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15 May 2003

Rumsfeld Says Security Is the "Number One Priority" for Iraq

(Secretary, army official say there are no shoot-to-kill orders for
looters) (990)
By Jacquelyn S. Porth
Washington File Security Affairs Writer
Washington -- Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says security is "the
number one priority in Iraq," but he dismissed as false media reports
that U.S. soldiers have orders to shoot looters on sight.
U.S. ground forces will remain in Iraq, the secretary told reporters
at the Pentagon May 15, to provide security "as best as is possible"
and to "create a physical presence ... so that people recognize that
there are individuals in the coalition who are determined" to create a
safe environment for the people of Iraq.
Rumsfeld said plans are being implemented to increase the number of
U.S. military police soldiers in Baghdad in the coming days as a way
to strengthen the physical presence in Iraq, and elements of the 1st
Armored Division will flow into Iraq as mapped out last year by
military commanders. In addition to the U.S. presence, the secretary
said the number of Iraqi police back on the job now in Baghdad totals
7,000.
Even though major combat operations are over in Iraq, "it's still a
very dangerous place where considerable difficult work remains to be
done," Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Richard Myers said. General
Myers, who briefed alongside Rumsfeld, added that "we're [going] about
that work now."
Myers also announced a major raid by the 4th Infantry Division on an
alleged Saddam Hussein regime safe house in a village south of Tikrit.
Initial reports indicated that several dozen individuals have been
detained, he said.
Rumsfeld said he daily examines a map that tracks security conditions,
amounts of food, electricity, and water available as well as public
services for some 27 major Iraqi cities. While those cities are facing
what he described as challenges, he said "most areas are progressing."
In an effort to speed up improvements, Army Major General Buford
Blount said "Task Force Neighborhood" began in Baghdad May 15. Blount,
who is commander of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division, spoke to
reporters at the Pentagon via a videophone broadcast from Baghdad
International Airport in advance of the Rumsfeld-Myers briefing. The
20,000 soldiers under his command are working hard to get Iraq back on
its feet and on the road to self-determination, he said.
Neighborhoods will be visited at random and U.S. soldiers will do
whatever is necessary to provide assistance, including garbage
disposal, medical aid, and ordnance removal, Blount said.
The U.S. forces will have the authority to hire 20 to 30 day workers
on the spot and pay them for whatever needs doing in that
neighborhood. The idea is to instill pride in neighborhoods and
provide a cash infusion at the same time, the commander said. He also
said fuel deliveries to gas stations are being tripled in an effort to
reduce refill lines and frustration at local pumps.
"Security is our number one concern," Blount said, noting that his
troops are dealing with both a criminal element and with Saddam
Hussein loyalists who are trying to undermine coalition work. He
indicated that 90 percent of the activity is petty crime involving
looters, bank robbers and car-jackers, while the remaining 10 percent
is being perpetrated by supporters of the previous regime. The
military official expressed ongoing concern about remnants of the
Ba'ath Party and Saddam's Fedayeen, but he said "de-Ba'athification"
efforts continue.
U.S. soldiers have neither "shoot-to-kill" nor "shoot on sight" orders
with respect to persistent looters, Blount said. He predicted that the
amount of looting will drop because criminals are being held in
custody longer (three weeks now, instead of hours or days) and locals
are communicating more frequently with the now more visible patrolling
forces. As electricity increasingly lights up streets at night and
traffic signals begin working again, Blount said, a sense of security
is further bolstered.
He said his troops are conducting 250 patrols daily and looking to do
some joint patrols with newly returned Iraqi police in Baghdad.
Another 230 new military jeeps will be out on street patrol shortly,
he said, further raising the profile of U.S. forces.
The Army officer said some 21 sites are under U.S. guard. The number
of U.S. military police in the Iraqi capital will soon be increasing
to 4,000, he added. "We're prepared to stay as long as we're required
to," Blount said.
Blount said his forces have been busy hauling 60 to 70 truckloads of
ammunition and weapons out of Baghdad daily. By the end of the week,
the military officer said, more than 1,000 truckloads of equipment
including 35 million rounds of various ammunition will be gone, but
much remains. Completing the job will take another two to three weeks,
he said.
In his operational update, Rumsfeld talked about the contributions
other nations are making to improve life in Iraq. He said 24 nations
are providing military support and 38 have offered financial
assistance totaling more than $1,800 million. The secretary predicted
additional contributions will be announced in coming days. In the
meantime, he said, Lithuania has sent orthopedic surgery specialists
to southern Iraq, Spain has a 150-person health team in-country and is
working on electrical and water system repairs, Greece has dispatched
some 20 tons of food and clothing, and the Czech Republic has a field
hospital operating in Basra and has trucked in water, tents, blankets
and medicine.
Rumsfeld also noted that additional mass graves were unearthed in Iraq
this week, saying they are further evidence of the brutality of Saddam
Hussein's regime. "The discovery was still another chilling reminder
of why so many nations came together" to remove Saddam Hussein from
power, the secretary said. It is a reminder, he said, that a regime
that had "disregard for innocent human life is gone."
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International
Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site:
http://usinfo.state.gov)