Iraqi Security Forces Succeeding Against Insurgents

"Operation Scales of Justice" bringing calm to Baghdad, says general

Iraqi military and police forces are succeeding in their mission to bring security and stability to Baghdad, says U.S. Army Major General James Thurman, commander of Multinational Division Baghdad.

"They're in the lead, and they are gaining capability every day," Thurman told reporters during a March 31 Pentagon press briefing in Baghdad.

Thurman commands coalition operations in Baghdad and three surrounding Iraqi provinces through the Multinational Division in Baghdad, which is made up of 29,000 soldiers from the United States, the Republic of Georgia, Macedonia and Estonia, as well as 33,000 Iraqi soldiers and police.

Due to the increasing capability of Iraq's military and police to take the lead in keeping the peace, he said, the Multinational Division now controls more than 44,000 square kilometers.

But violent daily insurgent attacks remain a serious problem in half of Baghdad's 10 districts. The attacks are caused mostly by efforts to provoke violence between Sunni and Shi'a communities and to derail democracy as Iraqi leaders negotiate to form a unity government, Thurman said. Other attacks, he said, are related to criminal activity, such as the kidnapping gangs that are linked to the insurgency. (See related article.)

Thurman said that Iraqi security forces, supported by the coalition, increasingly are successful in disrupting terrorist cells. In a series of operations, many planned and executed entirely by Iraqi forces, insurgent and criminal groups involved in bomb-making, kidnapping, and drive-by shootings have been foiled. (See related article.)

Most significant, the Multinational Division recently launched "Operation Scales of Justice" - a stepped-up security presence featuring Iraqi troops and police leading more than 115 patrols a day and operating over 130 checkpoints across the city in an effort to reduce violence in Baghdad.

Thurman also said that as a result of the effective Iraqi-led security presence, area residents are showing trust and confidence by providing more than 3,000 anonymous tips regarding local insurgent activities. He said that 2,500 of these reports to a recently created national hot line have resulted in successful counterinsurgency operations.

The spokeman said security operations already are showing results. He cited a 58 percent decrease in attacks in one city district alone in the past 90 days. Thurman, returning from a recent inspection of Iraqi security forces, said, "What I saw today was a true Iraqi force in the lead, with Iraqi army, Iraqi national police and Iraqi police, with coalition assistance, performing a great job out there."

The improving security situation will allow Iraqi citizens greater opportunity to provide for their families and will lead to the eventual defeat of the terrorist insurgency, Thurman said.

Reflecting on the insurgency's failure to stop the Iraqi elections, to prevent the seating of Iraq's Council of Representatives or to incite civil war with the bombing of the Golden Mosque in Samarra, Thurman observed, "In each case, Iraqis rose to the challenge and prevented the terrorists from succeeding."

"The Iraqi army has proven that they're trained and capable of protecting the Iraqi people, and their nation recognizes that," Thurman said.

Source: U.S. Department of State

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