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Skriven 2007-03-28 23:31:04 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0703284) for Wed, 2007 Mar 28
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The Rest Of The Story: Gen. McCaffrey's Iraq Report Includes Optimism
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For Immediate Release March 28, 2007

The Rest Of The Story: Gen. McCaffrey's Iraq Report Includes Optimism "We
Can Still Achieve Our Objective Of A Stable Iraq"

ÿÿWhite House News


"Since the arrival of General David Petraeus in command of Multi-National
Force Iraq  the situation on the ground has clearly and measurably
improved. _ We can still achieve our objective of: a stable Iraq, at peace
with its neighbors, not producing weapons of mass destruction, and fully
committed to a law-based government."

 Gen. Barry R. McCaffrey, "After Action Report Following Visit To Iraq And
Kuwait"

The Washington Post's Thomas E. Ricks: "McCaffrey Paints Gloomy Picture Of
Iraq."ÿ(Thomas E. Ricks, "McCaffrey Paints Gloomy Picture Of Iraq," The
Washington Post, 3/28/07)ÿ
  þ But Ricks Focuses On One Of Four Sections In Gen. McCaffrey's
    Report.ÿRicksfocuses on a section titled "The Problem," and either
    minimizes or ignores other aspects of Gen. McCaffrey's report in
    sections titled "The Current Situation," "The Way Ahead," and
    "Summary."
  þ Like Gen. McCaffrey, President Bush, Administration Officials, And The
    National Intelligence Estimate Have All Acknowledged The Significant
    Challenges We Face In Iraq.ÿBecause of these challenges, the President
    announced a new strategy in January.ÿ As Gen. McCaffrey says, we are
    seeing some signs of early progress under Gen. David Petraeus'
    leadership.
  þ President Bush: "Amid the real challenges in Iraq, we're beginning to
    see some signs of progress."ÿ (President Bush, Remarks On The Iraq War
    Emergency Supplemental, The White House, 3/23/07)

Many Parts Of Gen. McCaffrey's Report Paint A Positive Picture
      þ 

        Gen. McCaffrey Describes Progress Throughout His Report And Leads
        Three Of Four Sections With Optimism: Gen. McCaffrey On "The
        Current Situation": "Since the arrival of General David Petraeus in
        command of Multi-National Force Iraq  the situation on the ground
        has clearly and measurably improved."
      þ Gen. McCaffrey On "The Way Ahead": "In my judgment, we can still
        achieve our objective of: a stable Iraq, at peace with its
        neighbors, not producing weapons of mass destruction, and fully
        committed to a law-based government."
      þ Gen. McCaffrey's "Summary": "We have brilliant military and
        civilian leadership on the ground in Iraq. General Dave Petraeus,
        LTG Ray Odierno, and Ambassador Ryan Crocker have the country's
        treasure and combat power at their disposal. Our cause is just. The
        consequence of failure will be severe."

Gen. McCaffrey Highlights Key Improvements In The U.S.-Iraqi Coalition
Strategy In Iraq
  þ Gen. McCaffrey: "The Maliki Government Has Given The Green Light To
    Prune Out Elements Of The Renegade Sadr Organization In Baghdad."
    ÿ"More than 600+ rogue leaders have been harvested by US and Iraqi
    special operations forces with the explicit or tacit consent of the
    government. Sadr himself has fled to Iran and many of his key leaders
    have escaped to the safety of the Shia south. His fighting cadres were
    ordered to go to ground, hide their weapons, take down their check
    points, stop the terrible ethnic cleansing and terror tactics against
    the Sunni population, and ignore (not cooperate) with US and ISF
    forces."
  þ Gen. McCaffrey: "U.S. And Iraqi Forces Have Now Dramatically Changed
    Their Operational Scheme."ÿ "More then 50+ Iraqi Police/Army and US
    Army Joint Security Stations (JSS) are now being emplaced across the
    city and extended into the suburbs. The pre-operation planning and
    rehearsals were superb. The presence of these joint military elements
    is now becoming ubiquitous across the urban areas. Although many of
    these small outposts have been attacked  none has yet been seriously
    jeopardized."

Gen. McCaffrey Says The Iraqis Are Encouraged
  þ Gen. McCaffrey: "The Iraqi People Are Encouraged" As "Life Is Almost
    Immediately Springing Back In Many Parts Of The City."ÿ "The murder
    rate has plummeted. IED attacks on US forces during their formerly
    vulnerable daily transits from huge US bases on the periphery of
    Baghdad are down  since these forces are now permanently based in
    their operational area."

Gen. McCaffrey Says The Iraqis Are Committed To Securing Baghdad And
Improving Their Police Force
  þ Gen. McCaffrey: "The Iraqis Have Finally Committed Credible Numbers Of
    Integrated Police And Army Units To The Battle Of Baghdad." ÿ"The
    strength of IA, IP, and NP units has steadily gone up aided by clever
    monetary and troop leader incentives. The ISF formations are showing
    increased willingness to aggressively operate against insurgent/militia
    forces. Although there is continuing political interference by
    politicians of both the Iraqi Administration and legislators  this is
    clearly a serious urban security operation."
  þ Gen. McCaffrey: There Is Now "Sunni Tribal Opposition To The Al
    Qaeda-In-Iraq Terror Formations" And New Sunni Recruits To The Iraq's
    Police Force. ÿ"There is a real and growing ground swell of Sunni
    tribal opposition to the Al Qaeda-in-Iraq terror formations. (90%
    Iraqi.) This counter-Al Qaeda movement in Anbar Province was fostered
    by brilliant US Marine leadership. There is now unmistakable evidence
    that the western Sunni tribes are increasingly convinced that they
    blundered badly by sitting out the political process. They are also
    keenly aware of the fragility of the continued US military presence
    that stands between them and a vengeful and overwhelming Shia-Kurdish
    majority class  which was brutally treated by Saddam and his cruel
    regime. There is now active combat between Sunni tribal leadership and
    AQI terrorists. Of even greater importance, the Sunni tribes are now
    supplying their young men as drafts for the Iraqi Police."

Gen. McCaffrey Says The Iraqi Security Forces Are Growing
  þ Gen. McCaffrey: "The Equipment And Resources For The Iraqi Security
    Forces Has Increased Dramatically" While "Maliki Has Pushed To Create A
    Larger Security Force." ÿ"The ISF has planned 2007 expenditures of more
    than $7.3 billion. The Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of the
    Interior are the only two of 27 Iraqi Ministries that have executed
    their budgets at 90% plus satisfactory rates. (General Petraeus is now
    putting US military liaison officers in ten additional civilian
    Ministries to jump start their budget process.) PM Maliki has pushed to
    create a larger security force of more than 100,000 Iraqi Army troops."

Gen. McCaffrey Says There Is A "Sophisticated" Political Approach
  þ Gen. McCaffrey: "There Is A Very Sophisticated And Carefully Integrated
    Approach By The Iraqi Government And Coalition Actors To Defuse The
    Armed Violence From Internal Enemies And Bring People Into The
    Political Process." ÿ"Reconciliation of the internal warring elements
    in Iraq will be how we eventually win the war in Iraq  if it happens.
    _ There are encouraging signs that the peace and participation message
    does resonate with many of the more moderate Sunni and Shia warring
    factions."

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