Petraeus Supports Troop Increase in Confirmation Hearing
By Sgt. Sara Wood, USA
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Jan. 23, 2007 – President Bush's pick for command of Multinational Force Iraq today supported the new strategy for Iraq, emphasizing that additional U.S. forces are essential in accomplishing the mission there.

"If we are to carry out the Multinational Force Iraq mission in accordance with the new strategy, the additional forces that have been directed to move to Iraq will be essential, as will greatly increased support by our government's other agencies, additional resources for reconstruction and economic initiatives, and a number of other actions critical to what must be a broad, comprehensive, multifaceted approach to the challenges in Iraq," Army Lt. Gen. David Petraeus said at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Petraeus was nominated Jan. 17 to be promoted to general and take over command of MNFI from Army Gen. George W. Casey Jr., who has been nominated to become the Army's chief of staff.

The new strategy for Iraq shifts the U.S. focus in Iraq to securing the population and creating secure conditions to enable the Iraqi government, Petraeus said. Solving security problems will not be the ultimate solution for Iraq, he acknowledged, but the Iraqi government cannot deal with the political issues it must resolve while violence in Baghdad creates life-or-death situations for citizens every day.

"The objective will be to achieve sufficient security to provide the space and time for the Iraqi government to come to grips with the tough decisions its members must make to enable Iraq to move forward," Petraeus said. "In short, it is not just that there will be additional forces in Baghdad; it is what they will do and how they will do it that is important."

When questioned directly, Petraeus said he would not be able to do his job as commander of MNFI without the additional 21,000 troops President Bush has pledged to Iraq. Deploying these additional forces will make it difficult to increase time between deployments for troops who have already been burdened by the war on terror, he said, but plans are under way to sustain increased force levels.

The increase of 92,000 in the overall strength of the Army and Marine Corps, which Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates announced Jan. 11, will also help alleviate this strain, he said. "Our ongoing endeavors in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere are people-intensive, and it is heartening to know that there will be more soldiers and Marines to shoulder the load," he said.

The coalition will continue to transition control of Iraqi forces and provinces to Iraqis, and the U.S. advisor effort will be reinforced, Petraeus said. The focus on security in Baghdad will require that U.S. and Iraqi commanders become familiar with the areas they are operating in and work together to establish a permanent presence in areas where violence has been eliminated, he said.

In addition to overcoming security challenges, success in Iraq depends on actions in political and economic areas like governance, the distribution of oil revenues, national reconciliation, improvement in the capacity of Iraq's ministries, the establishment of the rule of law, and economic development, Petraeus said. To bolster progress in these areas, all agencies of the U.S. government need to step in and provide assistance, he emphasized.

"Our military is making an enormous commitment in Iraq; we need the rest of the departments to do likewise, to help the Iraqi government get the country and its citizens working, and to use Iraq's substantial oil revenues for the benefit of all the Iraqi people," he said.

The situation in Iraq is serious, and it will take time for the new strategy to be effective, Petraeus noted. The additional U.S. forces will need time to deploy to the region, become familiar with the situation, and set the conditions for successful security operations, he said.

"The only assurance I can give you is that, if confirmed, I will provide Multinational Force Iraq the best leadership and direction I can muster; I will work to ensure unity of effort with the ambassador and our Iraqi and coalition partners; and I will provide my bosses and you with forthright, professional military advice with respect to the missions given to Multinational Force Iraq and the situation on the ground in Iraq," Petraeus said to the committee.

If confirmed, this assignment will be Petraeus' fourth deployment of one year or longer since the summer of 2001; three of those deployments were to Iraq. Petraeus led the 101st Airborne Division in Mosul during the first year of Operation Iraqi Freedom, served as the first commander of Multinational Security Transition Command Iraq from June 2004 to September 2005, and commanded the NATO Training Mission Iraq from October 2004 through September 2005. He is currently serving as commander of the U.S. Army Combined Arms Center and Fort Leavenworth, Fort Leavenworth, Kan., where he oversees the organizations that educate Army leaders, draft doctrine, craft lessons learned, and help units prepare for deployment.

