positions. You know it’s exactly as we said last year at this time, that, you know, we did provide some help, but the operation was essentially an Iraqi-conceived, -planned, and –executed operation. And they did a tremendous job and the results speak for themselves.

In terms of the operation in Fadhil, if I could ask you to state your question again, we’ll try to see if we can...we’ll make sure....

REP4: [Repeats question in Arabic.]

INT: My question was that there are threats from some of the Sahwa commanders in Baghdad and other areas that if the detentions of the Sahwa leaders continue, they threaten that they will re-surge against the Iraqi government. So what is American position if there is an insurgency by the Sons of Sahwa against the Government of Iraq?

LTG AUSTIN: Yeah. You know I think what we should remember is that Adel Mashadani was arrested or detained by the Government of Iraq because there were standing warrants out for him. And so in accordance with the law, if there are warrants on people, they have to answer for those warrants. They have to face the judicial system and let that be sorted out in the Iraqi judicial system. And I am confident that that will happen.

You know I don’t see any type of campaign to...ongoing to arrest Sahwa leaders. As a matter of fact, it’s far from...that is far from the case. Again, you know if you look at the size of this program, almost 100,000 people, it’s reasonable to assume that in that pool of 100,000 people, there will be people that have, you know, warrants, there will be people that have to answer to the law for a number of things. But those are individual incidents. That is not any indication of some sort of campaign focused on the Sons of Iraq. And I have every confidence that the Sons of Iraq Program will stand and that the Government of Iraq will continue to take care of the Sons of Iraq as they have in the past.

You know we’ve been at this for a year now. Again, we’ve met all of the objectives. The government has done what it said it would do. And quite frankly, I am—as I know a number of people are—really proud of our progress. We fully understand that the work is not done. We have more work to do. And we’ll continue to stay with it until we have people employed and we take care of the people that have helped the country of Iraq.

All the way in the back, sir.

REP5: Good afternoon, sir. [Unintelligible] from USA Today-Baghdad. Sir, if there is any development for the Iraqi Army, for the heavy metals, for the heavy engines, for the new Iraqi Army, let’s say. We want to hear from you about that.

LTG AUSTIN: Defense is probably the best spokesman for the future acquisitions of the Iraqi Army, and I’ll let the minister of defense make any announcements that need to be made there.

What I can tell you about though is how we’re doing in terms of helping the Iraqi Army develop a counterinsurgency-capable force. And that’s what we need most in the near future, in the near term, and that’s what we’re focused on. And that force is focused on ensuring stability and security for the foreseeable future and being able to protect the people, the citizens of this country.

I think we’re doing a great job. I think there’s...we still have some work to do. We still need to ensure that the Iraqi Army has the combat enablers that it needs to become self-sufficient in a counterinsurgency-type of operation. But again, we’ve made tremendous progress and I am very hopeful about the future.

Next question. Yes, sir. In the front here.

REP6: Youssef[ph] Zmein[ph], Iraq [unintelligible]. I’ve got a couple of questions: Both of them about provinces, one of them in deep south, which is Basra; the other one is Mosul. About Basra, we all know that the American Army took full control of the base that used to be occupied by the American—oh, sorry—the British troops. What is the main task that the American would establish in Basra? The other question about Mosul. Is there any ongoing negotiations with the Iraqi government to keep a presence of American troops there? Thank you.

LTG AUSTIN: First in terms of Basra, in terms of what our focus is in Basra; it is what...exactly what the UK element has done down there for some time, that is to partner with the Iraqi Security Forces. The immediate focus will be to help complete the professionalization and the training of the Iraq-...of the police in the town of Basra. As you know, as the Charge of the Knights Operation was conducted, we lost a number of policemen that were in the ranks, and we have to rebuild that force and we’re doing that. We’re making great progress. And so that will be the focus for the immediate future.

In terms of Mosul, again, I think we’re making tremendous progress in Mosul. As you know, the al-Qaida element has been very...fairly active up there for some time and there’s still work to be done. What we’ll do is we’ll conduct an assessment along with our Iraqi partners on what the requirements are in Ninawa Province and in Mosul specifically. And based upon that joint assessment, we’ll recommend to both the Iraqi Security Force leadership and our leadership what capabilities we need to maintain, and then we’ll go from there.

Next question, please. All the way in the back. Next one, here.

REP7: [Asks question in Arabic.]

