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Increasing numbers of Iraqi military and police are being trained, equipped and fielded to confront terrorists trying to destabilize the new Iraqi government, a senior U.S. military officer in Iraq revealed. "Iraqi security forces are in the lead, right now," Army Lt. Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chief of Multinational Security Transition Command Iraq, told Pentagon reporters during a satellite news conference from Iraq. Dempsey's organization assists the Iraqi government in developing its security forces. Dempsey said about 225,000 Iraqi soldiers and police will be available to provide security for Iraq's Dec. 15 nationwide election. That, he said, is in contrast to the 130,000 Iraqi security forces that were available during the Jan. 30 election. Dempsey said current plans include establishing 10 Iraqi army infantry divisions --160,000 soldiers -- by 2007. A priority for 2006 is to focus on Iraqi police forces, Dempsey said. There are now about 25,000 Iraqi special police that can conduct combat and commando operations as well as routine policing duties, he said. "The special police, in particular, provide a vital function in countering the insurgents and terrorism foreign-fighter threat because they are a bridge for us," Dempsey said. After a city or town is stabilized, he explained, Iraqi special police can employ their normal policing skills to interact with the populace and root out any remaining terrorists. Yet, "we've got to get to the point where the police are truly an element of local civil control as opposed to counterinsurgent forces," Dempsey said. That is one focus point, he said, for the Iraqi police improvement program in 2006. Today about 75,000 regular Iraqi police are trained and equipped, Dempsey said, noting plans call for training 135,000 more regular police officers. And there are now about 18,000 Iraqi border police, with plans to add another 9,000. About 3,000 Iraqi highway patrol officers have been trained, he said, noting another 3,000 are required. The projected end-state level for Iraqi security forces -- including military, regular and special police, border police and other units -- is pegged at more than 340,000 members, Dempsey said. That number is likely to change, he said, as the new Iraqi government that takes over after the Dec. 15 election mulls its spending priorities. Dempsey said about $10.6 billion was budgeted as part of a two-year plan for developing Iraqi security forces. Around $3.5 billion has been programmed, but not committed, for Iraqi security force development in fiscal year 2006. Dempsey said his command partners with Multinational Corps Iraq commanded by Army Lt. Gen. John R. Vines, who also heads 18th Airborne Corps. MNCI provides embedded trainers and transition teams for the training and development of new Iraqi security forces, Dempsey said. However, the majority of trainers for Iraqi basic army and police training are Iraqis, he said. Related Articles: ** Operation "Shank" Successful, "Iron Hammer" in
Final Stages Operation "Shank" Successful,
Shank primarily involved targeted raids conducted by Iraqi soldiers and U.S. forces against terrorist safe houses in the area. The raids resulted in the detention of four suspected members of al Qaeda in Iraq, who were held for questioning. About 200 Iraqi soldiers from 1st Brigade, 7th Division, and 300 Marines from 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, assigned to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, took part in Shank. Officials also announced that Operation Iron Hammer was in its final stages, with the completion of construction of a long-term basing in the Hai al Becker region on the eastern side of the Euphrates River across from Hit and about 170 kilometers west of Baghdad. Long-term Iraqi-U.S. security presence was established in Hit last summer as part of Operation Sword. Now the villages on the eastern side of the Euphrates River will benefit from the security and stability brought by Iraqi soldiers and U.S. forces, officials noted. About 500 Iraqi soldiers from 2nd Brigade, 7th Iraqi Army Division, and 1,500 Marines and sailors from the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, along with 500 soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 114th Field Artillery Regiment, have taken part in Iron Hammer. No Iraqi Army or U.S. forces reported casualties during Iron Hammer. No air strikes or use of lethal force occurred during the operation. In addition, no reports of civilian casualties or disruption of basic services, such as water and utilities, occurred. Operation "Shank" Prompts
CAMP BLUE DIAMOND, AR RAMADI, Iraq (CENTCOM) -- Operation Harba (Shank) is the fifth in a series of operations by the Iraqi Army and Coalition Forces conducting combined clearing operations to disrupt the insurgency and set the conditions for a successful Dec. 15 election in the al Anbar provincial capital of ar Ramadi. Iraqi Army Soldiers and U.S. Forces began the operation in the early morning hours by conducting targeted raids on suspected terrorist safe houses in central Ramadi resulting in the discovery of bomb making material. Operation Shank follows four previous disruption operations which began Nov. 16 in the al Anbar provincial capital. The purpose of the operation is to disrupt a terrorist group that utilizes an area of Ramadi as its base for attacks on local Ramadi citizens, the Iraqi and U.S. military. Approximately 200 Iraqi Army Soldiers from 1st Brigade, 7th Division and 300 Marines from 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, assigned to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, are taking part in Operation Shank. The operation was carefully planned by using information and intelligence gathered by Iraqi and U.S. Forces operating in the city on a daily basis. There is no correlation between Operation Shank and the erroneous reports which were circulated by a terrorist propagandist. Due to operations in and around Ramadi and in Western al Anbar, attacks by al Qaeda in Iraq have decreased 60 percent in Ramadi in the last month. |