Petraeus acknowledged that the command of MNFI will be a heavy burden, but he said he is ready to take on the position. Not only is he eager to serve again with America's deployed troops, he said, but he feels an obligation to help the Iraqis, who are struggling to lead normal lives while their government forges a way ahead that will be anything but easy.

"Hard is not hopeless, and if confirmed, I pledge to do my utmost to lead our wonderful men and women in uniform and those of our coalition partners in Iraq as we endeavor to help the Iraqis make the most of the opportunity our soldiers, sailor, airmen and Marines have given to them," he said.

Biographies:
Lt. Gen. David Petraeus, USA

16 Insurgents Killed in Iraq, 18 Detained; Weapons Caches Found
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Jan. 23, 2007 – Coalition forces killed 16 terrorists and detained 18 others in Iraq this week, military officials said, and troops discovered multiple weapons caches.

In Iraq yesterday, soldiers from the 3rd Iraqi Army Division, with coalition advisors, detained three suspected members of an insurgent cell during operations in the village of Ibrat As Saghirah in northern Iraq. The insurgent cell with links to al Qaeda in Iraq is responsible for coordinating and carrying out mortar and small arms attacks against Iraqi civilians, military officials said.

In eastern Baghdad yesterday, U.S. Army soldiers with the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, with elements from the Iraqi army, launched "Operation Wolf."

The mission, aimed at bringing more security to the area by reducing sectarian violence and clearing the area of insurgents, is part of an on-going U.S.-Iraqi effort to transition security to Iraqi security forces.

Also in Iraq yesterday:

-- Coalition forces working on intelligence reports engaged and killed nine armed terrorists, detained six others and discovered grenades, machine guns and pistols in Haditha.

-- Coalition forces killed six terrorists and detained two others during an operation in Baghdad.

-- Coalition forces shot and killed one terrorist, detained another and discovered bomb-making materials during a raid in Yusufiyah.

-- Paratroopers with the 25th Infantry Division and Iraqi security forces detained four suspects in Karbala with alleged ties to the Jan. 20 attack at the Karbala Provincial Joint Coordination Center.

Earlier this week east in eastern Baghdad, soldiers with 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, attached to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, detained two suspected insurgents and seized roughly 7,000 rounds of 7.62 mm ammunition Jan. 21 during a neighborhood search.

Elsewhere in Iraq this week, Marines from 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 5 discovered 14 large weapons caches Jan. 21 during Operation Northern Venture in Anbar province.

"The discovery of such caches is extremely important as it provides the Iraqi civilians a better sense of security," Lt. Col. Kenneth M. DeTreux, battalion commanding officer, said. "When we take these weapons away, we lessen the ability of the enemy to terrorize and intimidate civilians."

The caches contained seven heavy machine guns, one small machine gun, six AK-47 assault rifles, one bolt-action rifle and two Iranian assault rifles. Marines also discovered 23 82 mm high explosive mortars, five 60 mm high explosive mortar rounds, one 120 mm high explosive mortar round, small- and heavy-arms ammunition and a large assortment of weapons related equipment.

"The caches that we found were a mix of all sorts of ordnance from mortars to heavy machine guns," Maj. Sean M. Riordan, battalion executive officer, said. "There's no doubt that the rural areas in Iraq contain numerous weapons caches, and the things we took away from the insurgency help to chip away at their tactical capabilities."

(Compiled from Multinational Corps Iraq news releases.)

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100 Terrorists Killed, 50 Detained in Operation Turki Bowl
By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Jan. 23, 2007 – U.S. and Iraqi forces killed 100 terrorists, detained 50, and dismantled a large terrorist group in January during Operation Turki Bowl, the senior U.S. Army officer in Iraq's Diyala province said yesterday.

The operation, conducted from Jan. 4 to 13, occurred south of Balad Ruz in the Turki Village, Tuwilla and 30 Tamuz areas of the province. During the operation, U.S. Army and Iraqi soldiers isolated and defeated a terrorist group known as "The Council," Col. David W. Sutherland, commander of 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, told reporters via satellite connection from a news conference in Iraq.

