28 March 2006
Rumsfeld Says Iraqis Deserve Credit for Security Improvements
More than 1 million Shi'ites safely celebrated major religious holiday
Washington – Thanks to successful security measures put in place by Iraqi authorities, more than 1 million Shi’ites safely observed a major religious holiday for the first time in decades, said Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
In a March 28 press briefing at the Pentagon, Rumsfeld said that during the week of March19 Shi’ite religious pilgrims from throughout the Middle East traveled to the Iraqi cities of Karbala and Najaf to pay tribute to the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad as part of their observation of Arba’een.
The event, banned for decades under the rule of Saddam Hussein, drew massive numbers of celebrants. “It's estimated that more than a million [Shiites] traveled across the country, across Iraq, for the pilgrimage,” Rumsfeld said.
Since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003, Arba’een observances had been the subject to violence caused by insurgents and terrorists seeking to provoke sectarian strife.
“Many [Shi’ite religious pilgrims] slept in tents along the road. Many wore black robes and held banners. Some walked with their children. They were thought to be easy and very visible targets for terrorists,” said Rumsfeld.
He said that during this period in 2004, some 120 Iraqis were killed and 300 were wounded in attacks on religious pilgrims; in 2005, 33 were killed and 130 wounded. In 2006, 12 were killed and two were wounded. Rumsfeld credited efforts by provincial authorities and Iraqi security forces with keeping the peace.
“Provincial governors, provincial police chiefs and Iraqi security personnel executed an extensive security plan,” he said. “The 241,000-strong Iraqi security forces performed well and took the lead in protecting their fellow Iraqis.” (See related article.)
Rumsfeld encouraged reporters to consider Arba’een as an example of Iraqis’ success in taking greater responsibility for their country’s security.
“In a situation like exists in Iraq today, one measure of what is happening is to note things that are not happening,” Rumsfeld said. “Admittedly, that's a difficult thing to do. It's far easier to report about a bomb that goes off than to note a bomb that doesn't.”
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)
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