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17 March 2006

Iraqi Sectarian Violence Below Pre-Samarra Level, General Says

Commander of Multi-National Corps -- Iraq says chance of civil war "still far away"

Washington -- The level of sectarian violence in Iraq has tapered off significantly, returning to levels seen before the February 22 bombing of the Golden Mosque in Samarra, Iraq, a U.S. general in Iraq says.

In a March 17 video press briefing from Iraq, Lieutenant General Peter Chiarelli, commander of Multi-National Corps-Iraq, said the increase in sectarian violence following the February 22 attack on the al-Samarra mosque "has since tapered off." (See related article.)

Now, he said, attacks are of the same types as before the mosque bombing, "and actually at a slightly lower number." (See related article.)

Some violent events occurring now are sectarian, Chiarelli said, but there are far fewer of these than is being reported in the media.  In reality, he said, most of the violence is either is the work of al-Qaida operatives or Iraqi insurgents trying to prevent a government from taking shape or is perpetrated by criminals.

"I don't want to downplay the tragedy of the violence that has occurred," Chiarelli said, "However, it may be unfair to characterize every post-22nd February event as sectarian in nature."

The general pointed out that significant sections of Iraqi society do not live amid daily sectarian tension.  "Many Iraqis are part of mixed marriages and live in mixed neighborhoods and consider themselves Iraqis first," he said.

Chiarelli also downplayed the chances for civil war erupting between Sunni and Shia Muslims in Iraq.

"Quite frankly, the talk of civil war is nothing new," he said.  "I've heard people debate the topic for three years now."

The general said that though the possibility of civil war might be higher now "than it has been in the last three years, yet I believe we are still far away from such an event."

The transcript of Chiarelli's briefing is available on the Defense Department Web site.

For more information, see Iraq Update.

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)