"The group, made up of former Baath Regime members, al Qaeda and Sunni extremists, refused to participate in any political dialogue and preferred attacking innocent civilians in the Diyala province," Sutherland said.

The council killed as many as 39 civilians in one kidnapping and mass murder in November, he added.

"The fear of the people and the weapons used by these individuals are used to attack the core of Iraqi values and beliefs," Sutherland said. "They are interested in preventing individual human rights and freedoms that the people of this region want so much."

Leading up to the large-scale operation, coalition forces discovered a large weapons cache in November in the area, resulting in "major combat operations with several large organizations" of terrorists, Sutherland said.

"Upon defeating them, we intentionally moved back to our base of operations so that we could exploit the intelligence that we would ... gather over the next several months," he said.

While developing plans for Operation Turki Bowl, U.S. military leaders, with the 5th Iraqi Army Division, studied the enemy's early warning systems, their actions, and "how they reacted to our initial contact with them," Sutherland said.

Coalition forces conducted smaller-scale raids in the area prior to Operation Turki Bowl, to give civilians a perceived safe-haven and encourage their cooperation with troops, he said. Through tips and phone calls to coalition forces, civilians provided invaluable information about the enemy, Sutherland added.

"What we wanted to do was isolate (terrorists) from the population so they could not blend in," Sutherland said. "It (was) a counterinsurgency operation, but the difference is we were able separate the terrorists from the people they were living off of.

"Since I've been here, we have not conducted an operation where we have been able to bring to bear against a group of this size that was willing to fight us out in the open," Sutherland said.

In addition to defeating the council, troops found 25 weapons caches containing more than 1,150 Katusha rockets and 1,000 rocket-propelled grenades, 170 anti-tank missiles, anti-tank mines, small- and heavy-arms ammunition and sensitive terrorist documents.

Soldiers are now focused on interacting with the local populous and reinforcing the security and stability of the region, according to a Multinational Force Iraq news release. The Iraqi army will maintain a permanent presence, while coalition forces are focusing on reconstructing roads, essential services and other basic services to help the people of Turki, the release stated.

"This operation clearly was a significant tactical success for (coalition forces), (Iraq army), and most importantly, the citizens of Turki and surrounding areas," Sutherland said. "The long-term affects we hope to achieve are stability for economic growth, increased political action for all parties and self-reliance for the Iraqi government and security forces."

