Pentagon Gives Gloomy Iraq Report
Pastor Dale Morgan
Sep 1, 4:13 PM EDT
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Pentagon Gives Gloomy Iraq Report*
By ROBERT BURNS
AP Military Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sectarian violence is spreading in Iraq and the
security problems have become more complex than at any time since the
U.S. invasion in 2003, a Pentagon report said Friday.
In a notably gloomy report to Congress, the Pentagon reported that
illegal militias have become more entrenched, especially in Baghdad
neighborhoods where they are seen as providers of both security and
basic social services.
The report described a rising tide of sectarian violence, fed in part by
interference from neighboring Iran and Syria and driven by a "vocal
minority" of religious extremists who oppose the idea of a democratic Iraq.
Death squads targeting mainly Iraqi civilians are a growing problem,
heightening the risk of civil war, the report said.
"Death squads and terrorists are locked in mutually reinforcing cycles
of sectarian strife," the report said, adding that the Sunni-led
insurgency "remains potent and viable" even as it is overshadowed by the
sect-on-sect killing.
"Conditions that could lead to civil war exist in Iraq, specifically in
and around Baghdad, and concern about civil war within the Iraqi
civilian population has increased in recent months," the report said. It
is the latest in a series of quarterly reports required by Congress to
assess economic, political and security progress.
A growing number of members of Congress are calling for either a shift
in the Bush administration's Iraq strategy or a timetable for beginning
a substantial withdrawal of American forces. Although administration
officials say progress is being made in Iraq, U.S. commanders have
increased U.S. troop levels by about 13,000 over the past five weeks, to
140,000, mainly due to increased violence in the Baghdad area.
In response to the Pentagon's report Friday, the Senate's top Democrat,
Harry Reid of Nevada, said it showed the Bush administration is
"increasingly disconnected from the facts on the ground in Iraq."
"It is time for a new direction to end the war in Iraq, win the war on
terror, and give the American people the real security they deserve,"
Reid said.
Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., who recently returned from a visit to Iraq, said
the report squared with what he saw there.
"Iraq is tipping toward civil war," Reed said.
Col. Thomas Vail, commander of a 101st Airborne brigade operating in the
mostly Shiite areas of eastern Baghdad, told reporters at the Pentagon
on Friday that an intensified effort to root out insurgents and quell
sectarian violence in the capital is bearing fruit, leading to a
decrease in sectarian murders in recent days.
"They understand a big stick," he said, referring to a bigger U.S. and
Iraqi force confronting militias and others responsible for violence
like the barrage of coordinated attacks across eastern Baghdad on
Thursday. Iraqi police said they killed at least 64 people and wounded
more than 286 within a half hour.
Peter Rodman, the assistant secretary of defense for international
security affairs, in a separate session with reporters, said that
despite progress this summer in reviving the Iraqi economy, raising
electricity production and increasing the number of trained Iraqi
troops, security conditions have deteriorated.
The report covered the period since the Iraqi government led by Prime
Minister Nouri al-Malaki was seated May 20.
From that date through Aug. 11, the average number of attacks per week
against Americans and Iraqis was 792, up 24 percent from the previous
period of Feb. 11 to May 19. The 792 figure was the highest for any
counting period since the war began. The previous high was 641 in the
Feb. 11 to May 19 period.
"The last quarter, as you know has been rough," Rodman said. "The levels
of violence are up and the sectarian quality of the violence is
particularly acute and disturbing."
That assessment was tempered by a degree of optimism that the Iraqi
government - with support from U.S. troops - will succeed in quelling
the sectarian strife.
Optimism among ordinary Iraqis, however, has declined, the 63-page
report said.
When asked if they believe "things will be better" in the future, the
percentage of Iraqis responding positively has dropped over the past
year - whether they were asked to look ahead six months, one year or
five years - according to polling data cited in the report.
"The security situation is currently at its most complex state since the
initiation of Operation Iraqi Freedom," the report said, using the U.S.
military's name for the war that was launched in March 2003 to topple
Saddam Hussein.
One of the most celebrated events during the period on which Friday's
report was based was the killing of the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, Abu
Musab al-Zarqawi. The report said that although this was a major
success, al-Qaida remained a threat because of its "resilient,
semiautonomous cellular structure."