15 August 2006
Iraqis Must Reject Sectarian Violence, U.S. General Says
Joint chiefs head urges Sunni, Shi'a leaders to "go about building their country"
Washington – The Iraqi people must join together to reject sectarian violence, says Marine General Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
“The Shiite and Sunni leaders are going to have to love their kids more than they hate each other, so they can go about building their country,” Pace told reporters August 11 while en route to Iraq.
Pace visited Iraq August 12-14 to meet coalition military leaders and troops in Baghdad, Fallujah and Mosul as they confronted ongoing violence between Iraq’s Shi’a Muslim majority and its Sunni minority. (See related article.)
IRAQIS MUST REJECT SECTARIAN VIOLENCE
In Baghdad, Pace said, sectarian violence has eclipsed threats from the insurgency and foreign fighters, some of whom are now furthering their own agendas by staging sectarian-style attacks to sow further division among the Iraqi people.
Most of the violence continues to be centered in Baghdad and surrounding areas, he said, where Iraqi authorities and the coalition stepped up security in recent weeks. In the Iraqi capital, forces are pursuing a complex strategy of patrols, checkpoints and searches to uncover groups engaged in extremist activities, while also working with local leaders to identify projects to restore basic services and return hope to communities. (See related article.)
Nationwide, Iraqi forces continue to grow and are taking the lead in defending their country, Pace said. To date, 277,600 members of the Iraqi security forces are “trained and equipped;” and by the end of 2006 that number will be 325,000, he said. (See related article.)
While attacks continue, the overall level of violence in Baghdad has decreased, Pace said. The objective, he indicated, is to have a much more stable Baghdad by Ramadan, the annual Muslim month of fasting, which begins in 2006 on September 24.
Amid the challenges, Pace observed signs of hope. “Despite all the violence, there are still between 4,000 and 5,000 [information] tips per month reported by the Iraqi people,” Pace said. “The Iraqi army is in the fight – the army is taking casualties three to four times what the coalition is. The population needs to make the fundamental decision that they have had enough.” (See related article.)
The key to reducing ongoing sectarian violence, Pace said, will be to support Iraq as it builds strong national and local governments, improves local infrastructure, and creates conditions where Iraqis will join together to reject murders and kidnappings. (See related article.)
IRAQ’S FUTURE IS IN ITS HANDS
Also at Camp Fallujah on August 13, Marine Major General Richard Zilmer said that while coalition troops can help provide short-term security and train Iraqi forces, the country’s future remains in the hands of the Iraqis.
Zilmer commands coalition troops in Iraq’s al-Anbar province where, he said, relations between its 1.4 million residents and U.S.-led forces are improving, particularly in the provincial capital Ramadi, and in the cities of Fallujah and Qaim. But several serious problems remain, Zilmer said, and it will be up to Iraqis to solve them.
The first problem is the continued insurgent presence, particularly in Ramadi. Iraqi forces, backed by their coalition allies, are beginning to move into parts of the provincial capital where they did not go in the past, he said, freeing hospitals and schools that were being used as staging areas for terrorist attacks. (See related article.)
Thanks to the efforts of the coalition’s military transition teams and coalition units partnered with Iraqi troops, Zilmer said, there are “dramatic improvements” in the Iraqi army’s performance. But Iraqi police forces continue to lag behind, he said. “At the end of the day, the ability of the police to provide for the local security of the province will be critical to the success of Anbar,” he said, stressing the need for more training.
IRAN CONTINUES TO ENCOURAGE IRAQI VIOLENCE
Another challenge facing Iraq is continuing interference from Iran, Pace told U.S. service members in Fallujah August 13.
The Iranian regime, he said, is fighting a proxy war against Iraq and the United States through its support of militant elements inside Iraq. Tehran’s tactics in Iraq, Pace said, are similar to its use of the Hezbollah terrorist organization to strike Israel from southern Lebanon in recent weeks. (See related article.)
Pace said that the United States would continue to join the global community in speaking out against the Iranian regime’s actions.
“There is a lot of diplomacy that may be used, a lot of international pressure that can be used, a lot of international dialogue that can be used with the Iranian government to let them know that we don’t appreciate what they are doing,” Pace said.
For more 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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