INT: Holud[ph] Uzari[ph] from Malafa[ph] Press. You mentioned that there were operations in...that there were joint operations between you and the Iraqi forces and you saw the progress of these forces. And you also affirmed that you still support those forces. Do you believe and after your departure and your forces leaving Iraq, are these Iraqi forces capable of maintaining the security and keeping it as it is? Or do you think that afterwards there will be some violations...security violations after that?

LTG AUSTIN: Well, we certainly hope that the Iraqi Security Forces will have the capability to do this on their own once we are no longer here. While we are here, we stand ready to help in any way we can, and we will help guard against any type of unforeseen challenge.

We’re going to work every day that we are here to help the Iraqi Security Forces develop as much as they can. And again, I think we’ve made tremendous progress. You know we...in 18 months or so, we...the Army grew by almost 100,000 people. We recruited those people. Those people were trained and equipped. And all of that was done while we were fighting, which is a remarkable accomplishment. At the same time, the police forces grew and the national police force grew as well. And so if you add all that together and think about what has been done in the last 18 months to 2 years to improve the capability of the Iraqi Security Forces, I don’t think many people would have thought that we would be this far along this quickly. And so I’m very optimistic.

There is work to be done, that’s for sure. We are not there yet, but we have made tremendous progress. And I think everyone should be justifiably proud. And while we’re proud, we need to remain realistic, we need to be...we need to stay focused on getting those things done that need to be done to complete the equipping and the training of the Iraqi Security Forces so they have that capability that you just mentioned.

Sir.

REP8: [Asks question in Arabic.]

INT: You said that you will work to achieve sustained security. Do you think after two years that the AQI or other armed groups will cause concern for the country of Iraq after those years? And what steps will you take to achieve that sustained security? Thank you.

LTG AUSTIN: Again, sir, I think one of the most important things that must be done to guarantee sustainable security is to ensure that the Iraqi Security Forces – you know the Army, the police, the national police, the border enforcement element – that they have the ability to do this on their own. They have to be able to protect the people. They have to be able to collect intelligence, analyze that intelligence, be able to know where the next threat is going to come from, and then have the capability to address that threat. And so we’re working every day to ensure that when we leave the Iraqi Security Forces do, in fact, have that capability. Again, it’s going to require some more work, but I think that we’re all encouraged by what we’re seeing. I’m confident that if we can continue along like we’re going, you know, we’ll continue to get...become more and more capable every day.

And I have time for one more question, please. Yes, sir. Second row.

REP9: [Asks question in Arabic.]

INT: Abdura[ph] [Unintelligible], [unintelligible] chief of [Unintelligible] Newspaper. Mr. Austin, the Iraqi forces alwa-...we always hear the Iraqi officials talking about the readiness of the Iraqi forces to receive the security files. But the American officials always say that the...about the sleeping cell and the possibility of their awakening and the fragile situation. So what is the reality?

LTG AUSTIN: Well, certainly we know that there are a number of things that can cause insurgent elements to regroup and become more capable. Our goal is to guard against that. Our goal is to help create the capability in the Iraqi Security Forces to prevent that from happening. And it’s not just the Americans that are concerned about those types of things. As you’ve heard today, three or four questions were focused on whether or not the Iraqi Security Forces had capability to do this on their own and whether we were concerned about al-Qaida or other elements becoming more powerful as we left.

I think everyone – Iraqi, American, the rest of the Coalition, our neighbors in the neighborhood in this part of the world – all of us are thinking about the future and all of us are hopeful that we will develop the capabilities to guard against insurgent elements coming back. And I am confident that based upon what I’ve seen and based upon the professionalism of the Iraqi Security Forces that we will get there one day. It’s just going to require a little bit more work.

And so again, you have to be proud of what you’ve seen thus far. If you consider where we were a year ago as we were fighting in Basra, Sadr City, in the north against al-Qaida, and we were still trying to control elements in the Anbar Province. If you consider how far we’ve come in just one year, it is remarkable change. And that change has to provide hope for the Iraqi people and hope for everyone in this region of the world, quite frankly. And so I, you know, again, I think next year is going to be another good year, another year of significant accomplishments. And I know the Coalition looks forward to continuing to work with you.

I want to thank everyone for their time and for your tremendous questions, some very great questions. I’ve really enjoyed our time together, especially these sessions that we’ve had here. And it’s been my honor to serve the Iraqi people over the last 14-plus months. Iraq has tremendous potential and a great future in front of it. And it’s been exciting for me to once again witness the tremendous progress.

I’d like to congratulate the people of Iraq and the Iraqi Security Forces and the Government of Iraq on all of the successes that we’ve seen to date. And I wish you the best of luck in the future. Shukran jaziilan and thank you very much.