Related Sites:
Multinational Force Iraq

TURKEY KEEPS A NERVOUS EYE ON KIRKUK

By Sumedha Senanayake

Turkish officials have recently voiced their concerns over
the fate of the oil-rich province of Kirkuk. Turkey fears that if the
Iraqi Kurds annex Kirkuk into their autonomous region, they will
eventually want to carve out an independent Kurdish state in northern
Iraq and thus stoke separatist desires in Turkey's own sizable
Kurdish population.
Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution calls for a three-step
process to be implemented to reverse the "Arabization" policies of
the regime of former President Saddam Hussein to expel and/or
displace non-Arabs in the area around Kirkuk. The article also
stipulates that once the province has been "normalized," a census is
to be conducted, followed by a referendum, which is to be carried out
sometime in 2007 to determine whether the city and its environs will
join the Kurdish region.
On January 16, a two-day symposium titled Kirkuk 2007,
sponsored by the Turkish Global Strategy Institute, ended in Ankara
with a final declaration calling for "the suspension of the
referendum until the Iraqi Constitution is reviewed," the Ankara
Anatolia news agency reported the same day.
The aim of the symposium was to discuss the future of Kirkuk
with the participation of Iraqi Sunni, Shi'ite, Turkoman, Christian,
and Assyrian groups. However, no representatives of Iraqi Kurdish
groups were invited; the conference's organizers said the Kurds were
asked to submit their views in writing.
Iraq's Turkomans, who are ethnic Turks, have voiced fears
that tensions could spill over if the Kurds took control of Kirkuk.
The leader of the Iraqi Turkoman Front, Sadettin Ergec, said on
January 15 at the conference that due to the complex ethnic and
religious makeup of Kirkuk, the referendum should be cancelled and
the province be placed under the control of the federal government,
Ankara Anatolia reported the same day.
"Kirkuk is not a normal province. Rather, it is Iraq's
national asset. Therefore, all the Iraqis should have a say in its
future and the city," Ergec said.
Several Kurdish lawmakers in the Iraqi parliament issued a
joint statement denouncing the conference, "The New Anatolian"
reported on January 17. "We condemn this interference in Iraqi
affairs by the Turkish government [and]...call upon the Iraqi
government and Foreign Ministry to take a decisive stance to stop
this interference, and to threaten to cut political and economic
relations with Turkey should Turkey continue its interference," the
statement read.
The confrontational rhetoric from Turkish officials has been
amplified in recent weeks as the Kirkuk referendum approaches. During
a session of parliament on January 15, Turhan Comez, a leading member
of Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), warned that
the Kirkuk referendum may lead to ethnic clashes in the city, which
could force Ankara to intervene, "The New Anatolian" reported the
same day.
"Turkey should announce that it will not recognize the
results of a referendum on the future of Kirkuk under these
conditions. And we should also announce that we are going to
intervene if civil war erupts in Kirkuk," Comez said.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on January
9, "Turkey cannot stand idly by, watching the efforts to change the
demographic structure of Kirkuk," the Cihan news agency reported on
January 10. Erdogan's statement reflects a longstanding accusation by
Turkey that Iraq's Kurds have been drastically altering the
demographics of Kirkuk in an attempt to influence the outcome of the
upcoming referendum in their favor.
Indeed, "The New Anatolian" reported on January 15 that
Turkey's National Intelligence Organization (MIT) has obtained
information that since 2003 "an estimated 600,000 ethnic Kurdish
Iraqi citizens have been moved to Kirkuk from different areas in
northern Iraq and have subsequently been registered to vote in
elections."
Moreover, the Turkish daily "Ortadogu" reported on January 17
that 240,000 Turkish troops deployed last March along the Iranian and
Iraqi borders are awaiting orders to enter northern Iraq to go after
Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) fighters and to protect the Iraqi
Turkoman population.
It is unclear whether Turkey would go so far as sending
troops into northern Iraq if the Kurds continue with their drive to
annex Kirkuk. Both the ruling AKP and the main opposition Republican
People's Party (CHP) have on separate occasions asked for a
closed-door session of parliament to discuss the Kirkuk situation.
The session is to take place on January 23.
CHP leader Deniz Baykal indicated that an order to send
troops to northern Iraq would be issued if the situation "warranted"
it, "Milliyet" reported on January 16.
Iraqi Kurdish regional parliament speaker Adnan Mufti on
January 19 denounced the upcoming session, calling it an attempt by
Turkey to sow chaos in Iraq, Salah al-Din Kurdistan Satellite
television reported the same day.
"I believe that the [Turkish] parliament's session is
unnecessary. Now, since the session has become a fact, I hope that
they will discuss the realities," he said.
U.S. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas
Burns moved to clarify the situation when he stressed on January 18
after a meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan that the issue of
Kirkuk is a matter for the "Iraqis, since they are sovereign in their
country." However, as the referendum nears, tensions are bound to
increase and Turkey will continue to watch northern Iraq anxiously.

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IRAQI OIL LAW NOT AGREED UPON, KURDS SAY. In an interview published
in the "Financial Times" on January 23, the Kurdish regional
government's oil minister, Ashti Hawrami, said the new draft oil law
announced last week has not been agreed upon. On January 17, Iraqi
Oil Ministry spokesman Asim Jihad said a draft oil law has been
approved and it will be sent to the cabinet for approval. "Several
issues are still not resolved. The Oil Ministry statement is
unfortunately premature," Hawrami said. "The head of the [committee
drafting the law] is going to organize new meetings to address these
issues. Probably we will reconvene next week or after to discuss the
remaining issues." SS