16 March 2006
Coalition Forces Committed to Iraq, Bolton Says
U.N. Security Council hears reports on sectarian violence
By Judy Aita
Washington File United Nations Correspondent
United Nations -- Insurgents and terrorists are intent on carrying out attacks against Iraqi civilians, officials and security forces in hopes of destabilizing the government and disrupting the fledgling democracy, U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said March 15.
Reporting to the Security Council on behalf of the Multi-National Force in Iraq (MNF), Bolton said that foreign countries, especially Syria and Iran, must do more to stop foreign fighters from entering Iraq and to end material and financial support for opponents of the new Iraqi government.
The MNF, he said, remains committed to providing security, training the Iraqi security forces and protecting U.N. operations in Iraq.
The ambassador said that more than 80 percent of the attacks are concentrated in four of Iraq's 18 provinces -- Baghdad, Al Anbar, Salah ad din and Ninawa -- while 12 provinces, which have more than 50 percent of the population, have experienced only 6 percent of the attacks.
Although 80 percent of the attacks are directed against the MNF, Iraqis suffer 75 percent of the casualties, the ambassador said. "Insurgents have learned to avoid direct engagements with coalition forces, using hit-and-run attacks and attacks from a distance instead. Improvised explosive devices remain the primary insurgent weapon of choice."
The Iraqi security forces continue to "grow, improve and conduct more and more independent operations each day," Bolton reported. As of March, 101 Iraqi army and special operations battalions are conducting counterinsurgency actions, all 28 Iraqi national police units are operational and 65 percent of Baghdad is under control of the Iraqi security forces, Bolton said.
Iraqi forces now total more than 240,000 troops, trained and equipped for counterinsurgency operations, he said. (See related article.)
Iraq's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, Feisal Amin al-Istrabadi, said that the attack on the Shi’ite shrine in Samarra February 22 was a new tactic for the terrorists who want to foment a civil war pitting Shi’a Muslims against Sunni Muslims. (See related article.)
"Yet Iraqis from across confessional, ethnic, and political lines stand united in their horror and condemnation of such attacks, as they condemn attacks on all houses of worship," he said.
POLITICAL STABILIZATION TIED TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Al-Istrabadi said that an integral part of the political stabilization of Iraq must be economic development.
"Iraq has too long been isolated from the world economy. To the extent those who oppose Iraq's political development succeed in keeping Iraq so isolated, they will have accomplished a major strategic aim," he said. He called on donor countries to transfer the sums of money that they have pledged for Iraq's reconstruction.
Al-Istrabadi said that the current security situation has prevented the Iraqi government from making sufficient progress in protecting human rights.
Nevertheless, for the first time in 46 years, nongovernmental groups have unfettered access to governmental agencies, jails, prisons and courthouses, the ambassador said. "When allegations of abuse do arise, they are reported in the media and ... are investigated by government authorities," Al-Istrabadi said. He added that police and security forces are receiving extensive human rights training.
Highlighting the rampant sectarian violence, the U.N. special envoy to Iraq, Ashraf Qazi, said that everything possible must be done now to help complete negotiations on a new government.
"Recent developments have made negotiations on government formation more difficult," Qazi said. "This has created a dangerous and elongated political vacuum."
Qazi said that the U.N. Assistance Mission in Iraq "stands ready to provide any assistance that might be necessary for the formation of an inclusive government and is fully engaged with Iraqi leaders to support the constitutional review and the effective implementation of the constitution."
Given the grave security, political and reconstruction challenges to the country, Iraq's progress in forming a representative government according to a timetable set by Iraqi politicians and endorsed by the Security Council "is all the more remarkable," Qazi said.
Even though the violence that has followed the bombing of the Samarra shrine has threatened the country's political transition, the U.N. envoy said, "the calls by a large spectrum of Iraq's political and religious leaders for restraint and peaceful dialogue and the quick concrete action taken by the government of Iraq to bring the situation under control are promising signs that the potential for peaceful political solution still exists."
For additional information, see Iraq Update.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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