NEWS RELEASEHEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND 7115 South Boundary Boulevard MacDill AFB, Fla. 33621-5101 Phone: (813) 827-5894; FAX: (813) 827-2211; DSN 651-5894 |
April 23, 2003
Release Number: 03-04-178
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DAY 3 OF GARNER POOL -- PART E
Garner Pool day 3, part E
PART E
At his press conference on the lawns of the parliament Garner said the role of ORHA was "to do two things, both of them types of reconstruction.
"The first is physical reconstruction. Turn on the lights, turn on the water, turn on the electricity, get the bridges repaired, get the roads repaired, put the children are back in school, make sure the health system is good.
"The second type of reconstruction is the political reconstruction. In that framework, our goal and our purpose here is to create an environment in Iraq where we can have a democratic process where Iraqis can choose their own leader where Iraqis can choose their own type of government and put together a democratic process so at the end of that Iraq has a government that represents the freely elected will of the Iraqi people."
In response to a question about whether ORHA can accomplish its goals when parts of the country are not yet secure:
"I think security is getting better every day and I think this is the natural aftermath of a conflict. I think things are going incredibly fast.
I think they are going a lot better than it's been portrayed. I have a good feeling about this. I'm sort of a glass half full guy, not a glass half empty guy. I think security is getting better. I think public services are getting better. I think in very short order you'll see a change in the attitudes and the will of the people themselves."
Tim Cross: There is a plan to reconstruct the Iraqi armed forces and that process will include bringing together many of the people who have been involved in this conflict. I think for all of us we must remember the timelines associated with what's going on here.
"It's very pleasant sitting here in this rose garden in a secure environment under a system that is democratic and these people have been able to build so much in the last 12 years. But that does not fly right across Iraq and there's no point in pretending otherwise. So there's work to be done here. We have to make sure the environment is secure. We have to work with the international community."
"There's a lot of work to be done here. But yes, we will disarm slowly and we will rebuilt Iraq's armed forces, enable them to rebuild the Iraqi armed forces.
On a question about relationship with Turkey:
Garner: "Right now the coalition is dealing very actively with the Turkish government and that seems to be going very well and I think in the very near future, very shortly you will see the new Iraqi government dealing with the Turkish government. I don't see any problems there in the future. It'll all work out. It's a work in progress."
On a question about federalism in the north.
"I spent the day with Mr. Talabani today and we talked about a democratic government for Iraq that represented all people that was a mosaic of Iraq, the cultures, the ethnicities, the religions and he was in full agreement that the future Iraq would be a democratic Iraq representing all people."
Bruce Moore: "The situation in Mosul is getting better every day. It's much better than it was last week and it going to be better tomorrow. There are more forces coming into to the Mosul area and shortly we'll see weapons off the street and we'll see more policemen back. It's a slow process but it will be secure."
Asked if they had the right politicians in place in Kirkuk and Mosul Garner said this would be sorted out by democracy. "If the right people aren't in place the people will tell us and that is part of the democratic process."
Later, after visiting the bridge, he said his British deputy Major General Tim Cross and he would revisit the area in two weeks, spending about three days there, to address all the issues of concern.
Challenged on locals' ongoing fears about safety and security, especially in the Mosul area, he said: "There is going to be a bunch of American troops in there real soon, if they are not already. The 101st is coming out here. That will give them time to get law enforcement back in, the police and that type of other stuff.
"I think you got to prioritize and put troops where you are stabilizing until you bring in a police force and you move them to another area."
Of reports in cholera and typhoid in Baghdad, he said his advisers had been expecting such a development. "Of course it starts with sanitation and water and all that and that's a problem. We've just got to get that faster. It all revolves around electricity and the grid is coming up now so I think it will come back pretty quick. But once that stuff has started it takes a while to get rid of. To get everything clean is what we have to do."
On aid agencies refusing to come in until they feel secure he said: "Well, it's getting better. We can't make them come in and I don't want them to come in if it's not secure. We will get it secure but it will just take time.
"We are trying to stabilize (the security) as fast as we can. That's a Centcom mission and they are doing that now, that's why they are putting the 101st in here and the 4th Division is getting ready to go into Baghdad so I think that will begin to stabilize over time but Baghdad is a big, big city. It will take a while.
"One of the other things we have to do is get the public services stepped up. Ambassador Bodine is meeting today to see what she can do. She had a small meeting today, she's going to have a larger meeting tomorrow to have a larger meeting tomorrow that I'm going to leave here to go to."
Asked why he had not visited the 'hot' Shia cities such as Najaf or Kerbala on his first visit he said that retired Brigadier General Buck Walters, head of the southern ORHA region, was carrying out a reconnaissance trip there today and would move his headquarters into the area by the beginning of next week.
"I have been down south, I was in Nasiriyah last week, I was in Basra the week before, I have been in Umm Qasr three times. Tim and I have both been in all those places and we are going to go back down probably the end of next week or the beginning of the following week.
"This coming week we are going to work on beginning to stand up the ministries and try to get those going for all the reasons we just talked about and then he and I are going down to the south to spend several days and try to talk to the leaders there and get our arms around that."
He was then challenged on a growing perceptions that the country's 65% Shia majority were flexing their muscles, and what ORHA would do if they demanded an Islamic state with sharia law.
"I don't think 65% of the Shias are saying that. I think there is a small proportion of the Shias that are organized, probably has a lot of Iranian influence but I think if you get the bulk of the Shias, the majority of the Shias, they are glad they are where they are right now.
"Two weeks ago they wouldn't have been able to demonstrate and say those things. Let's recalibrate where we are going here. We have just liberated Iraq. People are demonstrating, that's the first part of freedom. The right to disagree. Things are getting better, no matter what people are saying. I think in another month you will see a whole difference.
As he left the bridge he was surrounded by a group of Arab residents complaining about the lack of services.
They also complained that local Kurds were stealing their petrol to sell further north, where the prices are far higher than in the heavily-subsidized south.
"They have been stealing for 10 days and they take it where they can get more money. We also have no electricity, no water, no gas for cooking," protested one, through an interpreter.
The party then retired to a hotel in Arbil for the night and are due to fly back to Baghdad on Thursday morning.
Stephen Farrell, London Times
Donna Leinwand, USA Today
ends
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