Published: August 28, 2005

Voter Registration Progressing in North-Central Iraq

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Voter registration continues in the north-central region of Iraq while Iraqi and coalition forces maintain pressure on insurgency forces there.

Major General Joseph Taluto, commanding the 42nd Infantry Division and Task Force Liberty, said his soldiers and Iraqi security forces "see no major changes in the nature of the threat" they face in that part of Iraq, which includes the cities of Balad, Kirkuk, Tikrit and Samarra.

In an August 26 briefing with reporters at the Pentagon via videoconference from Iraq, Taluto said voter registration for the fall elections is occurring in the four north-central provinces at more than 90 sites. "There is considerable confidence among all our Iraqi partners in securing the referendum vote and election," he said.

Taluto said, "None of the insurgent efforts have had significant impact on the preparations for elections in north-central Iraq and the democratic process."

While the level of violent activity by religious extremists and foreign fighters is not particularly high right now, Taluto said his forces are seeing activity generated by what he called "Iraqi rejectionists." He described them as people who want to see the current political process fail. There is also a criminal element at large that is seeking to cash in on the chaos generated by the existing insurgency, he added.

Taluto said his soldiers and their Iraqi counterparts are mostly focused on counterinsurgency operations and election preparations. "We have made good progress in both of these areas," he added.

The Iraqi forces are also conducting about 50 percent of all the raids, patrols and cordon-and-search operations in the region, Taluto added.

Source: U.S. Department of Defense