30 March 2003
Suicide Attacks a Sign of "a Dying Regime," General Franks Says
(CENTCOM briefing March 30, 2003) (900) By Jane Morse Washington File Staff Writer Suicide bombing attacks against coalition forces in Iraq are a sign of "a dying regime," says General Tommy Franks, commander of the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) who oversees U.S. forces fighting in Operation Iraqi Freedom. During a March 30 press briefing at Camp As Sayliyah in Qatar, Franks was asked to comment on the March 29 attack by an apparent suicide bomber which killed four U.S. 3rd Infantry Division soldiers at a road checkpoint near the city of Najaf. "It's not at all remarkable," he said, "that a dying regime would undertake such tactics as suicide bombers." When asked about the whereabouts and condition of Saddam Hussein, Franks said: "I don't know whether the leader of this regime is dead or alive." He added: "I have not seen credible evidence over the last period of days since we started this operation that this regime is being controlled by the top, as we understand the top." Franks said the desperate tactics of Saddam's supporters will not affect coalition procedures towards Iraqi civilians. "We've talked on a number of occasions about doing our very best to protect the non-combatants, to protect the Iraqis. This [Najaf incident] won't change that," he said. Calling coalition efforts "an incredible precise military operation," Franks told reporters: "You have seen time and time and time again military targets fall while the civilian infrastructure remains in place." Coalition forces in Iraq, with their superior strength, will "simply wait and see what the psychology of the regime turns out to be in the face of this pressure," the general said. Noting that Saddam Hussein holds weapons of mass destruction, Franks said: "We have absolutely no assurance that this regime won't use those weapons of mass destruction. We have absolutely no assurance that this regime will not continue as best it can to brutalize its own people and to destroy its own infrastructure. We'll remain on the course in order to accomplish the objectives that my boss (President George Bush) laid out very early in this, and we'll succeed." "My experience is that the people of Iraq will welcome their liberation, to be sure," the general said. Death squads supporting Saddam Hussein have occupied the centers of places such as Basra, An Nasiriyah, Diwaniyah, Najaf, and As Samawa, Franks reported. "They have put themselves in a position to be able to terrorize the Iraqis in these villages and in these cities and to be able to move out along the lines of communication to attempt to interdict our supplies," he said. "They have not been able to do that. Our supplies have in fact run this 250-plus miles (towards the Iraqi capital of Baghdad), and they continue to do that. "These bands of thugs that operate inside these population centers face more and more of our capability every day," he said. Improved coalition communications and security and the reduction of pockets of Saddam's fighters in cities and towns have allowed coalition supplies to keep moving with the forces they are meant to support, Franks said. He added: "We see more and better connection between our forces and the local Iraqis in each one of these cities." Summing up the accomplishments of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Franks noted that coalition forces have in just 11 days: -- secured from regime destruction the oil fields in southern Iraq which will provide a necessary component for the country's reconstruction; -- established "air and ground freedom of action" in western Iraq and worked to protect Iraq's neighbors from potential regime use of weapons of mass destruction; -- dominated by air "every square foot of Iraq" and steadily reduced Saddam's military capability; -- established air operations from a number of Iraqi airfields which are now under coalition control; -- attacked and destroyed a massive terrorist facility in northern Iraq; -- secured the entire coastline of Iraq, opening ports that will receive humanitarian assistance for the Iraqi people; -- introduced a "very capable" ground force into northern Iraq to reduce tensions between the Turks and the Kurds and present "a serious northern threat" to regime forces; --staged attacks on multiple fronts against regime forces to within 60 miles of Baghdad; and -- worked with local Iraqis in the city of An Nasiriyah to fight regime members there. "We'll continue to surprise the enemy by attacking at all times of day and night all over the battlefield," Franks said, speaking of the immediate future plans for Operation Iraqi Freedom. "Coalition forces will continue to advance on Baghdad while the Iraqi regime will continue to lose control of the country. The regime will continue in the days ahead to locate military assets near civilians, near cultural sites, near hospitals, near schools. "And the regime may well attempt to destroy the Iraqi infrastructure. We'll do our best to protect the citizens of Iraq, while the regime does its best to use them as human shields. Our targets will remain the Iraqi regime, not the Iraqi people, and we will continue to provide humanitarian assistance, and we will continue to open the gateways in the south, and in the west, and in the north," the general said. "The regime is in trouble, and they know it," Franks said. (The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
